More than 60 parishes of the Orthodox Church of Moldova transferred to the Metropolis of Bessarabia

More than 60 parishes of the Orthodox Church of Moldova (as part of the Moscow Patriarchate) have transferred to the Bessarabian Metropolitanate of the Romanian Orthodox Church. One of the latest cases occurred in the town of Cricova, where the OCM parish in honor of St. Alexander of Svir celebrated its “return” to the Romanian Patriarchate. This is reported by the Orthodox Times.

Fr. Andrei Percici, rector of the church stated, “We feel like Romanians. Ever since the war started in Ukraine, we realized that something was wrong in the church where we all served. God does not like war.”

Fr. Igor Chelea, priest of the “St. John the Theologian” church in Roshkani, also shared, “We convened the church council and informed the village of our decision. Everything was done legally. The Metropolis of Bessarabia met us with brotherly love.”

For his part, the head of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, Metropolitan Peter (Paduraru), claims that the Romanian Patriarchate ignores any sanctions that the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church of Moldova apply to the clerics who have transferred to the structure. He is convinced that in Moldova “the Russian Church is not recognized” and all those who consider themselves Romanians should join the Romanian Patriarchate.

“Any sanctions that the Russian Church would impose on the clergy of the Metropolis of Bessarabia are null and void. The Russian Church is not recognized here in Bessarabia. We are all Romanians, and we must belong to the church of our nation,” — Paduraru said.

Earlier, Moldovan politician and leader of the opposition bloc “Victory” Ilan Shor said that the Sandu government was ready to ban the Orthodox Church of Moldova immediately after Ukraine passed a law banning the UOC. However, in view of the upcoming presidential elections and the public outcry that the issue of banning the OCM caused, Sandu was afraid to follow in the footsteps of her Ukrainian colleagues.