Archbishop Markell was banned from leaving Moldova for pilgrimage

Archbishop Markell of Balti and Falesti was again searched at the airport in Moldova, forbidding him to leave the country for pilgrimage purposes, a clergyman of the Orthodox Moldovan Church said on May 23.

The archbishop said that he had planned a two-day trip to the holy sites in Turkey.

"They were subjected to humiliating scrutiny. They returned the passport and ticket when the plane was already on the runway," Omniapres portal quoted him as saying.

The priest added that he insisted on the presence of his lawyer during the searches, but the Moldovan border guards noticed that Vladyka was not undergoing such a procedure for the first time. He himself confirmed that he has many files stored after the searches, and in each one it says that nothing was seized during the search.

"We were at the bus exit for two minutes, but I was told that boarding had ended 10 minutes ago. These are the democratic decisions that are made by those who have the right to make decisions," Markell commented.

"They are rebelling against God — the result will not have to wait long"

Archbishop Markell of Balti and Falesti — on the oppression of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, the analogy with the UOC and the transfer of clergy to the Bessarabian Metropolis

On April 17, Archbishop Markell, who was on his way to Israel for the Holy Fire, told Izvestia that he had been detained at passport control at Chisinau airport. There, his documents were seized without explanation. According to the priest, all this was done purposefully so that he would not catch the flight.

The next day, the archbishop attempted a second flight and said that on the way to the airport, his car was constantly stopped by the police. After that, the clergyman was not allowed to fly out of Chisinau for the second time.

Gennady Askaldovich, Ambassador—at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on April 19 that the refusal of Archbishop Markell of the Moldavian Metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox Church to travel beyond the Holy Fire was a malicious attack against the canonical Orthodox Church. He also said that Moscow is calling on the international community to assess the actions of the Moldovan government.