The Church and moral and patriotic education of military personnel

"Without God-not up to the threshold" - a popular expression that existed in Russian society in the XIX century. The country and its army highly respected religion and basically adhered to the Orthodox faith. With the name of God, the troops were given orders, the Suvorov cry was very popular: "God is our general, he leads us!" Before the battle, the priest blessed the soldiers for courage and loyalty to the Fatherland. With faith in God, a Russian soldier died on the battlefield, fighting for the Motherland.

Today, Russian society and the army are making serious progress in the religious and moral direction. In search of spiritual support, society is increasingly looking at the moral values of the Orthodox Church. All this also applies to the Russian army.

What place did the church occupy in the moral and patriotic education of military personnel in the XIX century? Based on documents, including archival ones, and numerous publications from the past, we will try to analyze this.

Religion in the XIX century was the spiritual core of officers and soldiers of the Russian army. The Triad: "God, Tsar, Fatherland" was the basis of religious and moral education of personnel. The political and military leadership of the country at that time clearly understood that the weakening of faith in God inevitably leads to a loss of spirituality, which can shake the authority of the authorities, the sanctity of the oath, so the importance of religion for a serviceman was constantly paid attention in the codes of military regulations and other documents guiding the army. Take, for example, the "Religious duties of military ranks". It regulated the procedure for performing religious rites by both Orthodox military personnel and representatives of other religious denominations. The constant performance of majestic religious rites raised the spirits of the soldiers, and the prayers performed by them tripled the strength of the soldiers.

Throughout the country, the Holy Synod operated-the central body for managing religious affairs, headed by the chief prosecutor, appointed by the emperor, usually from secular persons.

Each regiment had a regimental church or church, headed by a priest who regularly served, often on the front line of battle, and, as history shows, set an example of perseverance and ability to inspire soldiers and sailors in critical moments of battle. More than a hundred military priests were awarded gold pectoral crosses on the St. George ribbon for their exploits.

During the fighting, the church stepped up its activities. So, during the First World War, marching churches operated on the fronts. A special committee was set up for their construction. During the battle, pastors were with the wounded, comforted them, confessed, and gave communion to the dying. They were guided by a memo specifically written for behavior in a combat situation: "Those who have been wounded can especially attest to the protection from above, they will always say that with faith in God, death is not terrible, and the torment seems somehow easier."

page 63

Religion

Number (pers.)

in %

Orthodox people

71182

88,6

Schismatics and Old Believers

136

less than 0.2

Catholics

5005

5,8

Lutheran

2500

2,9

A Mohammedan

1871

2,3

The Jews

395

0,4

The Pagans

9

less than 0.1

The ship's priests were as zealous as the regimental priests. Before the battle or going to sea, a prayer service was served with kneeling, walking around the decks, sprinkling them and the entire crew with holy water.

It is also important to note another fact: military priests have taken on such a high duty as social protection of military personnel.

A special page in the history of relations between the army and the Church was the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Being a sick and elderly man, Metropolitan Sergius (the 12th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia) on the day of the beginning of the fascist aggression addressed the faithful with a statement that the church is "faithful to its Homeland." Pastors gave encouraging sermons in which they criticized the anti-human and anti-human ideology of fascism. Priests collected donations for weapons and military equipment, took care of the families of Red Army soldiers, patronized hospitals and orphanages.

With the money raised by the Russian Orthodox Church, entire aviation squadrons were formed. The church's bank account for this purpose amounted to 150 million rubles.

They say that during the preparation of the Germans for the storming of Moscow, priests bypassed our defense line with holy icons. The fascists did not advance further than this line.

Today, the Russian Orthodox Church opposes the forces that are trying to introduce national discord and separatism into state construction, and defends the inviolability of the sanctity of military duty.

Let's go back to the 19th century. The Russian military was not uniform in religion at that time. For example, among the recruits of 1862 (see table), about 90 % of the soldiers-recruits professed Orthodoxy. As for the confessional affiliation of the highest officers of the Russian army, for example, in 1912 it was such. In total, there were 1,386 generals in the ranks, including: Orthodox-1,183 people, or 85.4 %; 144 people, or 10.3 % - Lutherans; 48 people, or 3.6 % - Catholics; Mohammedans, Armenian-Gregorians-11 people, or 0.7 %.

The military leadership paid special attention to the moral and religious education of the lower ranks. It monitored the administration of religious rites, checked the level of knowledge about God, the Law of God. And it was alarmed (at the beginning of the XX century) by the fact that in a number of military units religious education was neglected. Many clergymen were "more concerned with their own peace of mind than with the entire congregation." "Was it ever seen that a regimental priest talked to recruits?" company commanders complained.

Urgent measures had to be taken. The commander of the military unit was allowed to appoint daytime hours for conversations with the priest, to include them in the schedule of classes. In addition, the priest was given the opportunity to conduct interviews and readings in the evenings.

The commanders were also instructed to have intelligent, gentle and humane priests attached to the regiments. They are the first moral teachers of soldiers and sailors, supporting them in their physical and mental suffering. They inspired the soldiers with cheerfulness, trust in the protection of God before the battle.

The church was also involved in solving problems of national importance. In 1874, Russia switched to a new system of recruiting troops - universal military service. The new normative act placed all layers of society in equal responsibility for fulfilling the sacred duty to the Fatherland - its protection, and met with misunderstanding and even resistance from some parts of society. The church came to the rescue. Clergymen urged young people to join the army. Church minister Ivan Stefanovsky addressed the students: "Young people called up to serve their military service! Do not be discouraged or discouraged at the thought of entering military service, but, on the contrary, be encouraged and strengthened by the thought that entering military service will be a turning point in your life for the better, and you will have an opportunity to achieve the right to universal respect and honor. Do not weaken your faith in God and his holy Church. In Russia, for God - prayer, and for the tsar-the service will not be lost."

As can be seen, maintaining faith in God in the minds of all military personnel, carrying out constant and active work on religious and moral education by the Russian military leadership in the second half of the XIX-beginning of the XX century were considered as tasks of national importance. It was believed that faith in God is the core on which the morale of the army rests.

Lieutenant Colonel Sergey CHINENNYI, Candidate of Historical Sciences

page 64

Permanent link to this publication: