Holy ‘war’ roils a placid village

Maxim Melinte (centre), a priest, performs a baptism in Ghidighici. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

RAUTEL, according to a retired teacher in northern Moldova, was a placid village until the local priest, disoriented by the war in Ukraine, succumbed to Satan, she said. Before that, people got on well and attended Sunday services at the same Russian Orthodox Church.

Now, said Tamara Gheorghies, the teacher, “they don’t even say hello to each other.”