CinC praises military chaplains on their professional holiday

Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi issued a greeting address to congratulate Ukraine’s military chaplains on their professional holiday.

That’s according to the press service of the General Staff, Ukrinform reports.

“Dear spiritual mentors of defenders of Ukraine, I sincerely congratulate you on Military Chaplain Day! Currently, it is impossible to imagine Ukraine’s Defense Forces without chaplains. You are an integral part of our fight for freedom and independence. At a time when our soldiers are fighting heroically on the battlefield, you have become soldiers of the spiritual front, personifying faith and hope,” Syrskyi wrote.

The CinC noted that military chaplaincy offers soldiers spiritual support, “inspiring in their soles hope and love, faith in God, and faith in our joint victory”.

“Ukraine demonstrates to the whole world a unique experience of interfaith peace and cooperation,” Syrskyi stressed.

He praised chaplains’ work on the frontlines, in the rear, at hospitals where wounded soldiers undergo treatment, as well their contribution to work with veterans and soldiers' families.

“I call on spiritual fathers of all denominations to join the Defense Forces of Ukraine,” Syrskyi concluded his address.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukraine’s Parliament passed the law on military chaplaincy on November 30, 2021. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed off the law on December 17, 2021, before it entered into force on March 19, 2022. The military chaplaincy service is formed as a separate structure within the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and other legal military formations, as well as the State Border Guard Service.

In September 2024, a group of Ukrainian military chaplains, at the invitation of their British counterparts and as part of Operation INTERFLEX, completed a two-week leadership and operational-level instructors training course at the Defense Academy of the United Kingdom.