INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
provide spiritual support and combat what it describes as the "brutalization" of soldiers.The Church is calling for at least 1,500 clergy
discussed this week was framed as a necessary measure to maintain the moral integrity of soldiers and counter what church representatives
described as a "sinful spirit of vengeance" among those engaged in combat.According to Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk,
additional clergy will be trained through a newly established military-focused program at the Rostov Theological Seminary
The Church intends to recruit candidates early in their education to ensure they are prepared for service at the front.At the meeting,
senior Church figures argued that the army lacks spirituality and that greater religiosity among troops would bolster their effectiveness
Military chaplains, they claimed, would play a decisive role in sustaining the troops' fighting spirit and pushing Russia towards
victory.Archpriest Dmitry Vasilenkov, deputy chairman of the Church's Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces, claimed that
religious faith prevents soldiers from succumbing to cruelty and strengthens their resolve."It is easier [for a believer] to step onto the
front line and challenge death," he said
He also suggested that Ukrainian forces deliberately attempt to provoke Russian troops into committing war crimes, "driving them into sin
and depriving them of God's help.""The work of military chaplains is the main condition for victory in this war," Vasilenkov said
"The stronger the fighting spirit, the stronger the army."Some church officials are also calling for a broader revival of religious
instruction in the military, including reintroducing catechism courses and theological education for Russian army officers
and the day before" rather than in the trenches."Experiencing faith in war does not necessarily mean proper religiosity
Therefore, we have a lot of work to do," he said.Although nominally independent, the Russian Orthodox Church has long been under the
Church head Patriarch Kirill frequently appears alongside Putin, including on Christmas Day, when he blessed crosses and icons to be given
as gifts to commanders of troops fighting in Ukraine
condemned the war have been expelled from the church, with some leaving the country, often to other Eastern Orthodox nations or Istanbul.In
religious divisions within the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe, particularly between the similarly named yet distinct Orthodox Church of
Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).Following the invasion, Kyiv banned the activities of the
UOC-MP due to its alleged links to the Kremlin.This article was originally published by bne IntelliNews.
