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.
Read also
Hollywood Catholic actors remind of the spiritual meaning of Great Lent
Mark Wahlberg i Jonathan Roumie recorded a video message calling for prayer at the beginning of Great Lent.
MP Huz discusses seizure of UOC monastery in Myltsi with Volyn RMA head
Huz demanded that the authorities "resolve the situation" with the St. Nicholas Monastery of the Volodymyr-Volynsky Eparchy of the UOC.
Lviv authorities to allocate UAH 300,000 for UGCC church damaged by shelling
The Lviv City Council will finance the restoration of stained glass windows of the Uniate church after damage sustained as a result of a missile strike.
Yelets Icon of Mother of God venerated in ancient monastery of Chernihiv
Metropolitan Clement celebrated the Liturgy at the Yelets Monastery of Chernihiv on the day of veneration of the monastery's main shrine.
In Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, OCU supporters convert seized church into warehouse
In the Cherkasy region, Dumenko's supporters set up a clothing warehouse in the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which previously belonged to the UOC.
Ukraine should allow same-sex marriages for EU accession, European Commission
Brussels has stated that it expects Kyiv to adopt a law on legal recognition of homosexual unions.