The Orthodox Church in Moldova has sharply reacted to a decision by the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Equality in the country to brand the installation of a Crucifix on a wall of the ministry of internal affairs Chișinău as “…discriminatory”.
Members of the council also demanded that the leadership of the ministry remove the Crucifix, according to local media reports.
In a statement posted on the Metropolis of Bessarabia’s website, His Eminence Metropolitan Petru condemned the council’s decision as “…an attack on our identity of faith and kinship,” while offering several arguments in favor of keeping the Crucifix inside the ministry building.
The Crucifix is prominently displayed on the Republic of Moldova’s coat of arms, disappearing only during the communist period, when Moldova was part of the former Soviet Union.