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The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer corps that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. As of 2004, there are 154 serving chaplains (commonly known as "padres") in the British Army; these belong to either one of several Christian churches, or to the Jewish faith. Uniquely within the British Army, the Royal Army Chaplains' Department has two cap badges for its Christian and Jewish officers. Army chaplains, although they are all members of the army and wear the uniform, do not carry arms (and are the only officers not to carry swords on parade). Unusually, their full dress uniform is black instead of blue, and their insignia is purple. The RAChD is headed by the Chaplain-General, who ranks as a Major General.Representative Christian Churches in the RAChD
1 Ranks
Chaplains are the only British Army officers who do not carry standard officer ranks. They are officially designated Chaplain to the Forces (CF), and will be designated as, for instance, The Reverend John Smith, CF. They do however have grades which equate to the standard ranks and wear the insignia of the equivalent rank.
- Chaplain-General = Major General
- Deputy Chaplain-General = Brigadier
- Chaplain to the Forces 1st Class = Colonel
- Chaplain to the Forces 2nd Class = Lieutenant Colonel
- Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class = MajorFor non-military meanings, see major (disambiguation). In the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the British Army, a major is a commissioned officer superior to a captain and inferior to a lieutenant colonel. The equivalent rank in the US Navy is Lieute
- Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class = CaptainCaptain is both a nautical term and a military rank. The word came to English via French from the Latin capitaneus ("chief") which is itself derived from the Latin word for "head" caput . The term has different meanings both at sea and in the military.
1 See also
- Religion in the United KingdomSt Paul's Cathedral The United Kingdom is traditionally a Christian country, with two of the Home nations having official faiths: Anglicanism, in the form of the Church of England, is the Established Church in England. The Queen is Supreme Governor of the
British administrative corps
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