Organizacja i funkcjonowanie duszpasterstwa wyznania prawosławnego w Wojsku Polskim na Zachodzie w latach 1941-1943

Abstract

In 1940, the British side granted formal consent for the establishment of the Polish Armed Forces on its territory. At the operational level, they were to be subordinated to the command of the British Army. Among the Polish troops stationed in the British Isles at the time were soldiers of the Orthodox faith. They represented an ethnic mosaic. The followers of the Orthodox Church serving in the army and navy included Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Ruthenians and Russians. In the beginning providing Orthodox soldiers with permanent pastoral care posed a problem mainly due to the lack of a chaplain of that denomination. This continued until the beginning of 1941. At that time, the head of the Orthodox military ministry was established for the branches of the Polish Army in Great Britain. The intention of the text was to present the process of creating a pastoral ministry, the activities undertaken by the clergy and the difficulties that they had to overcome in their service.