A Moldovan court recognized the protocol on the transfer of the PCM church to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia as forged

Against the backdrop of years of litigation, a Moldovan court ruled that the signatures in documents concerning the transfer of the parish of the Orthodox Church of Moldova in the village of Dereneu to the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia of the Romanian Orthodox Church were forged. The decision was a victory for local believers who had been seeking justice since 2017. The priest who initiated the process of changing jurisdiction was fined.

As reported on social media, on February 12, 2026, the secretary of the Bishopric of Ungheni and Nisporeni, Vadim Korostinsky, officially announced the recognition of the forgery of signatures. At issue is the priest Florin (Florinel) Marin, who initiated the transition process. The court found that all the signatures used to change the jurisdiction turned out to be fake and imposed a fine of between LE 100,000 and LE 200,000 on the priest. This decision, although it is a judgment of the court of first instance and can be appealed, has already been handed down.

According to Korostinski, it was the parishioners who initiated the court proceedings and obtained a decision in their favor after years of struggle. «From the very beginning, we went to court expecting justice to bring justice to our people,» the publication quoted a diocese spokesman as saying, adding that the congregation was forced to pray at the temple’s door. The diocese also claims that the initiative of the transition was not motivated by spiritual convictions, but by material considerations. It is noted that the priest initially considered the possibility of switching to the Baptists in search of more favorable conditions before he accepted the offer of the Metropolis of Bessarabia.

On the grounds that the previous decision of the Ministry of Justice to transfer the parish to the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Bessarabia was made on the basis of documents with forged signatures, the Moldovan Metropolis appealed to the Ministry of Justice to restore its rights to the church in the village of Dereneu. Interesting events unfolded in the evening of February 12: according to Moldovan media, the police on duty at the temple left the church in Dereneu without explanation, after which the believers were able to enter the temple to the sound of bells.

These events took place a few days after the believers were prevented from entering the church in Dereneu on February 8. At that time it happened after the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice on the right of ownership in favor of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. Services were held outside, while police and carabinieri blocked the entrances to the church, keeping Archbishop of Ungheni and Nisporeni Peter, clergy and parishioners blocked inside the church.

As a reminder, the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, part of the Romanian Orthodox Church, appealed to the Moldovan authorities to immediately intervene and bring to criminal responsibility the priests and residents of Dereneu village who opposed the transfer of the local church to the Orthodox Church of Moldova.