A religious procession with prayers for “peace and unity of the Orthodox Church” took place on September 27 in Ceadîr-Lunga, in southern Moldova. From photos of the event, it can be seen that the participants in the procession reached the intersection of a road connecting Moldova to Ukraine. Among them was the deputy of the governor of Gagauzia Yevgenia Guțul, IPN reports.

The “Way of the Cross”, with prayers for “the unity of the Church and peace throughout the world”, was organized with the blessing of Metropolitan Vladimir, Primate of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, which is attached to the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Diocese of Cahul and Comrat on its Facebook page noted that the crowd of believers traveled a distance of 4 km to the intersection of the road to Ukraine. During the procession, hymns of praise to God and all heavenly powers were sung, as were prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord.

The participants in the procession called for “harmony, love for the neighbor and peace between people”. However, the war waged by Russia in Ukraine was not mentioned. In Gagauzia, a predominantly pro-Russian region of the Republic of Moldova, locals largely support the Russian Federation.

Among the participants in the procession was Ilia Uzun, the first deputy of Bashkan Yevgenia Guțul. A week earlier, he also participated in an event against “LGBT and sodomy”, staged in Comrat.

It is noteworthy that this religious procession, as well as other events in support of the Church, take place against the background of misinformation according to which the pro-European authorities of the Republic of Moldova intend to abolish the Metropolitan Church of Moldova and leave only the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, which is attached to the Patriarchate of Romania.