The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church called for legislatively consolidating the presence of the clergy in the army and returning deferments from military service for clergy

Participants in the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church called for the presence of priests in the army to be legislated.

"It was considered necessary to put on a regular basis pastoral service in the army and in the law enforcement system and to fix this in legislation and state administrative practice," the Council's ruling says.

In addition, the Council spoke out against the abolition of deferrals from the army for clergy, since the call of the clergy for military service "contradicts the canonical norms of the Church and therefore conflicts with the principle of state respect for the internal institutions of religious associations."

"At the same time, it was considered possible for Orthodox pastors to fulfill their general civil military duty through their service as military priests," the document says.

Sources

• The Council of Bishops calls to fix the presence of clergy in the army by law and to return to them deferrals from military service // Interfax-religion. 2008. June 27.
• Determination of the Consecrated Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 24-29, 2008 "On the issues of the internal life and external activity of the Russian Orthodox Church" // Press service of the Bishops' Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church. 2008. June 27.