Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and All Moldova took part in a pilgrimage to the holy places of Russia. In the concelebration of Metropolitan Pavel of Krutitsa and Kolomna, as well as the clergy of the Ungheni, Balti, Chisinau and Soroca dioceses of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, he performed a prayer service in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
In total, 150 priests of the Orthodox Church of Moldova and its parishioners took part in the service.
"I would like to thank His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for his blessing, as well as for the opportunity given to our clergy and pilgrims from Moldova to visit these holy places, pray here, meet with their friends and acquaintances. To be together. This is encouraging for us. We hope that such pilgrimage trips will continue. It was with awe that I led the prayer service in front of St. Sergius here, because, as I said at the beginning, I came here as a student. And it is very joyful that this heartfelt thrill has been preserved in my heart, and I think it has been preserved in your hearts... Congratulations on the joint day of prayer that we celebrated here, at the relics of St. Sergius, and we will ask him to guide us, to help us in our earthly life, so that we skillfully manage dioceses, parishes, monasteries. So that spiritual life can flourish again in Moldova... Unfortunately, now there are other times when we do not have the opportunity for fraternal communication. We will pray and work for God's peace to come again in our native and beloved Moldova," Metropolitan Vladimir said.
Priests from Moldova are staying in Russia to share their experience of pastoral ministry, strengthen spiritual ties and fraternal relations between the churches. They meet with well-known representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the church academic environment and the Orthodox community.
The program of pilgrimage trips, which have been taking place since August, includes visits to monasteries in Russia, including the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the Pokrovsky Stavropol Monastery in Moscow, other temples and historically significant places in Moscow and the Moscow region. The project is being implemented with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The clergy offered prayers in front of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, whose veneration unites the peoples of Russia and Moldova. It was within the walls of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra that Metropolitan Vladimir received higher spiritual education, graduating from the Moscow Theological Academy.
Earlier, chaplains (military clergymen) headed by Bishop Nicholas of Chadyr-Lunga, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, also visited the holy places of Russia.
In just a few months, about 900 clergy and parishioners of the Orthodox Church of Moldova took part in pilgrimage trips.