In August and September 2024, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a large-scale project is being implemented aimed at strengthening fraternal ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Moldova, which has the status of a self-governing Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Within the framework of the project, about 300 clergy of the Orthodox Church of Moldova took part in a pilgrimage tour to the holy places of Russia. Priests from Moldova have visited and continue to come to the Russian Federation to share their experience of pastoral ministry, strengthen spiritual ties and fraternal relations between the Churches. The clergy of the Orthodox Church of Moldova take part in meetings with well-known representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the church academic environment and the Orthodox community.
The program of the pilgrimage tour includes visits to such monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church as the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the Pokrovsky Stavropol Convent in Moscow, as well as other shrines and historically significant places in Moscow and the Moscow region.
The pilgrimage project aimed at strengthening fraternal ties between the Russian Church and the Church of Moldova has become the object of criticism from a number of media outlets in the Republic of Moldova. Commenting on the accusations, the Synodal Sector for Institutional Communications and Media Relations of the Orthodox Church of Moldova issued a statement in which they stressed that "this initiative was undertaken with the aim of familiarizing the Moldovan clergy with the spiritual and historical heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church and strengthening fraternal ties between the two Orthodox Churches." They also noted that "the pilgrimages funded by the Moscow Patriarchate did not pursue any electoral or political goals. They were created to support parish priests with limited resources, especially from rural areas of Moldova."
The Sector for Institutional Communications and Media Relations drew attention to the fact that "some media of the Republic of Moldova misinterpreted the departure of priests on a pilgrimage to the holy places of Russia. The clergy of the Orthodox Church of Moldova were accused of traveling to Moscow for political and propaganda purposes."
"On August 21, the Orthodox Church of Moldova issued a statement in which it sharply condemned speculation in the press, namely, the accusation of the participation of its clergy in political or propaganda activities. In addition, the priests who returned from Moscow denied receiving any financial assistance from those who received them. At the same time, the Orthodox Church of Moldova has confirmed its commitment to preserving the unity of its clergy and protecting the Orthodox Church of Moldova from any political influence," reads the text of the commentary by the Sector for Institutional Communications and Media Relations of the Orthodox Church of Moldova.
Metropolitan Pavel of Krutitsky and Kolomna, head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for Dioceses in Neighboring Countries, commenting on the large-scale pilgrimage project of the Russian Orthodox Church organized for priests from Moldova, noted that it is aimed at "strengthening ties between remote parts of our Church."
"This program is aimed at supporting and preserving traditional spiritual values. The concept of pilgrimage provides for further strengthening of ties between remote parts of our Church. Fraternal ties and cooperation in pastoral ministry are especially important in this difficult time," the bishop noted.