Peter

The move, however, has been criticised as discriminatory, favouring one religious community over myriad others that were snuffed out under Soviet rule and had their properties seized by the state.

Currently, Moldovan law does not provide for restitution of property claimed by legal entities, only private individuals.

A historic service at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is expected today. In front of the Bulgarian National Radio Assoc. Prof. Presbyter Ivan Ivanov, the new Orthodox Bulgarian priest in Rome, said:

As of April 14, COVID-19 had killed 36 people in the former Soviet republic.

But not everyone in the church is falling into line. According to Moldovan media reports, and the Moldovan authorities themselves, church services have been held up and down the country.

Bulgarian Ambassador to the Vatican, Bogdan Patashev, today presented his credentials to Pope Francis, the Foreign Ministry said.

Moldova is the most exposed country in Eastern Europe to Russian propaganda, owing to the dominance of Russian-language media, the Russian orientation of the main Church, poverty and lack of trust in the political class, according to a study called "Resistance to disinformation in Central and Eastern Europe".

The Mirauti Church, located in the Suceava municipality, which was the first Metropolitan church of Moldavia and the place where the first wife of Voivode Stephen the Great (Stefan cel Mare in Romanian) is buried is a lesser known historical monument that is insufficiently promoted.

Photo credit: (c) Bogdan BARBULESCU / AGERPRES ARCHIVE