The 4th All-Russia training assembly of military clergy continues its work

The 4th All-Russia training assembly of military clergy has continued its work at the Baltic Navy Institute in Kaliningrad.

The assembly is attended by clergy from 55 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and representatives of traditional religious communities in Russia.

On June 28, 2006, the clergy, servicemen, public figures and journalists put out to sea aboard Kaliningrad landing ship to pay homage to the Baltic marines who were killed in action during the Great Patriotic War.

Bishop Seraphim of the Baltics said a prayer for the rest of their souls abeam Taran Cape, where the Baltic battleship crews always commemorate those who were killed. A wreath with an image of Christ was put afloat in memory of the marines who gave their lives for the Motherland. After the ceremony, the clergy went back to the main navy base in Baltijsk to visit army units and other ships for meetings and talks with the personnel.

Lieutenant-General V. Buslovksy, deputy chief of the Armed Forces directorate for educational work, said that the cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Army continued for over 10 years, and it was difficult to overestimate the importance of such training assemblies as ‘they help coordinate the interaction of the military clergy and the Armed Forces commanders and to develop new forms of cooperation’.

He stressed the role played by the presence of a priest in an army unit, saying that ‘it helps to overcome hazing and to prevent incidents of suicide among the personnel in many cases’.

According to Deacon Andrey Kurayev, professor at Moscow Theological Academy, the presence of the military clergy is all the more important as our army is in the field, fighting in armed conflicts, and it is only the priest who can make soldiers who risk their lives to understand correctly what they were doing it for, to instill in them certain super-values, which should be present in the soul of every person, determining his life line, faith and worldview.

Later that day, the assembly participants visited the Navy Museum in Baltijsk and saw the sights of the city.