Patriarch Kirill threatens the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church

The February 29 decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church regarding the expansion of the canonical territory in the Republic of Moldova and in the former Romanian territories that now belong to Ukraine, by strengthening the Metropolis of Bessarabia and by establishing the Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, caused the displeasure of the Russian Patriarch Kirill , close to President Vladimir Putin.

Thus, at the meeting two days ago, the members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was also attended by Vladimir, the Metropolitan of Chisinau and of the whole of Moldova, which subordinates the churches belonging to the Patriarchate of Moscow, found that the decisions of the BOR Synod violate many canons of the Holy Apostles and several canons of the II, III, IV, V and VI ecumenical synods, expressed their disagreement with the decisions taken by the Romanian Patriarchate and threatened that the implementation of the decision of February 29, 2024 will attract inevitably serious consequences both for bilateral relations between the Russian and Romanian Orthodox Churches, as well as for the unity of the Orthodox Church as a whole.

Moreover, the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church believe that there is no Romanian Orthodox clergy in the Republic of Moldova, because all the priests across the Prut would have received the priesthood in the Russian Orthodox Church, which they cannot leave without a letter of release from the Moscow Patriarchate.

At the same time, the representatives of the Russian church tasked Metropolitan Antonie of Volokolamsk, the head of the Department for External Relations of the Church, to further analyze the actions of the Romanian Patriarchate in the Republic of Moldova and in the former Romanian territories that now belong to Ukraine and to present proposals in due time elders of the Moscow church.

We remind you that on February 29, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided to bless, encourage and support the initiatives of the Romanian Orthodox communities in Ukraine to restore communion with the Mother Church, the Romanian Patriarchy, through their legal organization in the religious structure called the Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Also, the members of the BOR Synod reaffirmed the fact that all Romanian Orthodox clergy and their pastors from the Republic of Moldova who return to the Metropolis of Bessarabia are canonical clergy and blessed believers, and any disciplinary sanction directed against them on the grounds of their membership in the Romanian Orthodox Church is considered null and void. not reached, according to synodal decision no. 8090 of December 19, 1992.

We remind you that in the last 24 years, the problem of Romanian clerics from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine has been a critical point in the relations between the Romanian Patriarchate and the Russian Patriarchate. An example of conflict between the two patriarchs was recorded in November 2007 when, during negotiations, the Russian Patriarchate asked the Romanian side to give up the re-establishment of three dioceses in the Republic of Moldova. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church considered Patriarch Daniel's decision at the time as "an invasion of the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate."

In response, the Romanian Patriarchate emphasized in a press release that the two churches must find together a canonical and pastoral solution appropriate to the complexity of the situation in the area, for the defense and promotion of Orthodoxy, and indicated that "although the positions regarding the reactivation of the dioceses are different, nevertheless agreed on the need to deepen all aspects that can lead to the clarification of the complex church situation in the independent state of the Republic of Moldova, where two Orthodox church traditions coexist: the Romanian and the Russian".

What is certain is that, after the scandal of 2018 in which Patriarch Kiril declared his dissatisfaction with the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople reunited a Ukrainian Orthodox Church independent of the Russian Orthodox Church, it seems that we will once again witness a new schism within Orthodoxy , as long as the Romanian Patriarchate will not give up defending the clergy and parishioners it has in the Republic of Moldova and in the former Romanian territories in Ukraine.