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
DESS expert tells US State Department reps about religious freedom in Ukraine
Andriy Smirnov held a meeting with staff of the US State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom.
Eight people killed in drone strike on monastery in Ethiopia
Two nuns and six priests were killed in the strike on the monastery; several more people were seriously injured.
Church commemorates St. Seraphim of Sarov
The venerable saint began his path of asceticism after a pilgrimage to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and prayer before the Caves saints.
DESS responds to statements by UOC lawyers
Yelensky’s agency claimed that the UOC’s lawyers are “discrediting” Ukraine’s leadership and spreading “disinformation.”
Lawyers collect statements from faithful to defend Kyiv Metropolia in court
UOC lawyers have prepared a procedure enabling clergy and laypeople to take part in the court proceedings over the DESS lawsuit.
UOC faithful make pilgrimage to Georgia’s holy sites
The pilgrims visited churches and monasteries in Tbilisi, Mtskheta, Kutaisi, and at the foot of Mount Kazbek.