Chaplains Ministries

The Etymology of the Word Chaplain

By Dr. Hugh H. Morgan, Director of Chaplains Ministries

The word Etymology is not one most of us use everyday. It is difficult to pronounce; but, it is a word I choose to use for this special edition of Evangelism USA to spotlight our chaplains. I have just completed doing the research and writing for the script for a promotional video for Chaplains Ministries which Dr. Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr. asked me to do. While doing this project, I rang across a lovely story that illustrates the meaning of the word etymology -- which is the derivation of a word or an account of the history of a word.

The story is told about St. Martin of Tours, a compassionate fourth century soldier, who encountered a shivering beggar on a cold winter night. Having no money in his purse, this soldier took off his cloak and slashed it with his sword to give half of it to the beggar. Later that night he saw a vision in which Jesus Christ was wearing the half-cloak. As a result of this experience he became a Christian and was baptized. Ultimately he left the army to devote his life to the church. In time he became the patron saint of the French kings of the Middle Ages. St. Martin's cloak (cappella) was carried into battle by the kings as a banner signifying "the presence of God." But since the cappella was a sacred relic of the church, a priest went along as custodian. This keeper of the cloak, or cappellanus, also tended the king's religious needs, and from his office was derived that of "chaplain." The depository for the cloak became the "chapel," the place of worship.

This story is more than a quaint bit of etymology explaining the origin of the terms "chaplain" and "chapel." It gives us a clue to the essential nature of the chaplaincy, as we know it today. The cappellanus (chaplain) was a member of one institution -- a priest of the church serving in another institution -- the king's army. Definitions of the chaplaincy seldom take sufficient account of this institutional duality. Chaplains are unique in the military as the only group of officers whose primary identification is with a nonmilitary institution. But they are also unique in the church, as the only large group of clergy who are commissioned officers in a military institution. It has been well said, "A chaplain has one foot in heaven and the other in a combat boot."

The military chaplain today provides armed service members with spiritual guidance and pastoral and moral support. When our chaplains take the oath of office as an officer in the military, they vow to support and defend the Constitution of the United States which includes the First Amendment which forbids the establishment of religion, but protects every citizen's right to the free exercise of religion.

Our chaplains are advisors to their commanders in all areas of moral, ethical and spiritual matters. They have opportunity to meet and mix with and influence many military personnel and their dependents that might never come to chapel or church. What's more, they have the privilege of working together freely with chaplains of various other denominations without compromise in meeting the spiritual needs of the individuals in the command or unit where they are assigned. They serve the entire military society, not just those of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. And when they preach they preach for decisions for Christ. They are not restricted in proclaiming the whole counsel of God from their pulpits whether in a chapel, in the field, or aboard a ship.

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