Royal Naval Chaplaincy Service
| His Majesty's Naval Service of the British Armed Forces |
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| History and future |
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| Auxiliary services |
The Royal Naval Chaplaincy Service provides chaplains to the Royal Navy. The chaplains are commissioned by the Sovereign but do not hold military rank other than that of "Chaplain Royal Navy".
| Royal Naval Chaplaincy Service | |
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Badge of the Royal Naval Chaplaincy Service | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Role | Chaplaincy |
| Garrison/HQ | HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Hampshire |
| Commanders | |
| Chaplain of the Fleet | Andrew Hillier |
| Insignia | |
| Royal Navy church pennant | |
| Shoulder insignia | |
The senior chaplain in the Royal Navy is the Chaplain of the Fleet, the current post holder being Andrew Hillier, an Anglican priest, who is also the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy.
Chaplains do not hold a standard military rank, and are usually addressed as Padre, Reverend, or, more informally, Bish.
The majority of Chaplains are recruited from a number of Christian denominations, however to better reflect the changing demographics of the United Kingdom and HM forces, as already established in the NHS, HM Prisons and UK Universities, the Ministry of Defence announced in November 2023 it would begin recruiting Non-Religious Pastoral Support Officers in 2024.