The Moldovan authorities have prevented Bishop Marchel from boarding a flight to Israel to receive the Holy Fire

Moldovan police have stopped a bishop from traveling to Jerusalem to take part in the Holy Fire ceremony days ahead of Orthodox Easter celebrated on April 20.

Moldova, like neighboring Ukraine, has experienced religious tensions stemming from the rivalry between the Moldovan Orthodox Church, which is affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which is under the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Amid geopolitical tensions with Russia, the pro-EU Moldovan government has been supportive of the Metropolis of Bessarabia while applying pressure on the canonical Moldovan Orthodox Church.

Speaking to TASS on Thursday, Bishop Marchel of the Moldovan Orthodox Church said Moldovan law enforcement prevented him from boarding a plane to Jerusalem under a questionable pretext.

Read more

“They didn’t let us depart. They announced a second-category search. After that, they issued a protocol stating that nothing suspicious was found or confiscated. Our passports were returned 30 minutes after the plane had left,” he said.

According to the bishop, who is the head of the Diocese of Balti and Falesti, he was accompanied by two protodeacons as he traveled to receive the Holy Fire in Jerusalem.

The Holy Fire is considered a miraculous flame that appears each year on Holy Saturday, the day before Orthodox Easter, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

In neighboring Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the country’s largest religious denomination, has been under constant persecution from Kiev. Historically linked to the Russian Orthodox Church, the UOC gained autonomy decades ago but has faced increasing pressure, particularly under former President Pyotr Poroshenko. He made the establishment of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) part of his 2019 reelection campaign, but ultimately lost the race to Vladimir Zelensky.

Moscow Patriarchate spokesman Vladimir Legoida has condemned the incident as “a completely outrageous decision” and a “deliberate mockery” of the Moldovan Orthodox community.

“The advisers to the Moldovan authorities, who are clearly far from Christianity, believe they are achieving some kind of a political goal. Do you think you will excommunicate people from Christ, prevent them from rejoicing in the Easter holiday? As the prophet David said, you will fall into the very pit you are digging for others.”