Russia’s Flying “Church in a Box” Adorned with Icons of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ

By Stephen Ryan

Last month Russian jet fighters made international news after  “barrel rolling ” an American destroyer and menacing a United States reconnaissance plane flying near the Russian border.

Alongside an aggressive display of military fire power, Russia has also been rolling out a new weapon to combat what Russia and Putin think is a “Godless” West.

Russian military has implemented an innovative way to provide prayer services in the battlefield according to the Russian media Russia Today.  Russian military claims it has built the world’s only flying chapel.

Parachuting Russian Orthodox priests along with “flying chapels” have joined the Russian Airborne Force.

The modular Orthodox church looks like a standard-issue army cabin except for the cladding of gilded icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary  and the distinctive onion dome spire on the rooftop. Russia Today.

The chapel is flown in as a kit,  then assembled on the ground. Inside the chapel can be found crucifixes, bells and icons, as well as a mini theatre.

The “flying” chapel  has extensions which can form the cross-shaped plan of an Orthodox church.

According to reports the initiative has not gone without controversy where debate rages over the cost of rising military spending and proper separations of Church and State.