Russian paratroopers get mobile chapels

MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Orthodox Church has given the country's Airborne Troops a mobile chapel to accompany them on military drills and combat missions, a paratrooper spokesman said on Friday.

The church is part of a wider project to restore full-scale military priesthood, which existed in Russia from the 18th century to the start of the Soviet era.

"Russian paratroopers received their first mobile church in May, financed by the Russian Orthodox Church," the spokesman said.

The chapel is built on the frame of a truck trailer and is equipped with a life-support module, an electric generator and multimedia equipment.

It is serviced on the field by a priest and a five-man support team.

The chapel will be tested during forthcoming airborne exercises.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said in 2010 that Orthodox Church military chaplains will soon appear in the Russian army.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, two thirds of the country's servicemen consider themselves religious. Some 83 percent of them are Orthodox Christians, about 8 percent are Muslims, and 9 percent represent other confessions.

Comments

  1. MattexianMay 27, 2011 at 10:29 PM

    Good to hear the Paras are getting their own chaplains to go where they go. I'm unfamiliar with how the Russian military does their chaplaincy, have they been lacking in one since the end of the USSR?

    Even in the lowly Texas State Guard, we had at least one chaplain that I saw, who I liked (he gave us a blessing on a deployment, asking God to watch over us and "protect these brave men and women from foolish decisions by their leaders.")

    ReplyDelete
  2. George PatsourakosMay 29, 2011 at 10:48 PM

    It is nice that the Russian Orthodox Church can afford to provide Russia's Airborne Troops with a mobile chapel to accompany them on drills and combat missions.

    In the American military, troops usually attend prayer services in an open field.

    ReplyDelete

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