Chișinău, September 25, 2024
mitropolia.md
His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir of Chișinău, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Moldovan Orthodox Church, is calling upon the Orthodox faithful to offer a special fast for peace and the unity of the faith in the country.
The Metropolitan’s message reads:
The clergy and faithful are urged to fast for three days (September 25-27), to ask the good God for peace and unity of faith in our country and throughout the world, and on the day of the celebration of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross, September 27, Christians should participate in the Divine Liturgy and receive the Body and Blood of the Savior, then at 12:00 the bells should be rung for 15 minutes.
May God bless our country Moldova, the government, the army, and faithful Christians!
The call comes as the Church faces pressure from the state due to its canonical connection to the Russian Orthodox Church. Individual politicians have even called for a total ban on the Church.
Earlier this month, Met. Vladimir issued a statement calling to “cease the moral torture of the Church.”
Moldova is home to two canonical Churches: that of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Romanian Orthodox Church’s Metropolis of Bessarabia. It was recently reported that more than 60 parishes have switched from the Russian to the Romanian jurisdiction since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.
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