ROC plans on a fivefold increase in the number of “combat priests” at the front
![ROC plans on a fivefold increase in the number of “combat priests” at the front - 1 ROC plans on a fivefold increase in the number of “combat priests” at the front - фото 1](/uploads/770x433_DIR/media_news/2025/01/679a2221980cc282498270.jpg)
This was reported by Bukvy.
In particular, Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk noted that to train such priests, the Russian Orthodox Church has created a master's program with a military block in Rostov and plans to expand this program. At the same time, Archpriest Sviatoslav Churkanov emphasized the “catastrophic” shortage of clergy in the combat zone and called on clergy to voluntarily join this mission.
Archpriest Dimitri Vasilenkov, deputy head of the Russian Orthodox Church's Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces, called the work of frontline priests the “main condition for victory” in the war against Ukraine. He assured that a believing soldier knows he is “fighting for the truth.” Moreover, the ROC representative said that it is “Ukrainians who are forcing Russian soldiers and officers to commit war crimes.”
The ROC also proposed to restore catechesis in the army and introduce religious studies courses in military educational institutions. Representatives of the church say that “a believing soldier knows what he is fighting for and does not allow himself to lose his humanity.”