DISINFO: The Moldovan government is persecuting Archbishop Markell
SUMMARY
The Moldovan government is persecuting Archbishop Markell because he advocates for the Orthodox Christian faith and Moldovan statehood. Markell was stopped at Chisinau airport on Thursday and prevented from boarding his flight to Israel where he planned to attend the traditional Holy Fire ceremony. It is clear that Archbishop Markell, being one of the brightest representatives of the Moldovan Orthodox Church of the Russian Patriarchate, was deliberately subjected to these repressions.
RESPONSE
The claim is false. This pro-Kremlin disinformation outlet is attempting to exploit an incident on 18 April 2025 in which Archbishop Markell (or Marchel) missed his flight from Chisinau to Jerusalem, baselessly portraying it as “religious” or “political persecution”.
Reports on the incident by Moldovan media offer a simpler explanation: Marchel arrived too late to the airport, as travellers are strongly advised to arrive at least 3 hours before departure given the increased congestion at the airport during the Easter holidays. A representative of Moldova’s Border Police, Ilona Railyan, said in a comment to the TV8 channel that the plane departed before the bishop completed the security check. TV8 journalists contacted the bishop to find out his reaction, but he refused to talk about the incident. The Border Police stated that the bishop "was subjected to standard control procedures," which may include the so-called second-line control. Marchel himself admitted that he was late. The Metropolitanates of Moldova and Bessarabia, who managed to fly to Jerusalem, confirmed that Marchel was not part of their delegations.
This is happening in a context of strong tensions between Moldova’s two Orthodox Churches. Marchel has long been perceived as a close ally of the Kremlin, as a leader of the Moldova Metropolis, which is subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church and has remained loyal to Russia even after the invasion of Ukraine. This allegiance has led many priests to abandon the Moldova Metropolis and join the Romanian Orthodox Church.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Poland declared war on Russian Orthodox Christianity, that Kyiv persecutes Ukrainian Orthodox Church, that NATO is doing everything to destroy the Orthodox Church, or that the Russian Orthodox Church is being sabotaged by Western countries.