Moldovan government accused of attempting to split the Orthodox Church of Moldova

The former head of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, has said that the Moldovan authorities are pushing the Orthodox Church towards a split, amid an initiative to return more than 800 church facilities to the state; she suggested that the fate of churches be decided in local referendums and warned of the risks of escalating conflict in society. This is reported by TASS.

According to Vlach, earlier Culture Minister Cristian Jardan announced the authorities’ intention to return to state ownership more than 800 objects that are now in the use of the Orthodox Church of Moldova. In response, Vlach sent an open letter proposing that if the Supreme Court of Justice decides to return the property to the state, the management of the churches should be transferred to local communities and the fate of the parishes should be determined at the level of citizens through referendums.

The politician emphasized that her proposal was ignored, which, in her opinion, indirectly points to the decision already made by the authorities. «The authorities are pushing the church towards a split and don’t even think what chaos it will turn out to be for the country. To preserve peace in society, the fate of 800 churches should be decided not by ministers, but by the believers themselves — through local referendums,» she said, emphasizing that she publicly demands that the country’s leadership take responsibility for the possible consequences of the return of more than 800 churches to state control.

Against this background, the confrontation between the Moldovan Metropolitan Church and the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia is escalating. The incident in the village of Dereneu, Calarasi district, where after the decision to re-register the parish there were clashes between parishioners and the police and arrests; representatives of the Moldovan Metropolis demanded to cancel the re-registration and accused the authorities of fomenting discord on religious grounds.

Recall, earlier we reported that the rector of the church in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Dereneu (Moldova), a priest of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, Alexandru Popa, barricaded himself inside the church with his family. This desperate move was a response to attempts by the authorities to take away the church and transfer it to the Bessarabian Metropolitan Church of the Romanian Orthodox Church.