When chaplain Mikhail Vasilyev’s parachute malfunctioned during a low-level training jump in central Russia in 2007, it wasn’t a miracle of God but his military training that saved his life.
The jet blast had tangled the parachute lines only 1,300 feet above the ground, so he pulled the canvas to partially open it, and turned just in time to hit the deck with both feet out.
“I prayed and then landed,” said Father Mikhail, head of the church at the airborne forces headquarters in Moscow. “It was a lot of force… If your legs aren’t even, you can break them.”
He suffered a spinal fracture but survived.
While Father Mikhail gained his experience over two decades accompanying Russian troops to war…
