www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization shortage of Orthodox chaplains ?

I just received an email from someone I know in the Army. I was told that there are only three (3) Orthodox chaplains in the entire U.S. Air Force. That is shocking !

Is this true? How can more be learned? I don't even know where to start asking questions
. . . . . . Does SCOBA have a co-ordinated office for U.S. military chaplains ?

-- John

A quick look on the OCA website showed this department:

Department of Institutional Chaplaincies

I will check that; thank you, Etnick !

-- John

Dear John:

So, what have found?

Amado

Hi Amado,

I have been too busy with work and getting ready for Christmas to lookm into it much. I spoke with my pastor, and he recommended looking at the OCA website; but I haven't had time to do even that yet. Hopefully soon.

-- John

Thanks!

Although the number of chaplains for a religious group in the armed services is dependent on the faithful to be served, the "shortage" could be attributable also to the willingness and availability of such chaplains to be inducted into the various services. They become "employed" by the U.S. federal government.

To date, I think there are about 109 faiths with chaplaincies in the U.S. Armed Forces worldwide: from Anabaptists and other Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims, Jews, Bahais, Buddhists, and so on.

On the part of the chaplains for Christians, the only distinguishing mark is a cross on their lapels. One can only determine their Christian representation when the chaplains celebrate their corresponding religious services. Thus, one wouldn't know whether a chaplain is a Catholic or an Orthodox priest, or an Episcopalian or other Protestant pastor at first glance.

In the U.S., the Catholic Church has a separate Archdiocese to serve the Catholics in the various military services. The Most Rev. Timothy Paul Broglio is the newly appointed Archbishop for the U.S. Military Archdiocese (replacing Archbishop Edwin O'Brien who was appointed by the Pope as the Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland), assisted by 2 auxiliary bishops and about 300 Catholic chaplains, serving around 1.5 million soldiers, veterans, and their respective families.

Amado

Some priests who work with the military are not officially inducted into the service, others are older and do not wish to impose the requirements of physical and military training on themselves - I know for a fact that more than 3 Orthodox chaplains work with any of the branches of the military, but perhaps the majority do so by celebrating the Eucharist and holding other services without joining the ranks.

I've met only one Orthodox chaplain in uniform, an Antiochian from Wisconsin I believe, who served at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan not long after September 11th. God bless that guy.

Ed

If such is the case, then those Orthodox priests are not "chaplains" according to the rules of the U.S. Military Chaplaincy.

You're right Amadeus, they are not chaplains, but priests who work with the military.. but they are called 'chaplains' and given the same courtesy for all practical purposes.

Yes...I'd say there is a shortage. I've been in for six years and have only come across one Orthodox Priest in the military. However, I spent last Nov-Apr deployed in the Middle East and only about 4-5 Airman attended Liturgy on base.

Worth considering is how many Orthodox serve in the military. What is the size of the US Orthodox population?

From a history of the US Army Chaplains Corps:


His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah is Military Ordinary of the GOAA.

A Report [oca.org] presented at the OCA's 14th All-America Council (2005) detailed, by Church, the number of EO chaplains then serving US military forces.

At this site [orthodoxpeopletogether.org] select "all jurisdictions" and "military chaplains" for what purports to be a comprehensive directory of Orthodox chaplains. I don't know how current it is.

Many years,

Neil