“What about the Bessarabian Metropolis?”: A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church responded to the Moldovan president's criticism of the Church

Protopriest Julian Ratz, a cleric of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, responded to criticism from Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who claimed that the Orthodox Church of Moldova was “being used in the interests of another state.” The priest pointed out that Sandu, for some reason, has no complaints about the Bessarabian Metropolis, which is officially funded by the Romanian government. The priest’s words were reported by the Telegram channel “Orthodox Moldova and the World.”

«I am very sorry to hear everything that the president said about the Church. She talks about the use of the Church in the interests of a foreign state, but at the same time does not see that the “Bessarabian Metropolis” receives salaries from Romania. We have been made a scapegoat so that she can shift her own failures onto us. Let her take responsibility herself, rather than looking for someone else to blame,» — the priest said.

Recall that on July 30, 2025, during a press conference, Moldovan President Maia Sandu listed external threats to the country, which she believes come from Russia. Among other things, Sandu mentioned the Church, without specifying which denomination she was referring to.