God can forgive our sins but never our urge to sin. Interview with Fr. Pavel Borsevschi, senior priest of St. Demetrius Church

[ - Five years ago Chisinau chose to celebrate the City Day* as a Christian feast day. Has the community become more spiritual and pious since then?] It’s sad to admit that superstitions die hard. People often wear amulets, zodiac medallions and other fetish objects, even when they go to church. Not all the people who ask the priest to bless their home or marriage are doing it out of genuine faith. Unfortunately there is a multitude of sects that have built houses of worship here, thanks to our bribe-loving authorities, and that is setting brothers apart. But on the other hand, I have to say that Orthodox churches are full of people too. During the Great Lent, as well as on other occasions, people do come to church to pray and confess. And this is an example of a healthy life, if the real reason for coming to church is the honestly felt faith. However there are cases when we go astray from the right path, when senior clergymen feel the desire to join a certain political party. A position of authority in a government may bring many privileges, but let’s not forget that we serve Jesus Christ, this is why we shouldn’t place too much importance on worldly concerns and must stay out of politics and business. [ - Why does Chisinau celebrate the City Day on the feast called Protection of the Mother of God?] “Hram” means a place of worship, a shelter from storms and disasters. Perhaps wishing to show us how important a saint is, our forefathers borrowed this Slavic word in order to explain us that by choosing a patron saint we are protected as if in a shelter. The Protection Litany, as well as other liturgical prayers, calls the Mother of God a Protector, and indeed she is. The Christian tradition says Chisinau should have celebrated its day on the Nativity feast, in honour of the central Cathedral. But we chose another holiday, and that is explainable. Maybe we picked the Protection of the Mother of God because it falls in autumn and Moldovans use to fete when their granaries and cellars fill up. There is another explanation – having knowledge of our sinful life we ask Mother Mary to act as our intercessor before God. Yet we must know that God is good and hears our prayers. This why I say we should respect the tradition and choose the Nativity as a day for celebration. But it doesn’t anger God that we try to make our way to Him through His Mother. What is really important is that we do not fight. It’s not right that the Parliament, Government, or the City Hall tell us when to celebrate. Rather they should ask us when, and I don’t mean the clergy, but the people. [ - What should a Christian do on this day?] {…} We go to church to pray in front of an icon picturing Mother Mary in sort of a cloak or a shroud. This garment represents in fact protection and her concern for all the believers. We cannot see this protection but we can feel it like we feel the love of a close person. We celebrate the event by attending a divine liturgy at church on the eve of the feast and another one in the morning and say prayers to the Mother of God. {…} After the liturgy, the blessed food is given to the needy. Obviously, this holiday is not an occasion to drink and eat excessively. Gluttony is a sin. [ - What about the Wine Day?] The Christians do not treat it as a holiday. It has pagan roots. The Christian Church doesn’t have anything in common neither with Bacchus nor with Dionysus. Apostle Paul said: “Drink to be merry but not to be drunk, for wine is depravity”. After two or three glasses of wine our mind is getting numb and our senses go wild. The authorities build monasteries. But we must remember that monasteries are not just cement and clay. Monasteries and churches represent the communities of believers, united by the right belief in God. But the right belief tells us to praise the Lord. Therefore we urge those who insist on having this so-called holiday to awake their soul and consciousness. This must happen if we wish to remain under the protection of the Mother of God. For God can forgive our sins but never our urge to sin. [* Editor’s note: The term “City Day”, as herein employed, refers to an Eastern Orthodox holiday celebrated annually by the inhabitants of a village, town or city to mark the establishment of the first church in the respective settlement. As a rule, this church bears the name of the patron saint. Originally called “Hram” (Church), this holiday has lost some of its initial religious character. It is now a special day when people prepare delicious food, receive guests and take part in festivities.]