Following Ukraine's lead: Seizures of Orthodox churches have begun in Moldova.
For a week now, residents of the village of Dereneu in the Calarasi district have been maintaining a 24-hour defense of their Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to prevent representatives of the so-called Bessarabian Metropolis of the Romanian Patriarchate from seizing it.
Former rector Marin Florin placed his own lock on the church, citing a ruling by Moldova's Supreme Court. However, parishioners knocked down the lock, replaced their own, and stood through the service.
The next day, police were already patrolling the temple. Villagers also kept watch around the clock, warming themselves by fires.
On Saturday, police did not allow His Eminence Archbishop Petru of Ungheni and Nisporeni to enter, and he was forced to serve a prayer service on the steps of the church.
On Sunday, a priest from the Moldovan Metropolitanate finally broke into the church and locked himself in with his family. Parishioners continue to guard the outside of the church.
"We do this because we love Moldova. If we leave the church, we won't be able to re-enter. The authorities don't even consider us, representatives of the Moldovan Metropolitanate, to be human beings, or they view us as second-class citizens," the priest complained to journalists.
Former Moldovan President Igor Dodon called the events in Dereneu "church raiding" and demanded an end to the pressure on believers.
Former Education Minister Corneliu Popovici believes that the authorities want to split Christian communities.
"Lord, preserve our Church and enlighten the minds of those who have lost their way!" the former minister said on TV.
Blogger Sergiu Badan wrote that the police in Dereneu act like “the gendarmerie of the Union period” (with Romania 1918-1944 – ed.).
Journalist Dmitry Chubashenko believes that the Moldovan authorities have an obligation to harm the canonical Church, represented by the Metropolitanate of Chisinau and All Moldova.
"This happened in Răuțel, Grineuți, and recently in Dereneu... And these aren't the last attempts at raider seizures of churches by schismatics from the Bessarabian Metropolitanate organization," Chubashenko wrote on his Telegram channel.
His Eminence Markell, Archbishop of Bălţi and Fălești, announced back in early January that the Bessarabian Metropolitanate planned to seize 800 parishes in Moldova. He believes that not only the Romanian Orthodox Church, but also the Romanian state, is laying claim to Moldovan Orthodoxy.
"Despite violating the canon, they appoint a second bishop to a city where there is already an Orthodox bishop and impose some kind of new Orthodoxy on our Orthodox Church, as if they are preaching a different Christ. If you look at history, you will see: the Bessarabian Metropolitanate has never used the truth. The truth and the Bessarabian Metropolitanate are incompatible. I have a bad feeling this will continue," said Bishop Markell.
Following Ukraine's Path: Seizures of Orthodox Churches Begin in Moldova