AFU Commander-in-Chief instructed the Military Chaplaincy Service to strengthen cooperation with religious organizations

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyy, has held a meeting with military chaplains, following which he instructed the Military Chaplaincy Service to strengthen cooperation with religious organizations. The goal is to «increase spiritual support and strengthen the moral fortitude of Ukrainian servicemen.»

According to Ukrinform, the meeting was attended by representatives of the PCU, the UGCC, as well as Protestant and Muslim communities. During the meeting they discussed the current state of the chaplaincy service, its challenges and directions of development, as well as the issues of staffing of positions, education and training of military chaplains.

Alexander Syrsky emphasized the important role of chaplains in maintaining the morale of fighters. «Chaplains take care of the spiritual fortitude of soldiers, help them to keep their faith. Many problems in the units are solved easier when in their place — the commander and chaplain, who can listen to each soldier and answer their concerns,» — said the commander-in-chief.

At the meeting were also presented the results of the study of factors affecting the spiritual fortitude of servicemen, and presented the Doctrine of meeting the spiritual and religious needs of the personnel.

We shall remind you that earlier the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved changes to the «Regulations on the procedure for issuing a mandate for the right to carry out military chaplaincy activities» within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the new amendments, the UOC priests are finally prohibited from performing chaplaincy activities in military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.