Author: Mykolas Deikus

Chaplains and spiritual assistants work in companies and institutions. Seriously? Absolutely. In Western countries. In Lithuania, this is still ‘exotica’.

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Tyson Foods, Delta Air Lines, NASCAR, Toyota factories in the USA – they all share a common feature. Chaplains, who are constantly among employees. Why?

Research shows that chaplains – both clergy and lay – help reduce occupational stress, lessen employee turnover, and boost morale. What do chaplains and spiritual assistants do in Lithuania? The latest study helps answer this question.

Concerned about employees? Hire a chaplain

‘An employee was in severe mourning and depression after the death of her husband. We arranged meetings for six months, I recommended a psychologist, but she came back and said it was better here, although she was not a deep believer. After half a year, a doctor stopped antidepressants. It’s been three years now, without any problems. After that, she apparently shared her experience with her colleagues, and more people from her department started coming,’ a spiritual assistant working at a hospital, who often also provides psychological help, was telling about her work.

Chaplaincy traditions vary around the world. In some countries, representatives of different denominations work together, including even atheists. (It sounds paradoxical, but lay people are also often called chaplains.) In other countries, chaplains are required to provide assistance to representatives of different denominations.

In Lithuania, for example, in healthcare institutions, a Catholic should provide spiritual and emotional assistance to Catholics; and an Orthodox, to Orthodox believers. Since there is a shortage of chaplains from other denominations, Catholic chaplains and spiritual assistants also help representatives of other religions.

Abundant research shows that chaplains are not only advisors on religious matters for employees but also a symbolic expression of management’s concern. They respond not only to spiritual but also to psychological and social needs. Chaplains help those who have experienced psychological violence, where mobbing distinguishes itself as the most extreme form.

Chaplains’ preparedness to respond to psychological violence was the topic investigated in a survey of chaplains (priests) and spiritual assistants (laypeople), employing the informed grounded theory method.

Employee representative or administration tool?

Unlike spiritual assistants, only priests are called chaplains in Lithuania. They hear confessions, celebrate Mass. And that’s not all.

For example, according to the procedure established by the Ministry of Health, chaplains are not limited to providing religious and spiritual assistance. They also act as mediators between employees and administration. In other words, they are employee representatives.

But how does this work in practice?

The priest’s status carries a certain symbolic ‘weight’. It comes in handy when ‘weight’ needs to be given to administrative decisions. After the Labour Code introduced a requirement to establish commissions for investigating complaints about psychological violence, some institutions shifted their focus to chaplains. Why?

Even chaplains themselves do not have clear answers.

One believes that the chaplain is suitable because he is ‘neither a doctor nor a pastor’, another considers that ‘there are things similar to confession’. In other words, because they are priests. Not because of the knowledge and ability to resolve conflicts, of which lay spiritual assistants have more.

To the battle – without ammunition

Vytautas Magnus University is the only university in the Baltic states, training clinical pastoral care specialists. That is, spiritual assistants. Since the main focus is on patients, knowledge is ‘gleaned’ in minor studies.

‘When I was studying pastoral theology, I also took up a minor in psychology. I have also completed family studies, which is very useful because I have to apply family therapy principals,’ tells one spiritual assistant.

Chaplains make no secret of the fact that no one teaches them the basics of employee pastoral care.

‘There are many situations where special knowledge is needed, but we don’t get it at the seminary. There is no special training for chaplains: you graduate from the seminary and become a jack of all trades, starting with construction…,’ one of the interlocutors ironically said. And when knowledge is lacking, as one of the chaplains admitted, the only thing left is to advise people to call the ‘helpline’.

There is also another way out. Since neither the seminary nor employers are too concerned about improving qualifications, you have to dig into your wallet.

‘There are no special programs for spiritual and psychological well-being. I pay for special courses that include body healing, psychotherapy, conversations, and special tasks. They take place once a year and cost about five hundred euros,’ the chaplain with many years of work experience opened up. And added that since he is not a pastor (does not have a parish), he lives only on a modest salary and can’t ‘spend much on education’.

Separate islands

‘What I miss most is the systematic approach to chaplaincy, both from the state and the Church,’ regretted another interviewee. In his words, in Lithuania, the chaplain’s work is only ‘minimally regulated’.

Metaphorically speaking, some chaplains feel as if they were between heaven and earth. ‘There is an appointment decree, but job descriptions contain only abstract concepts. For example, the chaplain can walk without the priest’s attributes, people don’t even know who he is. Employees have questions about whether he is a priest,’ the chaplain was naming the problems.

Although some chaplains are employed in the commissions responsible for employee welfare, they avoid showing initiative themselves. For example, after a tragedy occurred in one institution, the chaplain went to talk to shocked employees only when invited by management.

‘I can go to managers with proposals, but this will be my opinion. What can I propose if we don’t reach agreement at the church level? We don’t have a common opinion – we, chaplains, are like separate islands,’ another interviewee regretted.

Thus, in the West, private and state organizations have long realized that chaplains in the workplace are not a decoration that creates an image. In Lithuania, chaplains are left between heaven and earth; and employees, without an important source of assistance.

Mykolas Deikus
Junior Researcher
Faculty of Catholic Theology
Vytautas Magnus University

Funding was provided by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), contract No. S-MIP-23-34.

To cite:
Deikus, M. (2026). Between Heaven and Earth without a Cassock, or Invisible Helpline. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/between-heaven-and-earth-without-a-cassock-or-invisible-helpline/

Prepared based on the following study: Vveinhardt, J., Deikus, M., Carey, L. B. (2026). A Model of Chaplaincy Assistance for Victims of Workplace Bullying: A Qualitative Study Exploring New Resources to Support a Healthy and Safe Work Environment in Lithuania (in Review).