Protests that lasted for more than two months ended today after the Moldovan Orthodox Church satisfied the protesters' main demand, agreeing to convoke a meeting of the Synod on September 3, IPN reports.

However, the protesting group, composed of clergy and lay members, told a news conference that they would still gather outside the Church headquarters on September 3 to ensure that all of their demands are heeded.

Fr. Deacon Ghenadie Valuta apologized to Metropolitan Vladimir for the “nontraditional approach” of asking something from the Church, but recalled that eight months of “vain waiting” have passed since they were first promised that the Synod would assemble. Valuta said that the announcement of the Synod's date is just a beginning of the dialogue and called on the believers to join the group on that day so that they could pray together for “the enlightenment of our hierarchs' hearts”.

The group has demanded that the Synod consider tightening discipline in the Church and forbidding any involvement of the clergy in politics, despite another demand being that the Church adopt a clear stance on Moldova's pro-European course. They also insist that the Church “vehemently oppose” any bills promoted “at the insistence” of European partners and that contradict the people's “moral Christian values”. Instead, the group says Moldova should follow the example of those EU countries that refrain from adopting all the proposed legislation.

Additionally, the protesters want the Church to resume publishing its periodical “Altarul credintei”/ “The Altar of Faith” and Metropolitan Vladimir to give his blessing for a fundraising effort to establish an Orthodox TV channel.

The group warned that they could resume the protests outside the Church headquarters in Chisinau if the Synod does not satisfy their demands and fails to respond to “the attacks against the Church and the clergy”