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Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch

Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch
RAF Chaplains Branch Crest.png
RAF Chaplains Branch badge
Active1 April 1918 – Present
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
RoleChaplaincy
Motto(s)Ministrare Non Ministrari
(Latin for To serve, not to be served)[1]
Commanders
Chaplain-in-ChiefAir Vice-Marshal John Ellis
Insignia
BadgeRoyal Air Force Chaplain Collar Insignia enlarged

The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides military chaplains for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.

Mission[]

The Mission of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch is to serve the RAF Community through: Prayer, Presence and Proclamation.[2] The motto of the branch Ministrare Non Ministrari translates as ..To serve, not to be served and is derived from Mark chapter 10: verse 45.[3]

History[]

The Reverend Harry Viener was invested as the first Chaplain-in-Chief on 11 October 1918[4] with the Chaplaincy branch officially established in December 1918.[5] Reverend Viener had been a Naval Chaplain and was 'lent' to the Air Force by the Admiralty.[6] A Chaplaincy school was established at Magdalene College, Cambridge University in November 1943 with the motto of 'Truth'.[7] The Chaplaincy School was moved to Dowdeswell Court in Gloucestershire in February 1945. Thereafter it moved to Amport House in Hampshire in December 1961.[8] In September 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that Amport House would be put up for sale as part of a programme of defence estate rationalisation. A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, indicated that the Armed Forces Chaplaincy would close by 2020, which it subsequently did, to be relocated to Shrivenham, near Swindon.

Training[]

RAF chaplains and candidates receive training at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, which was located at Amport House until 2020.[9]

Endorsing authorities[]

To serve in the Chaplains Branch, chaplains and candidates must be endorsed by a religious body.[10] RAF commissioned chaplains are accepted from the various Christian denominations. The British military forces are also served by "tri-service chaplains" from other world faiths, including Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh.[11] The RAF also has an honorary Jewish chaplain, Rabbi Malcolm Weisman, who holds the position of Senior Jewish Chaplain to HM Forces.[12][13] In 2018, the first Sikh and Muslim military chaplains to join the British armed forces passed out from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell to join the RAF Chaplain's Branch.[14]

Noncombatant status[]

See: Military chaplain § Non-combatant status

Chaplain-in-Chief[]

See also: International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference

The RAF Chaplains Branch is led by a Chaplain-in-Chief.[15] Harry Viener was the first Chaplain-in-Chief. When the Chaplain-in-Chief is an Anglican, he or she is also the Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force – otherwise, the most senior Anglican chaplain takes that title along with that of Principal Anglican Chaplain.

World faith chaplains[]

The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch has 5 world faith chaplains as of October 2021:[36]

Central church[]

The central church of the Chaplains Branch is St Clement Danes Church in the City of Westminster, London.[38][39]

Gallery[]

See also[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Mark 10–45
  2. ^ See: About Us: Welcome webpage. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  3. ^ "The Royal Air Force, Chaplains Branch, 90th anniversary service" (PDF). Royal Air Force. Ministry of Defence. 27 November 2008. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  4. ^ Pitchfork 2008, p. 318.
  5. ^ Pitchfork 2008, p. 373.
  6. ^ Pitchfork 2008, p. 163.
  7. ^ Pine, L G (1983). A dictionary of mottoes. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 237. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  8. ^ Johnson, Bruce R (2012). Sehnsucht: The C S Lewis journal 2011-2012. Wipf & Stock. pp. 97–98. ISBN 9781620323861.
  9. ^ Who we are: Amport House. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  10. ^ Endorsing Authorities. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  11. ^ World Faiths. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  12. ^ [1]. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  13. ^ [2]. Military Chaplaincy: Christian and Jewish Perspectives. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  14. ^ "First military Sikh Chaplain and Muslim Padre graduate from officer training". Royal Air Force. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  15. ^ a b c About Us: Welcome webpage. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  16. ^ "No. 31112". The London Gazette. 1919. p. 370 7 January.
  17. ^ "No. 33215". The London Gazette. 1926. p. 6824 26 October.
  18. ^ "No. 33671". The London Gazette. 1930. p. 8158 19 December.
  19. ^ a b "No. 34004". The London Gazette. 1933. p. 8052 12 December.
  20. ^ a b "No. 34831". The London Gazette. 1940. p. 2248 16 April.
  21. ^ "No. 38573". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1949. p. 1590 29 March.
  22. ^ "No. 39843". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1953. p. 2493 5 May.
  23. ^ "No. 41664". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1959. p. 1981 24 March.
  24. ^ "No. 43599". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1965. p. 2629 16 March.
  25. ^ "No. 44661". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1968. p. 9354 27 August.
  26. ^ "No. 45873". The London Gazette (Supplement). 197. p. 375 9 January.
  27. ^ "No. 48294". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1980. p. 12378 2 September.
  28. ^ "No. 51393". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1988. p. 7429 27 June.
  29. ^ "No. 52615". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1991. p. 11601 30 July.
  30. ^ "No. 54140". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1995. p. 11767 29 August.
  31. ^ "No. 56340". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2001. p. 11210 25 September.
  32. ^ a b Who's Who 2012 – PENTLAND, Raymond Jackson
  33. ^ a b RAF Chaplains – Ven Ray Pentland (Retrieved 7 June 2012)
  34. ^ "Chaplain-in-Chief (Designate)". RAF Chaplains. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  35. ^ "RAF Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  36. ^ "RAF Chaplains". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  37. ^ "Flight Lieutenant Mandeep Kaur Becomes First Sikh Padre To Join Royal Air Force Chaplain's Branch". Sikh Channel. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  38. ^ St Clement Danes Church. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  39. ^ Welcome to St Clement Danes Archived 13 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. RAF St Clement Danes official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010.

Bibliography[]

External links[]