The idea of ​​​​introducing the institution of regimental priests was perceived by the Council of Muftis of Russia as the idea of ​​​​missionary work in the Muslim environment

The Council of Muftis of Russia believes that the possible introduction of the institution of the military clergy will lead to missionary work of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Muslim environment. This conclusion was made after a press conference on the bill prepared by the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office on the introduction of regimental priests in the army.

"The Council of Muftis of Russia considers it inappropriate to introduce the institution of military priests in the modern Russian Army. The issue requires additional analysis, since at the moment it is more rational to use existing opportunities without duplicating them," the RMC website . says

"The institute of military priests means introducing them into the army staff. The Russian army has always been multinational. What confessions will military priests be represented? It is important to know the demographic situation here, since the proportion of Muslim recruits is already greater today than the proportion of Muslims in the total population. There is a known forecast, that in the future this ratio will change even more," it notes further.

“In order to realize freedom of conscience, in our opinion, it is important to strengthen the work of freelance clergy, prescribe regulations, rights and obligations, and determine the form of contractual relations.

The initiative in the issue of attracting clergy should come from the command and respect the interests of all military personnel," the text says.

The head of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, reacted to the RMC statement. He stated that he was "very saddened" by the position of the muftis. "In essence, this statement causes religious discord. Such a statement is insulting for me personally, my religious and national feelings are offended by this. I have always treated Muslims well, Tatar blood flows in me. And these words set me up for something else," he said. Father Demetrius.

In fact, the Church, according to the priest, is ready to cooperate with Muslims. O. Dimitry called on the muftis to work more actively with their believers in the army. "I don't know of a single case of a mufti working on a regular basis in the army among Muslims," ​​he said.

The chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Umar-Khazrat Idrisov, also spoke about the prospect of introducing the institution of chaplains. In his opinion, the readiness of the state to take this step indicates that "the state today is focused on one confession. It is being assisted in the construction of churches, preparing textbooks for teaching the basics of Orthodox culture in schools, training chaplains, holding Orthodox holidays at the state level - in all areas of life, up to payment for housing and communal services. And the rest of the confessions are in oblivion and rejection. At the same time, the mufti admits that "today the Muslim denomination is not ready to ensure the representation of its clergy in the army." “We don’t have specially trained people for this. As Orthodox, we don’t have our own theological faculties. Moreover, many of our students, on the contrary, strive to enter religious educational institutions so as not to join this army. And a representative of the clergy in the army, Naturally, only those who have already served in the army can become lovers of this army,” U. Idrisov said.

negatively about the idea of ​​introducing the institution of military priests. spoke Damir Mukhetdinov, the head of the staff of the DUMNO, also

Sources

• Press conference in the editorial office of the newspaper IZVESTIA // Muslim.ru. 2006. February 14.
• Orthodox priest urged Russian Muslims to work more actively among their believers in the army instead of accusations of missionary work // Interfax-religion. 2006. February 15.
• Umar-Khazrat Idrisov announced the position of the DUMNO regarding the introduction of the institution of chaplains // Islam in Nizhny Novgorod. 2006. February 21.
• DUM of the Nizhny Novgorod region against the introduction of military clergy // Islam-info. 2006. March 29.