Russia proposes to grant combat veteran status to clergy

Chief military chaplain of the Russian Orthodox Church, Fr. Vasilenkov. Photo: gazeta.ru

A bill has been introduced in the Russian State Duma proposing to grant combat veteran status to clergy who have “fulfilled their spiritual duty” in the war in Ukraine for at least four months. The bill was published on the State Duma website on April 7, 2025.

The proposal has received support from the Ministry of Defense and Patriarch Kirill. The position of other religious denominations in Russia was not disclosed.

According to the explanatory note accompanying the draft law, clergy “have a significant religious and moral impact on those participating in hostilities” and “inspire heroic acts in the name of the Fatherland.”

The new legislation would entitle ROC clerics to benefits such as monthly payments, free treatment in military hospitals, and preferential admission for their children to higher education institutions.

As previously reported by the UOJ, Patriarch Kirill earlier called on Russians to receive baptism to make Russia invincible.

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