At a meeting of the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 16, 2026, the book "Return. Spiritual and practical aspects of the participants of the SVO and their loved ones". The author of the publication is Deacon Igor Kulikov, Director of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission.
The publication is a practical guide for pastors and is intended to help parish priests in caring for participants in a special military operation returning to civilian life or being in hospitals, as well as their loved ones. The book will be useful to sisters of mercy, parish social workers, Orthodox psychologists, and anyone who interacts with combat veterans.
In his speech at the Supreme Church Council, Deacon Igor Kulikov said that the text that was being prepared for publication had been sent to several hundred priests: "We have received more than a hundred detailed reviews, suggestions and comments.: what remains unclear is what is missing in the text, which issues need to be worked out more deeply. After analyzing all the feedback, we significantly revised the original text, corrected and supplemented it with new materials. The result is a book of nine small chapters on each of the main topics that every representative of the Church needs to know."
During the meeting, it was noted that supporting veterans of the SVR and their families is a church—wide task that concerns every parish priest, not just individual specialists in dioceses.
"I would like us all to realize the priority of working with those who have gone through terrible trials during the war and need our pastoral care today," His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia emphasized. "The church can become a place for returning soldiers where they are accepted without any teaching, their pain is heard and they help in communion with God to comprehend their experiences and heal their wounds."
The manual consists of nine sections: 1) Man and war. The impact of combat conditions on a person; 2) Return to a peaceful life. Adaptation to the new reality; 3) The peculiarities of the spiritual care of the participants of the SVO who returned from the front; 4) The acquisition of a new meaning of peaceful life. Practical ways to provide support to veterans; 5) Assistance to the families of the participants in the war; 6) Pastoral support at all stages of grieving; 7) A priest in the hospital. Assistance to the wounded; 8) Social and financial assistance; 9) Collaboration with specialized structures. Useful contacts.
The appendix to the manual contains church canons and the practice of receiving communion from soldiers who participated in hostilities, provides instructions on pastoral conversation with neo-pagans, as well as examples of some methods of group work.
"This book is a practical guide that has no analogues in spiritual assistance to the participants of the SVO and their family members. It has a logical, clear and consistent structure, is full of examples, recommendations and useful contacts. At the same time, it is written in a lively, simple language that is understandable even to an unprepared reader, and immerses him in the realities of the lives of combat veterans and their families," Yulia Belekhova, head of the Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland, commented in her review of the book.
You can receive the electronic version of the manual by sending an email request: return@diaconia.ru . The printed versions will be distributed centrally through the dioceses.