The Russian Orthodox Church has started offering military training to youth as young as 12 at the Elisabeth Church in Opalikha, according to reports which reveal that this training is conducted by veterans of the Ukraine war.
According to the Kyiv Post, the Moscow Times reported on an earlier announcement posted on the website and Telegram channel of the Krasnogorsk city administration in the Moscow region promoting these military survival courses. The courses are free and open to anyone age 12 and older. The training is held every weekend in the forested area near the Elisabeth Church in Opalikha.
The courses aim to establish a team well-versed in weapons handling, military affairs and tactical medicine. The training is conducted by experienced instructors, including those who served in the Northern Military District zone, which refers to the war in Ukraine, according to the Kyiv Post.
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The ROKOT “Shoulder to Shoulder” organization sponsors the courses. Alexey Naumov, the regional head of ROKOT, was quoted as saying, “Future defenders of the Fatherland will master in practice not only military affairs, but also the history of the Moscow region, our Motherland. Now more than ever, it is important to unite our efforts and study well the glorious traditions of our fathers and grandfathers.”
Promotional material for these courses use enthusiastic language, particularly in sections describing the training on small arms and light weapons. The curriculum includes safety precautions, weapons disassembly and assembly, proper firing stances, forest maneuvers, attack, retreat, defense, map reading, landmine operations and casualty evacuation.
A significant portion of the training is dedicated to medical instruction.
Archbishop Thomas of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate, has given his blessing to the program. Priests are involved to impart lessons on patriotism and the history of Russia, reinforcing the moral and cultural dimensions of the training.
This initiative is not the first of its kind from the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Ukraine’s Security Service previously reported on the creation of private military companies by the church, such as St. Andrew’s Cross, which recruits parishioners for combat roles at institutions like the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the MPROC decreed that priests must pray for victory over Ukraine daily, with defiance resulting in defrocking. Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly defended the invasion, urging daily prayers for President Putin and telling Russian military personnel that their sacrifice “washes away all sins,” according to the Kyiv Post.
In contrast, at a synod of bishops last week, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine officially condemned the “Russky mir” (Russian world) doctrine as heretical.
In addition to these courses, the Russian Orthodox Church has published a handbook, titled “To Live is to Serve the Motherland,” which instructs children on their patriotic duty to fight with the country’s armed forces, Church Times reported earlier.
Advertised on the Moscow Patriarchate’s website, the handbook includes Russian proverbs, biblical passages and statements from Orthodox Church fathers, calling for courage, endurance and heroism.
On the Ukrainian front, Metropolitan Epiphany (Dumenko), the Primate of the Ukrainian independent Orthodox Church, highlighted the importance of mercy, charity and mutual assistance as powerful weapons against the enemy, the Times noted.
Since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have incorporated ideological and military-themed lessons into school curricula.
The militarization of Russian children’s education has been compared to extreme measures taken during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, where youth were indoctrinated and even turned against their own families.
Brian Kean, a freelance writer on Medium, noted in April that Russian children were being taught military skills and indoctrinated with a level of fervor that could have serious long-term implications.
Kean noted that the Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense course is now approved for students as young as fifth grade and mandatory from eighth grade onward.
The course covers the tactical and technical characteristics of various weapons, including the Dragunov sniper rifle, RPG-7 handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, Kalashnikov assault rifle and hand grenades. It also includes drill training, general military regulations, and the importance of military discipline and unified command.