The role of a military chaplain in wartime is extremely important for the fighting spirit of Ukrainian defenders, because chaplains must take care of the spirit of soldiers, their military unit, and commanders.
This was announced by the UGCC priest, military chaplain Andriy Zelinsky during a briefing at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center.
“Military chaplains have been trained and well understand what needs to be done to ensure the most important component of our victory – the fighting spirit of a Ukrainian soldier. Taking care of the human in a person in conditions when the most essential things are lacking, in conditions when the threat becomes so close, when challenges become so large-scale is a special endeavor. This is a calling to keep a person in military uniform. For us, victory consists not only in a high-quality and effective rebuff to the Russian aggressor, but also in the ability to build Ukraine after our victory,” Zelinsky emphasized.
He added that the task of a military chaplain is to care for the spirit of soldiers, their military units, and commanders.
Answering the question of how war and faith go together, the military chaplain noted: “War and faith are not so difficult to combine when war is about protection, which means love for those you protect. The war today, which the Russian aggressor launched against Ukraine, is a very telling fact of modern history, where an entire nation, where each of us is trying to be a warrior of Light in an Army that is fighting for something extremely important for the entire human civilization.”
Zelinsky reported that, as of today, there is a need for several hundred chaplains in the Ukrainian Army, and that it is gradually being filled by representatives of various churches. The law “On Military Chaplaincy Service” transfers service to a professional level, and the development of military chaplaincy at the institutional level is currently important, he noted.
“Military chaplain is a profession today. And, like every profession, it requires knowledge, abilities, and skills for quality service. All this involves a certain training of military chaplains, and such a process is underway. A structure of military chaplaincy has been created in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which should actually deal with the organization of training for chaplains to serve in the Ukrainian Army,” the priest said, adding that the traditions of international chaplaincy are also applied in training.
When asked about the challenges for chaplains, he noted that they are the same as those faced by soldiers and ordinary people in extreme stress and combat environments.
“All things that wound our humanity are the battlefield for a military chaplain. Help to persevere, help to arm yourself with a pure heart, a devoted will and move forward, remembering that everything a Ukrainian soldier does today is nothing more than a manifestation of boundless love for their country, people, and relatives,” emphasized the military chaplain.
Regarding the rotation of military chaplains, Zelinsky noted that it happens in the same way as for military personnel.
“A military chaplain is part of a military unit, he does not have a parallel life, he is a soldier in his own unit. And this means that as long as his unit stays, so does the military chaplain,” he emphasized.
