Captain of the 2nd Rank Fr Aleksandr Bondarenko, Assistant to the Commander for Work amongst Believers in the Black Sea Fleet (Captain of the 2nd Rank is the same as a Commander in the USN/RN, it’s equivalent to a lieutenant colonel in the army… Russian sleeve rank bars differ slightly from their Western equivalents… that’s a note for all you ex-squids out there… Fr Aleksandr isn’t equivalent to a USN/RN Captain, despite being a four-striper).
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The first full-time military chaplain in modern Russian history is Archpriest Aleksandr Bondarenko. In May 2010, he became an Assistant to the Commander for Work amongst Believers of the Black Sea Fleet, to pastor to believers amongst the personnel. Fr Aleksandr spoke on some of the specifics of his work to our TsV correspondent.
Artyom Pogosov
Fr Aleksandr, you’re the first priest assigned as a full-time Assistant to the Commander {this is the same title as “education officers”, the former zampoliti: editor} for Work amongst Believers in the forces. However, as far as I know, you’ve served believers in the Black Sea Fleet for quite some time, now.
Captain of the Second Rank Fr Aleksandr Bondarenko
Indeed, since 2000 (when I was ordained to the clergy), and over the last ten years, I had a blessing from Metropolitan Lazar Shvets of Simferopol and the Crimea to combine pastoral ministry and service in the forces as a staff officer at Black Sea Fleet headquarters. However, after the decree of the Minister of Defence approving my nomination as an Assistant to the Commander for Work amongst Believers in the forces, I retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain of the 2nd Rank with 25 years seniority, and on 4 May last year, I took up my new responsibilities.
Artyom Pogosov
Sevastopol, where you live and serve, is in a foreign country. What are some of the specific details of a military priest’s life under these circumstances?
Fr Aleksandr
Sevastopol is a city with bases of both the Russian and Ukrainian navies. Priests from the Diocese of Simferopol and the Crimea work amongst believers in the forces of both states. Naturally, this has its little quirks. For example, in the Ukrainian Navy, all official events are in the Ukrainian language. Therefore, Ukrainian units have to have priests with knowledge of that language. In general, Sevastopol is a military town. Many who live here are soldiers (Russian or Ukrainian), their families, retired military personnel, or civilian employees of the military. These categories account for more than half the population of the city. A military priest has to deal with short-service conscripts, career military officers, members of military families, and veterans. Besides all this, you also have to minister to MVD troops, Cossacks, etc. Therefore, out of the forty clergy in the deanery of the Sevastopol Okrug, Metropolitan Lazar has assigned thirty of them to work with military units, on top of their parochial duties. Our Dean, Archpriest Sergei Khalyuta, has a close relationship with the command of the two fleets; in consequence, he carefully oversees the work of the priests assigned to pastor military units.
Artyom Pogosov
What’s your vision of the duties of an Assistant to the Commander for Work amongst Believers in the forces? What would you, based on your personal experience, give as advice to those who are just beginning such work?
Fr Aleksandr
Anyone with the post of Assistant to the Commander for Work amongst Believers must possess tools such as good organisational skills and control. He must plan the work in detail for the year, broken into monthly increments, and get approval for this from the commander involved. It’s also necessary to make plans for cooperation with the local diocese and have the ruling bishop approve it. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Each event should have its specific plan. It must specify the theme, its time, where it shall occur, who will be in charge of the affair, what facilities and things you need to carry it out, etc. This may seem unnecessary, but without prior planning, many meetings and activities may be disrupted or cancelled for various reasons. Thus, when you approach a given unit, you only need to call and arrange the event; you see, a responsible officer has already done all the hard work. As soon as you prove that you can do all the necessary scutwork, the other officers will gladly let you run the whole show. I’ve already had experience along this line. Besides planning, you have to organise events, let’s say a welcoming ceremony for a new priest coming in to work amongst a unit. Another thing is that you have to work up instructions for commanders so that things run smoothly. It’s also necessary to organise regular meetings with the ruling bishop and the dean with command personnel, and to arrange the participation of the local bishop in military-sponsored affairs. Of course, this activity takes a lot of time and effort, so I’d recommend that the MoD look amongst retired staff officers to fill the slot of Assistant to the Commander for Work amongst Believers. In addition, we must study the routine and time allotted for services, which isn’t the main part of a priest’s workday. Much of our work does happen on Sunday (after Liturgy), Monday (social-political training) and Wednesday or Friday (informational lectures). Another busy time would be in the evening after dinner.
Artyom Pogosov
In your opinion, has the introduction of full-time positions for clergy in the forces improved the moral situation?
Fr Aleksandr
Of course, the planned assignment of 240 priests to staff positions in the forces won’t suffice for the full care of the troops. For example, to take only the Black Sea Fleet, we have only two such slots, when we really need 16 to 18 in such positions. Judge for yourself, this Fleet has bases in three countries, Russia (Caucasus coast), the Ukraine (four bases), and Abkhazia. Its ships regularly take part in the combat training, fleet exercises, cruises, etc. In general, the Black Sea Fleet has more than 20 major units and formations. It requires at least a week just to gain a sketchy knowledge of what’s necessary to carry out one’s duties. Therefore, the responsibility for the appointment of priests to such a slot requires very close cooperation with the ruling bishops and Deans of the areas where troops are deployed. The Dean, with the blessing of the local bishop, coordinates the work of local parochial clergy with the military units stationed in his area, he organises catechetical work and Sunday schools, and appoints priests to direct this work. However, the most important thing is that I pray for the flock entrusted to me by the Church, and that I personally engage believers in the military.
1 April 2011
Церковный вестник (Tserkovny Vestnik : Church Herald)
