At the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in the spring of 2014, the Ukrainian writer Serhij Zhadan noted a strange incident. He observed priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church accompanying Ukrainian troops. It was strange to see these priests now, but, as he noted, after all there was no war before - although it remained a little bit unclear to him what meaning this could have. This is not an isolated perception. On the one hand the fact that clerical oPicials from many religions and denominations marched with troops into the violent conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries is a wellknown phenomenon. On the other hand, what is rather unknown is the comprehensive function of this 'spiritual support' for combatants, which transcends religions and denominations. The contribution analyzes this function on the basis of individual testimonies and attempts to place it in the context of religious and societal change.