Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch

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

Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch
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

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]

  • Flt Lt. Mandeep Kaur (Sikh)[37]
  • Mr Krishan Attri (Hindu)
  • Imam Ali Omar (Muslim)
  • Dr Sunil Kariyakarawana (Buddhist)
  • Rabbi Reuben Livingstone CF (Jewish)

Central church

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

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. . RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  13. . 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. 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. "No. 34004". The London Gazette. 1933. p. 8052 12 December.
  20. "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. Who's Who 2012 – PENTLAND, Raymond Jackson
  33. 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
  • Pitchfork, Graham (Air Cdre (Ret'd)). The Royal Air Force Day by Day. Stroud, UK: History Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7509-4309-3.
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