KYIV – The Council on Pastoral Care of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine made another considerable step toward establishing military chaplaincy in Ukraine. On March 3, 2010, representatives of confessions gathered in the Kyiv Officers’ House for a special session to develop a document for the religious community, the draft Conception of Pastoral Care of the Military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reports the Institute of Religious Freedom. 

The discussion was led by Archbishop Avhustyn (Markevych), the head of the Synodal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate in cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations of Ukraine.

In the beginning of the session, the referent of the Department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on matters of pastoral care in power structures of Ukraine, the council’s secretary, Fr. Lubomyr Yavorskyi, presented proposals and remarks received by the council from the churches and religious organizations.

From the moment of the last session of the council, a considerable number of significant alterations have been proposed for the document. As the result of the four hour process of consideration and discussion of these proposals, a joint draft of the Conception of Pastoral Care of the Military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was developed.

The improvement of the document will be continued at the next session of the council in April-May.

The Future Conception will include guidelines as to the practical introduction military chaplaincy in Ukraine and define main principles of providing spiritual care for believers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.