Eduardo Henrique de Medeiros (photo) considers himself a Spiritist from birth, even though he began looking for further information on the Teachings after he became a teenager. He was born in the Brazilian city of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte state, and lives in Pirassununga, in the state of São Paulo.

He is a Non-commissioned Officer in the Brazilian Air Force, specialised in the maintenance of aircraft. He is currently in charge of the Public Relations office of the Air Force Academy, based in the city of Pirassununga.

He has a degree in Geography and works as a volunteer Spiritist speaker at several Spiritist speakers in the area where he lives. He is also a volunteer worker at the Mestre Jesus Spiritist Centre in the city of Santa Rita do Passa Quatro as well as delegate of the Crusade of Spiritist Military Men and Women (known by the Portuguese acronyms CME) at the Air Force Academy.

Please explain to our readers what the Crusade Crusade of Spiritist Military Men and Women is.

The CME is a legally constituted civilian society aimed at acting specifically in the Armed Forces and Auxiliary Forces, gathering the military men and women who practice Spiritism, according to the codification of Allan Kardec, and live in Brazil. Its statute says it was born “from the wish of a group of military men to public express their beliefs and to live, without dispersion, in evangelical communion”. It is affiliated to the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB). From November 6^th 1987 it has a permanent seat in FEB’s National Federative Council.

When and by whom was it founded?

The CME was founded on December 10^th 1944 and had as its president General of Division Fructuoso Mendes, a member of the Brazilian Army.

Which activities does the Crusade carry out within the Spiritist Movement?

Units spread across the country carry out a number of activities, from talks explaining what Spiritism is to charity and community actions, including the distribution of food to those in need. They also hold mediunimic meetings, offer healing, and run courses on Spiritism for children, teenagers and adults.

What is your plan of action for the future?

We intend to boost interaction with new members through the media. At a first moment, our plan is to open access to interactive material through the CME’s website (www.cme.org.br). I work directly on that project as the person in charge of Information Technology.

Tell us about the First Meeting of Spiritist Military Men and Women at the Air Force Academy.

I am working with the local media do publicise the event. We rebranded it as the First Meeting, even though there were five similar meetings in previous years. We will have a Second Meeting in 2018, on September 1^stand 2.

Fall the Spiritist activities you carried out in the military, what strikes you the most?

Hierarchy and discipline is the base of militarism. And in the Spirit World it is not different. It is very satisfactory, therefor, to combine our military activities with our Spiritist activities. We, Spiritist military men and women, often say that we are “Soldiers of Christ: the Peacemakers”. The meaning of being a Spiritist military man or woman is summarised in the introduction of the CME’s statute: “The Crusade of Military Men and Women is a fraternal activity. It does not split people, nor does it spread hatred or personal controversies. Nothing is imposed on anyone and there are no dogmas. We will preach for those who wish to hear and we will show to those who have the eyes to see. The Crusade’s moral aspect manifests itself in the freedom to believe and in the respect to all other beliefs and religions. We do not compete for human accolades or distinctions. We believe in the love of God and will spread the evangelical truths.”

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