ORTHODOXY IS A PILLAR AND SOURCE OF MOLDOVAN PEOPLE'S VALUES - PRESIDENT DODON

President Igor Dodon maintains that the Orthodox faith is a pillar and a source of values for the Moldovan people. He wrote this on his Facebook page on Thursday, summarizing the results of his pilgrimage to the Athos Mount at the head of a delegation of the Socialist Party.

"Over 3 days I visited 12 monasteries. This is a unique chance to get acquainted with the fortress of Orthodox faith, where 20 Orthodox monasteries were built. The Athos Mount has a deep meaning for Orthodox Christians, believers from the whole world are making efforts to pray in this holy place. We participated in services, praying for prosperity, peace and well-being in our country. The Moldovan people, its culture and statehood were formed under the influence of Orthodox faith", Dodon wrote.

He stressed that he will be protecting and promoting Orthodox Christian values, which represent spiritual basis of the Moldovan statehood and identity.

During the trip, Dodon was in details describing on Facebook his stay, telling the history of monasteries he visited.

On Thursday, he wrote that he met a group of Romanian citizens, to whom he made a present - T-shirts of the Socialist public organization "I Love Moldova", in which members of the Moldovan delegation were dressed.

One of Facebok users wrote a commentary with the demand to pray for the Great Moldova, which means the annexation to Moldova of a part of historical Moldova, which is now a part of Romania. The president answered "Already done".

From Greece, Dodon will depart to Iran, where on Friday he will participate in the ceremony of inauguration of President Hassan Rouhani. In Teheran his agenda implies a number of meetings, including with Russian Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin, who was declared persona non grata by the Moldovan Government on Wednesday.