§ 129. Military Clergy

Military clergy, as a separate institution, arose in more recent times. Previously the parish clergy performed the pastoral service for soldiers as well. Today, military clergy are organized in every state by particular legislative ordinances.

For the Austro-Hungarian monarchy there are in force today the regulations issued on the basis of the imperial decision of 14 April 1892: “Organische Bestimmungen für die Militär-Seelsorge” (Organic Regulations for Military Pastoral Care). By that ordinance there exist, for the whole monarchy in time of peace, 9 Orthodox military chaplains, distributed among the respective military territorial districts. Among these priests one is the military protopresbyter. All these Orthodox priests for the army form a separate corps (konkretalno stanje), and are divided into two classes as regards the pay they receive. They are proposed for service with the army by the respective eparchial bishops, from whom the same priests receive the spiritual jurisdiction for the performance of pastoral service. Under that jurisdiction, each of these priests independently keeps the registers of births, marriages, and deaths, and independently issues the respective written documents needed by the military persons in question, regardless of whether in the same place there also exists another military chaplain of another confession. The keeping of the said registers, as well as of all other official business, is regulated on the basis of the imperial decision of 20 June 1887.

In those places where there is a military garrison and there are Orthodox soldiers, but there is no military chaplain there, pastoral service for those soldiers is entrusted, under Art. 2 of the above-mentioned ordinance, to the local parish priest or parish administrator.

In Serbia, under Art. 94 of the law on the organization of the army of 14 July 1898, there exist for the whole army a military protopresbyter and [military] priests. The military protopresbyter is a civil official, and is appointed by royal decree upon the proposal of the Minister of War. For the performance of pastoral service to soldiers in places where there is no military chaplain, local priests are designated.

In Russia there likewise exists a military clergy with independent jurisdiction. The latest organization of this clergy was issued in 1858. The “Chief Priest” (Glavnyi svyashchennik) directs the clergy, and designates the respective priests for service to soldiers with the consent of the competent eparchial bishop. The Chief Priest is answerable to the Holy Synod; while the immediate oversight of the military priests is exercised by the respective “blagochinnye”, the district overseers.