Moldova’s government, which has criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on Sunday appealed to the country’s clergy to “tell the truth” about the war, saying Moscow’s war effort had destroyed about 500 churches.
The government spokesman, Daniel Voda, made the remarks on the eve of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, citing the split in Moldova’s Orthodox Church into rival branches under Russia and Romania, Reuters reported.
More than 90 percent of believers in Moldova, which is sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, are Orthodox Christians.
The invasion, enthusiastically supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, has accelerated the transfer of parishes from the Moscow-linked Moldovan Metropolis to the smaller Romanian-linked Bessarabian Metropolis.
Since the invasion, more than 60 parishes have transitioned to the Romanian Orthodox Church.
More than 500 churches, synagogues, and mosques have been destroyed or damaged since the invasion began. That’s one every two days.
“Don’t be silent. Tell the world the truth. Aggression is not just a fight for territory, it’s the destruction of holy shrines.”
Metropolitan Volodymyr of the Moscow-linked Moldovan Metropolis said his church condemned the invasion “from day one” and organized aid for more than 90,000 Ukrainian refugees, the largest number per capita in Europe.
“At every service, I recite a special prayer in which I ask for mercy for the church and pray for an end to the war in Ukraine,” Volodymyr said in a 2023 interview.
“I’m not afraid to call it the ‘war in Ukraine’ in prayer. I’m not praying for Putin.”
Media reports have suggested that some priests from a Russian-linked church are supporting Russian incursions. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the reports. And the church acknowledges that groups of priests made “pilgrimages” to Russian holy sites last year with Russian funding.
The split in the church’s ranks reflects Moldova’s turbulent history, with much of what is now Moldova having belonged at various times to the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union and “Greater Romania.”
The Romanian-linked Bessarabian Metropolis is increasingly linked to Moldova’s bid to join the European Union by 2030.
