For the last eight years, I have been blessed to serve as a Chaplain with and for Mission M25 Ministries. While M25 has many outreach efforts, my focus as a Chaplain is mainly on Veterans and, more specifically, serving veteran motorcycle groups.
Chaplains (except church chaplains) have a unique role; while most belong to or are endorsed by a specific religious denomination, we serve a non-denominational group of individuals and must be prepared to meet everyone’s spiritual needs.
Chaplains have been around since the fourth century. Here in America, one of the first things the Continental Congress did was appoint Chaplains.
The men who wrote the First Amendment religion clause did not view paid legislative chaplains and opening prayers as a violation of that amendment… the practice of opening sessions with prayer has continued without interruption ever since that early session of Congress. It can hardly be thought that in the same week the members of the first Congress voted to appoint and pay a chaplain for each House and also voted to approve the draft of the First Amendment… (that) they intended to forbid what they had just declared acceptable.
Warren E. Burger
Let vice and immorality of every kind be discouraged as much as possible in your brigade; and, as a chaplain is allowed to each regiment, see that the men regularly attend during worship. Gaming of every kind is expressly forbidden, as being the foundation of evil, and the cause of many a brave and gallant officer’s and soldier’s ruin.
George Washington, AZ Quotes
The men who wrote the First Amendment religion clause did not view paid legislative chaplains and opening prayers as a violation of that amendment… the practice of opening sessions with prayer has continued without interruption ever since that early session of Congress. It can hardly be thought that in the same week the members of the first Congress voted to appoint and pay a chaplain for each House and also voted to approve the draft of the First Amendment… (that) they intended to forbid what they had just declared acceptable.
Warren E. Burger, AZ Quotes
The Constitution does not require complete separation of church and state; it affirmatively mandates accommodation, not merely tolerance, of all religions, and forbids hostility toward any.
Warren E. Burger
Most people do not realize that there was a paid chaplain in Congress even before the Revolutionary War ended.
Francis Schaeffer
Chaplaincy; noun; chap·lain·cy ˈcha-plən-sē, plural-es: the office, position, or station of a chaplain
“Chaplaincy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaplaincy. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.
Chaplain; noun; chap·lain ˈcha-plən; Synonyms of chaplain; Simple Definition. A Simple Definition is available from our Learner’s Dictionary to help you understand the meaning faster.
- : a clergyperson in charge of a chapel
- : a clergyperson officially attached to a branch of the military, to an institution, or to a family or court
- : a person chosen to conduct religious exercises (as at a meeting of a club or society)
- : a clergyperson appointed to assist a bishop (as at a liturgical function)
“Chaplain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaplain. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.
Chaplain
Britannica Editors, History
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chaplain, originally a priest or minister who had charge of a chapel, now an ordained member of the clergy who is assigned to a special ministry. The title dates to the early centuries of the Christian church.
In the 4th century, chaplains (Latin cappellani) were so called because they kept St. Martin’s famous half cape (cappella, diminutive of cappa). This sacred relic gave its name to the tent and later to the simple oratory or chapel where it was preserved. To it were added other relics that were guarded by chaplains appointed by the king during the Merovingian and Carolingian periods, and particularly during the reign of Charlemagne, who appointed clerical ministers (capellani) who lived within the royal palace. In addition to their primary duty of guarding the sacred relics, they also said mass for the king on feast days, worked in conjunction with the royal notaries, and wrote any documents the king required of them. In their duties chaplains thus gradually became more identified with direct service to the monarch as advisers in both ecclesiastical and secular matters.
The practice of kings appointing their own chaplains spread throughout western Christendom. Many of the royal chaplains were appointed to bishoprics and the highest offices in the church; and down to the present day the British monarchs have appointed their own royal chaplains. British monarchs still appoint the members of the Royal College of Chaplains, whose duties now involve little more than preaching occasionally in the chapel royal.
This is the organization that I belong to that certifies me and endorses me as a Senior Chaplain. I thought it would be helpful to see a few of their documents
What is a Chaplain? Definition, Duties, and Impact of Chaplains
What’s the Big Deal about the Chaplains?
Can Evangelical Chaplains Serve God and Country?—The Crisis Arrives
US Army gives chaplains 90 days to remove rank insignia
The Chaplain Corps is as Old as the Revolutionary War — And it’s Under Attack
Discover more from Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach
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