On the Military Chaplaincy Service

Article 1. Definition of Terms

1. In this Law, the terms below are used with the following meanings:
1) **military chaplaincy activity** — activity carried out by military chaplains for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of the constitutional right of service members, employees, and members of their families to freedom of conscience and religion by meeting their spiritual and religious needs;
2) **military chaplain** — a person who, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, has received a mandate granting the right to carry out military chaplaincy activity, has concluded a contract for military service in officer positions (exclusively in positions of the Military Chaplaincy Service), and carries out military chaplaincy activity in units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on the grounds and in accordance with the procedure provided for by this Law;
3) **spiritual centers** — structures, premises, and similar facilities belonging to military property and located on the territory of military units (institutions, establishments, organizations), intended for meeting the spiritual and religious needs of service members, employees, and members of their families, and designated by written orders of the commanders (chiefs) of military units (institutions, establishments, organizations);
4) **spiritual and religious needs** — needs recognized by a person for ideal inner motives of activity, personal development, and social interaction, manifested in religious views, conceptions, feelings, practices, and ritual observances;
5) **pastoral care** — a field of military chaplaincy activity aimed at providing religious, ethical, moral, and spiritual support and at fostering personal resilience and the proper spiritual condition of personnel;
6) **meeting spiritual and religious needs** — a system of measures aimed at ensuring the exercise of the constitutional right of service members and employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, and of members of their families, to freedom of conscience and religion through the provision of pastoral care, religious educational work, social and charitable activity, and the advising of the command on religious matters;
7) **quota of denominational representation of military chaplains** — the ratio of the number of military chaplains of a particular denomination to the total number of military chaplains in the relevant service;
8) **advising the military command on religious matters** — a field of military chaplaincy activity involving the provision to the command of professional information on the influence of spiritual and religious factors on the performance of assigned tasks, as well as proposals and consultations concerning the organization of measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of personnel, and the informing of the command about the religious environment within the unit, the religious situation at the permanent station, and in the area of performance of assigned missions;
9) **mandate granting the right to carry out military chaplaincy activity** — a document of the state-approved form, produced by the central executive authority implementing state policy in the sphere of interethnic relations, religion, and the protection of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine, which grants a clergy member the right to carry out military chaplaincy activity in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine;
10) **religious educational work** — a field of military chaplaincy activity aimed at familiarizing service members with the fundamentals of a religious worldview, with the ethical principles of military service and of the civic duty to defend the state, as well as at cultivating in personnel a spirit of patriotism, brotherhood, and mutual respect;
11) **Military Chaplaincy Service** — a separate structure within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, consisting of the governing bodies of the Military Chaplaincy Service and military chaplains, and established for the purpose of organizing measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of service members, employees, and members of their families in peacetime and wartime;
12) **social and charitable activity** — a field of military chaplaincy activity aimed at attending to the social needs of service members and establishing partnership relations with representatives of religious, charitable (volunteer), and civil society organizations for the purpose of providing comprehensive support and ensuring an attentive attitude toward service members, employees, and members of their families;
13) **authorized representative of a religious organization** — a clergy member designated by the governing center (administration) of a religious organization who cooperates with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in the sphere of organizing measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of service members, employees, and members of their families.
**Article 2. Legal Basis for the Activity of the Military Chaplaincy Service**
1. The legal basis for the activity of the Military Chaplaincy Service consists of the Constitution of Ukraine, this Law, the Laws of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations," "On Military Duty and Military Service," "On the Social and Legal Protection of Service Members and Members of Their Families," other laws of Ukraine, the regulatory legal acts of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, and other state authorities adopted pursuant thereto, and the international treaties of Ukraine consented to as binding by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
**Article 3. Scope of Application of This Law**
1. This Law applies to:
1) the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
2) the National Guard of Ukraine;
3) other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine;
4) the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Article 4. The Military Chaplaincy Service

1. The Military Chaplaincy Service is intended to organize measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of service members and employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, and of members of their families.
2. The Military Chaplaincy Service is established as a separate structure within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the type of which depends on the scope, nature, and complexity of the measures to meet spiritual and religious needs in their military command body, formation, military unit, military educational institution, establishment, or organization (hereinafter — the military unit). In a military unit at the level of a separate battalion, the functions of the Military Chaplaincy Service may be performed by a single military chaplain.
3. The respective military chaplaincy services are directly subordinated to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, the heads of other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
4. The maximum authorized strength of the Military Chaplaincy Service for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine may not be less than 0.15 percent of the maximum authorized strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, respectively.
Article 5. Basic Principles of the Activity of the Military Chaplaincy Service1. The activity of the Military Chaplaincy Service in organizing measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of service members, employees, and members of their families is carried out on the basis of the following principles:
1) observance of the constitutional right of service members and employees to freedom of conscience and religion;
2) equality of adherents of all faiths serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in the meeting of their religious needs;
3) equality of military chaplains regardless of their affiliation with a religious organization;
4) a tolerant attitude on the part of military chaplains toward representatives of other religious organizations;
5) the impermissibility of imposing religious or other beliefs;
6) voluntary participation of service members, employees, and members of their families in worship services and religious rites;
7) equality of military chaplains of different denominations with regard to the use of spiritual centers;
8) the priority of combat (specialized) training in the planning and conduct of measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of service members.
Article 6. Interdenominational Councils on Military Chaplaincy1. Interdenominational councils on military chaplaincy are interdenominational consultative and advisory bodies established and operating under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine for the purpose of ensuring interdenominational concord and mutual understanding in the sphere of organizing measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of service members, employees, and members of their families. Interdenominational councils on military chaplaincy may also be established under the central executive authorities to which other military formations are subordinated.
2. The Interdenominational Council on Military Chaplaincy under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine includes authorized representatives of those religious organizations whose clergy members hold positions as military chaplains in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
3. The Interdenominational Council on Military Chaplaincy under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine includes authorized representatives of those religious organizations whose clergy members hold positions as military chaplains in the National Guard of Ukraine and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
4. In their activity, the Interdenominational Council on Military Chaplaincy under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Interdenominational Council on Military Chaplaincy under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine are governed by the respective regulations approved by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, respectively.

Article 7. Requirements for a Military Chaplain

1. A military chaplain may be a citizen of Ukraine who is a clergy member of a religious organization registered in Ukraine and who has received from the governing center (administration) of the respective religious organization a mandate granting the right to carry out military chaplaincy activity.
2. A mandatory requirement for holding the position of military chaplain is the possession of higher theological education.
3. A person who belongs to a religious organization that has been recognized as forming part of (being a part of) a religious organization whose governing center (administration) is located in a state recognized as having committed armed aggression against Ukraine and/or temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine may not be a military chaplain.
{Article 7 supplemented with paragraph three in accordance with Law No. 3621-IX of 21.03.2024}
Article 8. Training of Military Chaplains1. Military chaplains of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine undergo training under a special military chaplain training program at, respectively, higher military educational institutions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, and at military training units of higher education institutions.
{Paragraph one of Article 8 as amended in accordance with Law No. 2845-IX of 13.12.2022}
Article 9. Quotas of Denominational Representation of Military Chaplains and the Mandate Granting the Right to Carry Out Military Chaplaincy Activity1. For the purpose of properly organizing the meeting of the spiritual and religious needs of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, quotas of denominational representation of military chaplains in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine are determined.
2. For the filling of 90 percent of the established positions of military chaplains in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the distribution of quotas of denominational representation of military chaplains is carried out taking into account the denominational affiliation of the personnel of, respectively, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, in accordance with the procedure established by the respective central executive authority to which they are subordinated. Based on the results of such distribution, a request is submitted to the central executive authority implementing state policy in the sphere of interethnic relations, religion, and the protection of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine for the determination of the number of candidates for positions of military chaplains from the respective religious organization.
3. The central executive authority implementing state policy in the sphere of interethnic relations, religion, and the protection of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine submits a request to the governing centers (administrations) of the respective religious organizations for the nomination of candidates to undergo the relevant training and to carry out military chaplaincy activity.
4. For the filling of 10 percent of the established positions of military chaplains in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the distribution of quotas of denominational representation of military chaplains is carried out by the head of the Military Chaplaincy Service of, respectively, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
5. In accordance with the quota of denominational representation of military chaplains received, religious organizations shall prepare the required number of clergy members and issue to them a mandate granting the right to carry out military chaplaincy activity. Upon receipt of a mandate granting the right to carry out military chaplaincy activity from the governing center (administration) of the respective religious organization, a clergy member is accepted into military service in accordance with the procedure provided for by the respective regulations on the service of military chaplains.
6. The regulations on the procedure for issuing a mandate granting the right to carry out military chaplaincy activity are approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Article 10. Confidentiality of Information of a Personal Nature1. Information about a person that becomes known to a military chaplain in the course of carrying out military chaplaincy activity is confidential.
2. A military chaplain has the right not to answer questions concerning facts and circumstances that became known to him during confession.