Translated material
Discussions regarding the introduction of the institution of military clergy are ongoing in scientific circles
On March 14, 2011, at a seminar at the Carnegie Moscow Center, report of the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Religion and Law" lawyer Anatoly Pchelintsev "The Russian Orthodox Church and the army: the experience of history and modern interaction problems.
According to the author of the report, the regulatory framework for the introduction of the institution of military clergy in Russia is not ready, although the process of introducing this institution has already begun.
The imperfection of the legislative framework is the main obstacle to ensuring freedom of conscience in the armed forces - for example, the current Federal Law "On the Status of Military Personnel", prescribing to those who wish military personnel to participate in worship services only as private individuals, although religious communities are being created de facto in military units.
A. Pchelintsev noted that, despite the fact that no one can accurately record the religious affiliation of servicemen does not lead, it is necessary to respect the rights of believers of various jurisdictions - Old Believers, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and not just Orthodox believers. IN otherwise, there will be no cases of beatings of servicemen “not of our faith” more.
The discussion was attended by Irina Glushkova, Mark Smirnov, Abbot Peter (Meshcherinov), Sergey Mozgovoy, Sergey Buryanov, Roman Lunkin, Sergey Filatov, Mikhail Shakhov and other experts.
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