(MENAFN) Moldova’s main opposition party has strongly criticized the government for preventing a senior Orthodox bishop from attending a key Easter religious ceremony in Jerusalem, calling it “an unprecedented act of spiritual terror.” Bishop Marchel of the Moldovan Orthodox Church was scheduled to take part in the Holy Fire ceremony—an event deeply sacred to Orthodox Christians that occurs each Holy Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be the site of Jesus’ resurrection.

According to the bishop, Moldovan authorities detained him and two clerics at the airport, conducted extensive searches, and only returned their passports after their flight had already left.

The Party of Socialists condemned the act in a Friday statement, accusing President Maia Sandu’s administration of deliberately targeting the Moldovan Orthodox Church and its believers. “This was a public humiliation of a senior cleric during the holiest week of the Christian calendar,” the party stated, framing it as an attack on Moldova’s Orthodox majority and national identity.

Moldova, a predominantly Orthodox Christian nation, is home to two competing church bodies: the Moldovan Orthodox Church aligned with Moscow, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia under Romanian oversight. Tensions between the two have grown amid President Sandu’s pro-European direction and perceived efforts to distance the country from Moscow.

The Russian Orthodox Church also denounced the incident. Spokesman Vladimir Legoyda called it a “mockery of the faithful” and accused Moldovan authorities of politicizing religion to advance their own agenda.

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