Military chaplaincy in Poland has a rich tradition, shaped by many different circumstances and political conditions. With the development of the army, various regulations were created over the centuries intended to normalize the functioning of religious ministry in the military and adapt it to meet the needs of the developing armed forces. The article presents the work of both secular and church authorities aimed at regulating the status of military chaplains by granting privileges and rights, as well as clearly defining the duties of chaplains in the military, from the time of the First Partition to the 1921 Treaty of Riga.