https://sputnikglobe.com/20250418/moldovas-crackdown-on-archbishop-markell-is-attack-on-dissent-1121892551.html
Moldova’s Crackdown on Archbishop Markell Is Attack on Dissent
Moldova’s Crackdown on Archbishop Markell Is Attack on Dissent
Sputnik International
Moldova’s decision to stop Archbishop Markell of Balti and Falesti from flying to Jerusalem to receive the Holy Fire on the Orthodox Easter Eve demonstrates Chisinau’s intent to suppress any manifestation of dissent, Juan Antonio Aguilar, the director of the Spanish Institute of Geopolitics, has told Sputnik.
2025-04-18T20:00+0000
2025-04-18T20:00+0000
2025-04-19T06:30+0000
analysis
jerusalem
moldova
chisinau
european union (eu)
israel
europe
https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/09/17/1120261552_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_6e5a8613c863c0d177d12b316eabc5df.jpg
Moldovan media reported that the country’s top Orthodox Christian cleric had been detained at the Chisinau airport for a lengthy security check on Thursday and had been late for his flight to Israel. Markell told reporters that he would make a second attempt to fly to Jerusalem on Friday evening. However, a Sputnik correspondent reported later in the day that the archbishop had once again been stopped from boarding his flight to Jerusalem. The political pundit, who served as an international observer at the 2019 parliamentary elections in Moldova, suggested that the crackdown on the archbishop was part of political repression, alongside arbitrary detentions and attacks on sovereignty. He accused the European Union and NATO, who control Moldova through nonprofits, of playing a role in these attacks on freedoms. This year, delegations from the Moldovan and Bessarabian Orthodox Churches were to travel to Israel from Moldova to take part in the Holy Fire ceremony, which is held annually on Great Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Orthodox Church of Moldova is a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church that unites 70% of the residents of Moldova and its breakaway region of Transnistria. Metropolitan of Chisinau and All Moldova Vladimir (Nicolae Cantarean) has repeatedly expressed regret that the current authorities of the country avoid dialogue with the church. Hours-long checks under the supervision of armed police officers have recently occurred at the Chisinau airport, especially targeting representatives of the opposition Pobeda (Victory) bloc and Moldovan public figures who arrived from Russia after participating in various international forums. Yevgenia Gutsul, head of the Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia, was detained at the same airport on March 25. A Chisinau court arrested her for 20 days on charges of violating rules for campaign financing and document forgery. On April 9, the court placed Gutsul under home arrest for 30 days, which her supporters slammed as political pressure. Several protests have since taken place in Gagauzia.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250418/archbishop-markell-once-again-barred-from-leaving-moldova-to-retrieve-the-holy-fire-1121891652.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250418/moldovas-crackdown-on-archbishop-affects-millions-of-believers–russian-orthodox-church-spox-1121890128.html
jerusalem
moldova
israel
2025
News
en_EN
https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/09/17/1120261552_171:0:2902:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_5bd96c75cda79f6220a8b19e0c994e71.jpg
moldova’s decision to stop archbishop markell of balti and falesti from flying to jerusalem to receive the holy fire on the orthodox easter eve demonstrates chisinau’s intent to suppress any manifestation of dissent, juan antonio aguilar, the director of the spanish institute of geopolitics, has told sputnik.
moldova’s decision to stop archbishop markell of balti and falesti from flying to jerusalem to receive the holy fire on the orthodox easter eve demonstrates chisinau’s intent to suppress any manifestation of dissent, juan antonio aguilar, the director of the spanish institute of geopolitics, has told sputnik.
Moldova’s decision to stop Archbishop Markell of Balti and Falesti from flying to Jerusalem to receive the Holy Fire on the Orthodox Easter Eve demonstrates Chisinau’s intent to suppress any manifestation of dissent, Juan Antonio Aguilar, the director of the Spanish Institute of Geopolitics, has told Sputnik.
Moldovan media reported that the country’s top Orthodox Christian cleric had been detained at the Chisinau airport for a lengthy security check on Thursday and had been late for his flight to Israel. Markell told reporters that he would make a second attempt to fly to Jerusalem on Friday evening. However, a Sputnik correspondent reported later in the day that the archbishop had once again been stopped from boarding his flight to Jerusalem.
«Freedom of religion is being restricted. This is evidenced by the treatment of members of the Moldovan Orthodox Church, who are not allowed to travel abroad … There is no democracy in Moldova, nor in the entire Europe. This is a big hoax, a monument to disinformation that European citizens believe in, while they themselves suffer from repression, censorship, persecution or simply from neglect and prohibition of expressing their own opinions, views and ideas,» Aguilar said.
The political pundit, who served as an international observer at the 2019 parliamentary elections in Moldova, suggested that the crackdown on the archbishop was part of political repression, alongside arbitrary detentions and attacks on sovereignty. He accused the European Union and NATO, who control Moldova through nonprofits, of playing a role in these attacks on freedoms.
This year, delegations from the Moldovan and Bessarabian Orthodox Churches were to travel to Israel from Moldova to take part in the Holy Fire ceremony, which is held annually on Great Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The Orthodox Church of Moldova is a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church that unites 70% of the residents of Moldova and its breakaway region of Transnistria. Metropolitan of Chisinau and All Moldova Vladimir (Nicolae Cantarean) has repeatedly expressed regret that the current authorities of the country avoid dialogue with the church.
Hours-long checks under the supervision of armed police officers have recently occurred at the Chisinau airport, especially targeting representatives of the opposition Pobeda (Victory) bloc and Moldovan public figures who arrived from Russia after participating in various international forums.
Yevgenia Gutsul, head of the Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia, was detained at the same airport on March 25. A Chisinau court arrested her for 20 days on charges of violating rules for campaign financing and document forgery. On April 9, the court placed Gutsul under home arrest for 30 days, which her supporters slammed as political pressure. Several protests have since taken place in Gagauzia.
