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Russia Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moldovan Orthodox bishop blocked from religious trip again
Chisinau is conducting a systematic crackdown on the Moldovan Orthodox Church, a senior cleric claimed on Friday after being detained and prevented from traveling abroad. Bishop Marchel previously made headlines in April when he was barred from boarding a flight to Jerusalem for the Orthodox Easter 'Holy Fire' ceremony – a move by the nation's pro-Western government that drew international criticism. The Orthodox bishop said he was stopped at Chisinau International Airport and subjected to a search, causing him to miss his flight ahead of a planned pilgrimage to a religious site in Türkiye. Speaking to Sputnik Moldova, Bishop Marchel described the search as 'humiliating' and said that he had repeatedly requested the presence of his lawyer, whom he had hired in advance in anticipation of possible trouble. However, border police proceeded without his legal representation, the cleric said, and he was only released after his flight had already departed. Bishop Marchel said the incident was part of a broader campaign by the country's government targeting the Moldovan Orthodox Church. 'I classify this as mass persecution, mass oppression of the Moldovan Orthodox clergy. Hundreds of clergymen and simple believers who made pilgrimages to holy places in Russia have been fined,' he said in a comment to RT. 'This is simply because we are an integral part of Russian Orthodoxy,' the cleric said. In April, Chisinau's apparent move to prevent Bishop Marchel's pilgrimage to Jerusalem drew international criticism and condemnation by Moldova's political opposition, as well as by the Russian Orthodox Church. The UN Human Rights council has opened an inquiry into the incident. In recent years, Moldova has seen religious tensions involving two major Orthodox factions: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia. The latter is under the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is being backed by the pro-EU authorities in Chisinau. Critics have repeatedly accused President Maia Sandu's government of pressuring the Moscow-linked church to shift allegiance to Romania. Moldova, a former Soviet republic, has sought EU and NATO membership since 2020, when Sandu – an outspoken critic of Russia – came to power. Her pro-Western policies have faced growing criticism domestically, particularly over the country's economic trajectory and handling of dissent. Sandu has defended her actions as part of a broader effort to counter alleged pro-Russian influence, launching crackdowns on opposition parties and media outlets that she describes as criminal entities.
Russia Today
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU ignores ‘shocking' treatment of Moldovan church
Brussels is turning a blind eye to the treatment of the Moldovan Orthodox Church by the pro-EU government in Chisinau, Marina Tauber, a senior opposition MP, has told RT. Her comments came after Moldova's border police blocked Marchel, the Bishop of Balti and Falesti, from departing the country to attend Easter celebrations in Jerusalem. Marchel was due to participate in the Holy Fire ritual at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally held around midday on Holy Saturday. Police stopped him at Chisinau Airport on Thursday under the pretext of a routine search and withheld his passport until after the plane had departed. According to the cleric, airport police singled him out again on Friday, causing him to miss a second flight. Ilona Railean, a Border Police spokeswoman, said the bishop had arrived late and was subjected to 'standard processing procedures.' Marchel accused the authorities of lying. Tauber, the executive secretary of the opposition coalition Pobeda – Victorie, told RT on Friday that she was 'shocked' by the bishop's treatment. 'It's an outrageous situation,' she said, arguing that the authorities had failed to properly explain their actions.'We have never thought that something like this could happen to a clergyman on such sacred days.' Moldova, a former Soviet republic, is home to two branches of the Orthodox Church: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, a self-governing arm of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, aligned with the Romanian Orthodox Church. Tauber accused Moldova's pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, of repressing the Moscow-affiliated church. 'What is Maia Sandu doing? She is trying to put pressure on our church and our religion,' she said. 'It is very surprising that the European Union is not reacting to what their representatives in Moldova are doing,' she added. 'Brussels is remaining silent.' 'We definitely need to think about what to do [next], because this has happened – and tomorrow, they [may] dictate which temple to go to, which faith is right, and which faith is wrong,' she said. Moldova's former president, Igor Dodon, described the treatment of Marchel as 'an act of terror against our Orthodox faith,' claiming it was an 'act of revenge' against the bishop, a vocal critic of Sandu.
Russia Today
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moldovan govt accused of ‘spiritual terror' after bishop's Easter trip blocked
Moldova's largest opposition party has accused the country's government of 'an unprecedented act of spiritual terror,' after a senior Moldovan Orthodox Church bishop was prevented from traveling to Jerusalem for an Easter ritual. Bishop Marchel was set to attend the Holy Fire ceremony, a major religious event ahead of Orthodox Easter on April 20. Orthodox Christians believe the flame miraculously appears each year on Holy Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, marking the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Pilgrims traditionally light candles from the flame to bring home. However, Bishop Marchel told TASS on Thursday that Moldovan police had stopped him and two clerics at the airport, conducted searches, and delayed them until 30 minutes after their flight had departed. The Party of Socialists accused the government of 'publicly humiliating' the senior cleric and demanded an apology. 'We consider the actions of [President] Maia Sandu's regime a deliberate act of spiritual terror against the Moldovan Orthodox Church and hundreds of thousands of its parishioners,' the party said in a Telegram statement on Friday. 'Any pressure on the Church is a crime against the people and an encroachment on the foundations of Moldovan statehood.' The party described the incident's timing during the Holy Week as especially egregious. 'The authorities publicly humiliated the archpastor… during the Holy Week, on the eve of Easter. It is a moral downfall of the regime, for which there can be no justifications,' the statement read. It claimed that the incident amounted to 'a declaration of war against the Orthodox majority' by an 'anti-national regime.' Moldova, where more than 90% of the population identify as Orthodox Christians, is home to two major branches of the Church: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, under the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, under the Romanian Orthodox Church. Tensions between the two, while multifaceted, have deepened in recent years amid President Sandu's pro-EU stance and criticism of Moscow. While Sandu earlier claimed her government 'has relationships' with both metropolises, critics have accused Chisinau of pressuring the Moscow-affiliated church. The Russian Orthodox Church has also condemned the incident. 'The advisers to the Moldovan authorities, who are clearly far from Christianity, believe they are achieving some kind of a political goal,' said the Moscow Patriarchate spokesman Vladimir Legoyda. 'This is a completely outrageous decision by the Moldovan authorities, a deliberate mockery of the faithful of the Orthodox Church of Moldova,' he wrote on Telegram.
Russia Today
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moldova launched ‘malicious attack' on Orthodox Church
Chisinau has disrespected the Moldovan people by preventing a bishop from traveling to Jerusalem, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said The authorities in Moldova have launched a deliberate attack on the canonical Orthodox Church by barring a bishop from attending an Easter ceremony in Jerusalem, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. Bishop Marchel of the Moldovan Orthodox Church was scheduled to fly to Israel on Thursday to attend the Holy Fire ritual on April 19 and bring back part of the flame believed to descend miraculously at the site of Christ's crucifixion. He told the media that border police at Chisinau airport searched him and returned his passport only after his plane had departed, despite finding nothing suspicious. His second attempt to board a flight was also 'unjustifiably' blocked by Moldovan authorities. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Russia Today
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
War against Orthodoxy underway
The move by authorities in Chisinau to prevent a Moldovan bishop from attending an annual ceremony in Jerusalem is part of a wider war against Orthodox Christianity, renowned Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica has said. Bishop Marchel of the Moldovan Orthodox Church was set to fly to Israel on Thursday for the Holy Fire ritual on April 19. He told the media that border police at Chisinau airport had stopped him for a search and returned his passport only after his plane had departed, despite finding nothing suspicious. Marchel later said his second attempt to board a flight to Israel was also 'unjustifiably' blocked by the authorities. The Holy Fire ritual at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, held on Holy Saturday, is a key event which precedes Orthodox Easter. The flame is believed to descend miraculously each year at the site of Christ's crucifixion. Pilgrims light candles from it and take the fire back to their home countries to light others as part of an ancient holiday tradition. When asked by RIA Novosti on Friday about the Moldovan government's treatment of the bishop, Kusturica said, 'after the attack on the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, nothing surprises me anymore.' In late March, Ukrainian officials and police broke into the catacombs of the country's most important monastery, the burial site of early Orthodox saints. The move came amid a power struggle over the Kiev Pechersk Lavra between the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), created only in 2018 and backed by the government of Vladimir Zelensky. 'It was a sign of war against the Orthodox world, against Orthodox Russians and all Orthodox believers,' the two-time Palme d'Or winner said about the events in Kiev. The blocking of the Moldovan bishop's trip to Jerusalem 'continues that same battle. They think that with new secular political steps they will first intimidate and then destroy Orthodox civilization. But they will not succeed,' Kusturica insisted. As in neighboring Ukraine, Moldova has faced religious tensions involving two major Orthodox factions: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, which is affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, under the Romanian Orthodox Church. Amid rising geopolitical tensions with Russia, the pro-EU government in Chisinau has largely backed the Bucharest-aligned metropolis.
