On Thursday evening, Moldovan authorities hindered the departure of Bishop Markell of Belzy (Mold. Bălți) and Faleschty (Mold. Făleşti) from the country. The member of the Moldovan Orthodox Church was supposed to go to Israel to bring back the Holy Fire for Easter. This is reported by various media, including the Moldovan television station Canal 5. In a report on the channel, it is stated that: “At the airport in Chișinău, the Holy Father was subjected to a thorough inspection for unknown reasons.” In a comment to the channel Primul în Moldova, Marchel explains that he has not been told the reasons for the delay: “I still do not understand why I was not allowed to go to Israel. Although I am a clergyman, they searched me, made a protocol, but explained nothing.” The Moldovan-Orthodox Church is the largest Christian confession in the country. According to various sources, it has between 70 and 80 percent of the believers in Moldova and Transnistria. It is an autonomous church that is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. Since 1992, the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia has also been active in Moldova, which is subordinate to the Bucharest Patriarchate. It is estimated that it has between ten and 20 percent of the believers. The Moldovan-Orthodox Metropolis Vladimir of Chișinău had previously complained several times that representatives of the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia avoid a dialogue. Vladimir Legoida, head of the Synodal Department for Public Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, describes Markell’s arrest as an “egregious decision” and a “deliberate mockery” of the believers of the Moldovan Orthodox Church. The Moldovan oppositional Socialist Party sees Marchel’s arrest as an “unprecedented act of spiritual terror by the Maia Sandu regime.
Moldovan Bishop Denied Exit for Holy Fire Journey
