Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova Mitropolia Chișinăului și a întregii Moldove | |
|---|---|
 19th centuryNativity Cathedral inChișinău. | |
| Location | |
| Territory |  Moldova |
| Headquarters | Chișinău,Moldova |
| Statistics | |
Population
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| Information | |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodox |
| Sui iuris church | Moscow Patriarchate (Autonomous Metropolis) |
| Established | 1813/1944 |
| Language | Romanian,Slavonic,Gagauz[1] |
| Music | Byzantine andRussian |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Metropolitan Vladimir |
| Website | |
| www.mitropolia.md | |
TheMetropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova (Romanian:Mitropolia Chișinăului și a întregii Moldove;Russian:Кишинёвско-Молдавская митрополия,romanized: Kishinyovsko-Moldavskaya mitropoliya), also referred to as theMoldovan Orthodox Church (Romanian:Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova;Russian:Православная церковь Молдовы,romanized: Pravoslavnaya tserkov Moldovy), is an autonomous metropolitanate under theRussian Orthodox Church. Its canonical territory is theRepublic of Moldova.
The Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova is the largest church in the country, and one of the two main Orthodox churches in Moldova, along side theMetropolis of Bessarabia, an autonomous metropolitanate of theRomanian Orthodox Church. In the 2004 census in Moldova 3,158,015 people or 95.5% of those declaring a religion claimed to beEastern Orthodox Christians of all rites.
The head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church is MetropolitanVladimir (Cantarean), who is a permanent member of theHoly Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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It is believed that Orthodox Christianity was first brought toRomania and Moldova by the ApostleAndrew. Be that as it may, by the 14th century the Orthodox Church in the Principality ofMoldavia—today northeastern Romania, Moldova, and southwesternUkraine—was under the authority of the Metropolitan of Galicia.[citation needed] In 1391, thePatriarchate of Constantinople, which had jurisdiction over the region, elected ametropolitan for theMetropolis of Moldavia specifically. By the 15th century this metropolitan was elected by theautocephalousChurch of Ohrid, but following the abolition of the latter it returned to the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople. During this time, in the 17th century, the Metropolis of Moldavia transitioned from usingChurch Slavonic toRomanian language.
In 1812, the eastern half of Moldavia (renamed asBessarabia) wasannexed by theRussian Empire, which placed the Orthodox churches in this territory under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1813, it was established the Eparchy of Kishinev (Chișinău) and Hotin, under Romanian ArchbishopGavril Bănulescu-Bodoni. After 1821, the Russian state and church started a policy of centralization andRussification that included the imposition of Church Slavonic instead of Romanian as the liturgical language, and all archbishops as Russians.[2][3] However, native priests continue to serve in the rural parishes (covering most of the Moldavian population); as most did not speak Russian, attempts to establish a Russian-only seminary failed, and the rural clergy became increasingly isolated from the church leadership. Consequently, after 1867, church authorities began using both Romanian and Russian in their publications, and in 1905 there was a short-lived initiative to make Romanian the language of education.[4]
In 1858, after southern Bessarabia wasreturned to Moldavia, which soon united withWallachia to formRomania, the orthodox churches in Cahul, Bolgrad, and Ismail re-entered under the Romanian Church jurisdiction of theMetropolis of Moldavia, which established the Diocese of the Lower Danube, in 1864.[3][5] In 1878, after Russiare-annexed southern Bessarabia, the Russian Church jurisdiction was reinstated.
In 1918, after the regioncame under Romanian rule, the Archdiocese of Kishinev came, against protests of the Russian Orthodox Church, under the subordination of theRomanian Orthodox Church. Unwilling to accept the changes that came, its bishop was replaced.[6][7] In 1922, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church set up two more dioceses in Bessarabia—the Diocese ofHotin, seated inBălți, and the Diocese of theCetatea Albă, seated inIsmail—and, in 1927, the Orthodox Church in Bessarabia was raised to the rank of theMetropolis of Bessarabia. The Romanian state and church started a counter-campaign ofRomanianization in order to impose Romanian as the liturgical language, and theRevised Julian calendar usage.[2]
Following theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Unionannexed Bessarabia and proclaimed theMoldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Metropolis of Bessarabia was forced to interrupt its activity.[6] In the same period, theMoscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church established on the territory of the new soviet republic a new Diocese of Kishinev. In 1990, it was raised to the rank of the Archdiocese.[8]
A year afterindependence from the USSR as the Republic of Moldova in 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to its jurisdiction in the new country and raised the rank of the Archdiocese to the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova.[9][10]
The Moldovan Orthodox Church claims exclusive jurisdiction over the Orthodox Church in Moldova, although this is contested by the Romanian Orthodox Church and its Metropolis of Bessarabia. The Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova currently consists of sevendioceses:Chișinău under Metropolitan Vladimir (Cantarean),Soroca and Drochia under Bishop Ioan (Moșneguțu),Bălți and Fălești under BishopMarchel (Mihăescu),Cahul and Comrat under BishopAnatolie (Botnari),Edineț and Briceni under BishopNicodim (Vulpe),Tiraspol and Dubăsari under ArchbishopSavva (Volkov), andUngheni and Nisporeni under BishopPetru (Musteață), As of 2010, the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova had 1,231parishes, 46monasteries, 9sketes, a theological academy, and twotheological seminaries served by 7hierarchs, 1,395priests, and 107deacons.
Since the grant of autonomy to the Moldovan Orthodox Church by the Moscow Patriarchate, the Church has administered its local affairs through alocal synod chaired by itsprimate, and the Church's diocesan bishops.
TheRomanian Orthodox Church consider that, during the time, the Russian Orthodox Church jurisdiction on the former territory ofBessarabia was anunfair and abusive act in terms of historical reality and canon law, and the jurisdiction right of the Russian Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova can be exercised only to theRussian ethnics of Moldova.[11]
In the lead-up to the independence of Moldova, the Romanian Orthodox Church reactivated the interwarMetropolis of Bessarabia, granted it autonomy, and gave it authority over the Republic of Moldova and areas in southwestern Ukraine withRomanian populations. The Metropolis was started in 1992 by the Moldovan Orthodox Bishop ofBălți,Petru (Păduraru). In 2006, theSupreme Court of Justice of Moldova recognised the Autonomous Metropolis of Bessarabia, as "historical, canonical and spiritual successor of the Metropolis of Bessarabia which functioned until 1944 including".[6]
The Metropolis of Bessarabia had 84 parishes in Moldova at the time of its organization, and is considered aschismatic organization by the Russian Orthodox Church. On the other hand, the Romanian Orthodox Church is in favour of a "peaceful coexistence and brotherly cooperation between the two Orthodox Metropolises which operate under the jurisdiction of the two sister Orthodox Patriarchies".[6]
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