In April, Archbishop Markell of Balti and Falesti was stopped at Chisinau airport for a lengthy security check and missed his flight to Israel, where he had planned to attend the traditional Holy Fire ceremony.
"My friend and I decided to make a pilgrimage to the holy places in Turkiye. We had round-trip tickets, vouchers for a hotel where we were supposed to stay for two days. I was forbidden to leave, subjected to humiliating searches [at the airport]. They returned my passport and ticket when the plane was already on the runway," Markell told journalists.