Several hundred people, including priests, other church-related individuals, and laypeople, flew to Moscow on fully paid pilgrimages to Orthodox shrines from June to October last year, writes Reuters, whose journalists spoke with 15 clergy members.
Russia paid for the trips of Moldovan Orthodox priests to Moscow and upon returning home, issued them debit cards with hundreds of dollars on the account. In exchange, the priests created Telegram channels to influence elections in Moldova, warning of the dangers of integration with the European Union and promoting traditional values in contrast to «gay Europe».
One of them, Father Mihai Biku, said that before the trip, priests received vouchers from the Russian Orthodox Church for 10,000 rubles for purchases in church shops. At the end of the trip, Baku and other members of his group received cards from «Promsvyazbank» from people not associated with the church, onto which money was later transferred.
Archbishop Marchel, one of the leaders of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, told the agency that the trips of the clergy to Russia were merely pilgrimages, and the bank cards were intended for the purchase of religious items. During the service, he prayed for Ukraine to reduce its aggression and end the war.
According to a social media data analysis conducted by Reuters, nearly 90 new Telegram channels have been created as accounts of Moldovan Orthodox parishes in the past year. The analysis showed that most channels published identical content almost daily, urging believers to oppose the government's pro-Western policies.
The source of most of the content is a channel called Sare şi Lumiña («Salt and Light»), which was reposted by parish accounts. From May to August, more than 600 messages were published on this channel, almost three times the number of messages published in the previous four months of this year.
The main idea of the posts is that Moldova's traditional family values are under threat from the EU, which will force citizens to adopt LGBT identities, corrupt morals, and destroy freedom of religion. Although the posts are not explicitly pro-Russian, they echo the narratives of opposition parties advocating for closer ties with Moscow.
Additionally, the Sare şi Lumiña channel runs a closed chat accessible only to administrators or people they invite to join, from which Reuters managed to extract data. Among the members, as the data showed, were operative Starostin and two members of his «People's Front» team, who accompanied the priests to Moscow.
«The most immoral feature of Russia's interference in Moldova's elections is the use of the most authoritative institution: the church, — said Stanislav Sekrieru, national security advisor to Moldovan President Maia Sandu — Russia recruits and trains priests during so-called all-inclusive pilgrimages to turn religion into a weapon. Upon returning, the priests come to Moldova and use their influence to sow distrust».
On September 28, parliamentary elections will be held in Moldova. President Maia Sandu's «Action and Solidarity» (PAS) party promises to begin EU accession. They are opposed by the pro-European bloc «Alternative» and the pro-Russian Socialist Party.
Photo: Reuters