By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your passion, / You did confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ God! / Like the children with the palms of victory, / we cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death: / Hosanna in the Highest! / Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord! (Troparion, Tone 1)
This emblematic feast of Christendom was celebrated with great fervour and spiritual thirst by a multitude of faithful who participated in the divine service officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir. Concelebrating to him were His Grace Bishop Ioan of Soroca and Drochia, His Grace Bishop Filaret of Căpriana, Archpriest Vadim Cheibaș, Secretary of the Metropolis of Moldova and Eclesiarch of the Cathedral, along with the clergy of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Lord in Chișinău.
During the Small Entrance, His Eminence Vladimir, Metropolitan of Chișinău and All Moldova, announced the decision of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, decree no. U-01/14 of 28 February 2025, promoting Bishop Ioan of Soroca and Drochia to the rank of Archbishop and presented him with the kamilavka adorned with a cross.
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, also known as Palm Sunday, is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on the Sunday before Pascha (Easter).
A few days before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus Christ was joyfully received by the crowds upon His entry into Jerusalem, riding on a colt, as the awaited Messiah and King of Israel. In their joy, the people laid down palm branches before Him—symbols of victory—and even children cried out words of praise.
Led by the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, the faithful gathered in pious veneration of this Sunday, which opens the path toward the Passion and ultimately the bright Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The liturgical responses were chanted by the mixed choir of the Metropolitan Cathedral, directed by Mrs Angela Angheni.
After the Divine Liturgy, the faithful listened to a word of spiritual reflection and congratulation, accompanied by pastoral exhortations to approach with attentiveness this great feast and to seek from the Lord strength of body and soul in order to worthily pass through the final week before Holy Pascha.
At the conclusion of the service, His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir blessed the willow branches (palm fronds being symbolically replaced in this region) brought by the numerous faithful who had come to the House of the Lord to offer glory and thanksgiving to the Good God for all His rich blessings. Since the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is a feast of joy, the Church allows the faithful to partake of fish and wine on this day.
Sector for Institutional Communication and Media Relations of the Synod