Bishop Marchel was prevented from flying to Jerusalem for the Holy Fire ceremony on supposed grounds that he had arrived late to the airport

A senior Moldovan Orthodox Church cleric who was detained and missed a flight to Jerusalem for an Easter ceremony has rebutted border police claims that he had failed to arrive at the airport sufficiently early.

Addressing the authorities on Friday, Bishop Marchel implored, "Please, good people, do not lie - especially today. It is Good Friday; care for your souls." The border police alleged that the cleric had failed to arrive three hours before his flight, as is recommended.

On Thursday, Bishop Marchel told TASS that he had been scheduled to attend the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. However, his plans were cut short when the Moldovan border police stopped him and two other clergymen at the airport, subjecting them to searches and only releasing them 30 minutes after their plane had departed. 

The UN has reportedly opened an inquiry into the Moldovan authorities' conduct. Tamin Al-Kitan, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told RIA Novosti that the body is looking into the case.

The Moldovan government came under fire from the local opposition over the incident. Igor Dodon, a former president and leader of the Party of Socialists, described it as an "act of terror" against the Orthodox faith in the country.

The Russian Orthodox Church has denounced the episode as politically motivated.

On Friday evening, the cleric said he still hopes to arrive in Jerusalem in time for the Holy Fire ceremony, which is traditionally held around midday on Holy Saturday, and return home with candles consecrated in the flame.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic, is home to two branches of the Orthodox Church: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, a self-governing arm of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, aligned with the Romanian Orthodox Church. While tensions between the branches have persisted for years, critics accuse President Maia Sandu's pro-EU administration of increasing pressure on the Moscow-affiliated church.