Emergency mail, crisis meeting, dissatisfaction among priests: times are tough for Moldova's Moscow Orthodox branch, which has been criticized by believers since the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
30 km from the capital Chisinau, the village of Cimiseni has made its decision: to leave the Patriarchate of Moscow and make way for the Church (metropolis) of Bessarabia, dependent on Romania.
Neither is independent, reflecting the complex history of this country of nearly 2.6 million mostly Orthodox residents, which over the centuries has been dominated sometimes by Bucharest, sometimes by Moscow.
The idea had already been discussed before the war in this town of 2,850 residents, most of whom were Romanian-speaking, but priest Ioan Solonaru feared “disputes” on the issue.
The trigger was the Kremlin's offensive, “carried out with the blessing of Russian Patriarch Kirill,” he explains to AFP with a gray beard and piercing eyes. “This fight between Orthodox brothers has outraged people.”
The admission of Ukrainian refugees, many of whom are streaming into the small country, has also raised awareness.
Community members “started telling me that they no longer wanted to come to Kirill Church to receive communion,” says the 55-year-old religious after offering blessed bread to the faithful.
In mid-August he officially took the step and came under Romanian supervision. According to the metropolis of Bessarabia, in this case there are more than fifty.
In the former Soviet republic, which is now hoping to join the EU, “nothing unites us with Moscow anymore,” says Ioan Solonaru. “We don't even have borders with Russia!” He remembers that he didn't understand “the nostalgia of some for the USSR” (Soviet Union, editor's note).
“Pro-European signal”
In a recent letter, Metropolitan Vladimir, head of the Moscow-affiliated metropolis of Moldova, expressed concern about the departure of priests and the “marginalization” of his church “due to its affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate, which is perceived as an outpost in Moldovan society.” of the Kremlin.
He is worried because the people of Moldova are seeking rapprochement with Romania and are demanding a solution to “get out of the crisis”.
A meeting of the highest dignitaries was immediately held, at which it was decided to maintain the current status of the church.
“We do not feel in danger,” assures Bishop Ioan de Soroca, but regrets the decision of some religious people. “These lost souls need to come to their senses.”
He denies any support for the war in Ukraine. “We do not stand hand in hand with those who promote these actions,” he said, without however condemning Patriarch Kirill by name.
The Moscow branch claims around 1,350 communities in Moldova, well ahead of the Romanian faction with more than 200.
“After our reactivation in 1992, we had to start from scratch,” explains Constantin Olariu, spokesman for the metropolis of Bessarabia, in the wake of Moldova’s independence.
“Those who want it will be welcomed with open arms,” he adds, believing the trend is inevitable as Moldova prepares to start accession negotiations with the EU. “It’s a pro-European signal,” he believes.
Ukrainian schism
President Maia Sandu sent a similar message.
“How can the Russian Church support war and the murder of innocent people? (…) Under these conditions, the Church cannot stand aside and pretend not to see what is happening,” she responded on Moldova’s public radio in November.
“The entire society must unite, including the church,” for “peace” on the “path to European integration.”
The war also divided Ukraine's religious scene.
The once-popular Moscow-linked church, which has been losing influence for years, is the target of a ban, according to a text adopted by parliament in Kiev in October.
Now only the Ukrainian branch remains, which was declared independent of the Moscow Patriarchate in 2019 after centuries of Russian tutelage.
For the first time this year, it celebrates Christmas on December 25th – like the Catholics, even the Romanian Orthodox – instead of the previous January 7th, witnessing the “mighty rebirth of the Ukrainian nation”.