Bessarabian Metropolis claims canonical succession in Moldova
The head of the Bessarabian Metropolis voiced claims to an exclusive role in the Orthodox life of Moldova.
On December 19, the head of the Bessarabian Metropolis, which is part of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Peter (Păduraru), issued an extensive address dedicated to the 33rd anniversary of the restoration of its activity.
According to Metropolitan Peter, the restoration of the Bessarabian Metropolis was not merely an administrative act, but a “holy undertaking” aimed at returning Orthodox believers of Moldova to “full communion with the Mother Church” – the Romanian Orthodox Church.
More than 60 communities of the Orthodox Church of Moldova have transferred to the Bessarabian Metropolis.
Metropolitan Peter emphasized the importance of unity of “faith, language, and tradition” as the foundation of ecclesial identity in Bessarabia.
The text expresses gratitude to the participants of the Eparchial Assembly in Chișinău who, in the early 1990s, appealed to the Holy Synod of the Romanian Church with a request to establish an ecclesiastical structure on the territory of Moldova.
At the same time, opposition to these steps on the part of other Orthodox clergy and faithful is presented as “misunderstanding” and “ill will.”
According to Metropolitan Peter, the Bessarabian Metropolis has already borne “abundant fruits” and has united around itself clergy, intellectuals, and representatives of civil society.
He is convinced that it is precisely the Bessarabian Metropolis that “will continue in the future to remain the sole witness of Romanian canonical and ecclesiastical succession” in the region.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Romanian authorities are strengthening their support for the Bessarabian Metropolis in Moldova.
