US Armed Forces and Related Agencies
Served by Military and VA Chaplains

What is a Military or VA Chaplain?

In the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a chaplain is a priest who provides the Holy Mysteries to Orthodox Christians and who additionally provides pastoral ministry to people in all walks of life. Some priests serve full-time as chaplains in the armed forces, whereas other parish priests have assumed additional responsibilities as chaplains at Veterans Administration hospitals, with local police forces, at prisons, and in hospitals. One of the most significant features of chaplaincy activity is ministry to individuals other than Orthodox Christians, and the witness of our Orthodox faith among all Americans.
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In general, a “chaplain” is by formal definition typically a priest, pastor, ordained deacon, or other member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church, or who are unable to attend church for various reasons such as health, confinement, or military or civil duties.

In recent years non-ordained individuals have received professional training in chaplaincy and may be employed as chaplains in schools, hospitals, universities, prisons, and elsewhere to work alongside, or instead, of ordained chaplains.

Orthodox lay persons employed as professional hospital chaplains, or in similar capacities, are not under the ecclesiastical supervision of the Archdiocese and are therefore not considered herein.

Armed Forces Chaplains

Armed Forces chaplains are highly-qualified priests who:

• Integrate the roles of clergy and commissioned officer
• Care for Orthodox Christians while providing for the free exercise of religion by all personnel
• Understand the realities of military life.

Veterans Administration Chaplains

Veterans Administration chaplains are priests serving within VA facilities who are aware of the spiritual and moral dimensions which often arise from the anxieties, problems and fears which accompany illness and disabilities. These chaplains are also sensitive to the variety of religious and cultural backgrounds of the VA patients to whom ministry is provided.

Becoming a Military or VA Chaplain

Priests desiring to serve as chaplains in the Army, Navy, or Air Force must first obtain the blessing of their hierarch to do so. Following this, they must contact the respective service chaplain recruiter, and be qualified for a comission as an officer. Opportunities also exist for seminarians to become “chaplain candidates.”
more information on applying to become a military or VA chaplain...

Orthodox Liturgy
in a Military Chapel

Military Issue
Orthodox Chaplain Field Kit

Fr. Alexander Webster, Chaplain (Col), US Army (right)
and Father Robert Holet, Pastor saint Nicholas Parish, Charlottesville, VA
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