Moldovan bishop blocked from flight for Easter ritual again

Bishop Marchel was prevented from leaving Moldova while making a new attempt to travel to Jerusalem for the Holy Fire ceremony

Bishop Marchel of the Moldovan Orthodox Church was prevented from leaving the country late on Friday while making a new attempt to depart for Jerusalem to take part in Easter celebrations. The senior cleric missed his previous flight after being briefly detained by border police at the airport.

Bishop Marchel was initially due to fly to Israel on Thursday in order to attend the Holy Fire ritual, a major event ahead of Orthodox Easter. However, Marchel told TASS that Moldovan police had stopped him and two accompanying clerics at the airport under the pretext of a search. According to the bishop, all three were searched twice, and while no suspicious items were found, their passports were withheld until after the flight departed.

Commenting on the incident to local outlet TV8, Moldovan border police spokeswoman Ilona Railyan attempted to justify the actions of the police officers, saying that the search was a standard procedure. She claimed the bishop arrived at the airport late, leaving insufficient time for screening. When asked to comment on Marchel’s claim that his group was subjected to two separate searches, she declined to offer an explanation.

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The incident sparked widespread condemnation. The Russian Orthodox Church, with which the Moldovan Orthodox Church aligns, called the move politically motivated and “a deliberate mockery of the faithful.” Russian lawmakers also denounced the Moldovan authorities over the cleric’s detention, while Moldovan opposition condemned the episode as “an act of terror.”

The UN has launched an inquiry into the case, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Tamin Al-Kitan, told RIA Novosti on Friday.