Schism in the Moldovan Orthodox Church?

Deep Dive: November 23, 2023

Author’s Note: In todays article we’re going to take a deep dive into a story that has been getting press since October but has been brewing since February 2022. The story is about the Orthodox Church in Moldova and the increasing tensions between the Metropolis of Moldova and the Moscow Patriarchate. We don’t generally cover news about the Orthodox Church, but this story highlights growing societal tensions and questions of identity and allegiance that go beyond a dispute between church factions.

The Letter

On October 20th, a letter written by Metropolitan Vladimir, leader of the Metropolis of Moldova (Moldovan Orthodox Church) to “Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus” leaked to the press. After reporters had the letter its authenticity was confirmed by the Metropolis of Moldova. The letter is too long to print in full, but we will quote a lengthy excerpt here highlighting key information:

Your Holiness,

This address to Your Holiness is the result of increasingly pressing circumstances that push the Moldovan Orthodox Church, with accelerated speed, to the periphery of Moldovan society.

This phenomenon is the direct result of our association as a church structure with the promotion of pro-Russian interests in the Republic of Moldova, determined by our membership in the Patriarchate of Moscow, which in turn is perceived in Moldovan society as an outpost of the Kremlin and a supporter of Russian intervention in Ukraine. For the Orthodox Church of Moldova, this connection is equivalent to our disappearance from the religious and social scene of the country, by virtue of the firm rejection by our fellow citizens of the aggressive interference of Russia in the affairs of the neighboring and friendly state Ukraine, but also in our own affairs. ...

[he writes about the growing influence of the Romanian Orthodox Church and how he is powerless to stop it]

This fact should not surprise anyone, because the fate of the Republic of Moldova is already decided by the great powers - in a relatively short time it will inevitably reunite with Romania, and of course everything that the Orthodox Church of Moldova supports will become part of the Orthodox Church Romanians....

Another trend that concerns our people and the clergy, 80% of whom have Romanian citizenship - is the increasingly persistent desire of the Moscow Patriarchate to absorb the Metropolitanate of Moldova in the so-called "Russian World", which is foreign to the aspirations and our national values. Unfortunately, this trend represents a continuation of the harsh policy of denationalization promoted during the Tsarist and later Soviet periods, which the Russian Orthodox Church wants to "complete". Unfortunately, Moscow has not yet understood the fact that the people of Moldova have Latin roots and it is perfectly normal for them to aspire to approach and remain in this civilizational space, after centuries of artificial division, without betraying Orthodoxy. Of course, we cannot deny the values ​​that bind us to the Russian people, especially those expressed through common faith, but this also applies to our relations with peoples with whom we share religious beliefs, such as the Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian and others, and this must be treated as such and cannot be grounds for any interference in our internal affairs or for "influencing" our aspirations.

In Russia, both secular and ecclesiastical authorities treated us and treat us as a peripheral and spineless people, deprived of the right to make the decisions they consider necessary for their well-being and prosperity. ...

In this situation, we ask you, Your Holiness, how we can avoid the chasm that has opened as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the one hand, and the growing distrust of both the priesthood and the people towards our position, which is supposed to be directly related to Russian interests, on the other hand? ...

What to do in the conditions of the increasingly obvious consolidation of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Moldova and what to do when the Russian Orthodox Church, which considers itself our Mother, behaves towards us, in our opinion, to put it mildly, disrespectfully ? ...

Placing our hope in the wisdom of Your Holiness, but especially in the help of God, we remain waiting for a quick and prompt answer.

In addition to the sections quoted above, Metropolitan Vladimir spends lengthy passages describing attempts that were made by the Moldovan Metropolis to seek help from Moscow. He explains how they have requested funding to cover increased heating costs, which he notes stem from the war, and how the Romanian Orthodox church is tempting priests with salaries of 800-900 euros / month, healthcare and a pension. In each case they got no response. Effectively Moscow was silent.

…and it still is. No response was sent to this letter. But in the time since October 20th events have begun to develop on their own in Moldova.

Metropolitan Vladimir, Photo Source Mirtopolia.md

Background - what are all these terms?

Before we go further, here’s a little background on what we’re talking about. The “Metropolis of Moldova,” officially called the “Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova” is also simply known as the Moldovan Orthodox Church. This church structure has been subordinate to the Patriarch in Moscow, roughly starting in 1812 when Russia annexed Bessarabia from the Ottoman Empire. This started a period of “Russification” of the liturgy and high ranking priests and bishops.

In 1918 Moldova united with Romania following the First World War. This resulted in the creation of the Metropolis of Bessarabia which was organized under the Romanian Orthodox Church. This resulted in a period of re-Romanization of the liturgy, priests, etc which ended with Soviet Annexation in 1944. Following the fall of communism both churches re-emerged in the early 1990s citing their historical claims to oversee Orthodoxy in Moldova. Around 90% of Moldovans claim to be adherents to Eastern Orthodoxy and of those 90% are adherents of the Metropolis of Moldova with the remaining 10% belonging to the Metropolis of Bessarabia.

Historically, the 2 Metropoles have had conflicting views of how Orthodoxy in Moldova should be overseen. The Metropolis of Moldova claims to be the only legitimate overseer of the Orthodox Church in Moldova and considers the Metropolis of Bessarabia to be schismatic. Meanwhile, the Metropolis of Bessarabia has more of a “there’s room for everyone” attitude, with the important caveat that they seek to reverse the 90/10% representation. The Metropolis of Bessarabia seeks to be the primary church for Orthodox believers in Moldova who speak Romanian and are ethnically “Latin,” reserving space for the Metropolis of Moldova as a representative church for the Russian speaking minority. This isn’t wholly unusual and basically represents the organization of the Orthodox Church in Estonia.

This disagreement has more or less bubbled away quietly for the past 30 years within church circles until it spilled out into the public consciousness in past months.

The Role of the Church in Moldova

Author’s note: It’s important to start this section noting that I am not Orthodox and caveating the following by noting a lack of in-depth expertise on the subject. So if you disagree with the following or have some thoughts to add please leave them in the comments.

Since independence the Moldovan Orthodox Church, in all its forms, has played a primarily spiritual role in Moldovan society. The Church rarely raises its voice on political issues except to periodically denounce sex-education and any policies that promote LGBTQ+ rights. This is most visible with Priests leading counter-protestors at the yearly Pride March in Chisinau.

Apart from involvement in social issues, the Orthodox Church is important for various ritual events such as funerals, Memorial Easter blessings and more. Church weddings are relatively rare. People often note that in order to get your loved one’s grave blessed it is common to have to “tip” the priest, and many priests drive exceptionally nice cars and seem to materially benefit from their spiritual positions. This causes periodic calls from politicians to revoke the Church’s tax exempt status. These calls never goes anywhere as both sides in this young democracy seek to cautiously approach issues of Church and State.

What is notable about the Church, at least to someone not so familiar with Eastern Orthodoxy, is their lack of any role in public welfare. Neither Orthodox Church made any public support efforts in the defining crisis of the last years - namely COVID-19 (except to denounce vaccines) or the refugee crisis. This contrasted sharply with the efforts of the Evangelical Christian community, Catholic Church, Jewish community and even Chisinau’s very small Muslim community whose Imam was very involved in refugee relief efforts. During the height of the refugee crisis in particular, the silence from Church leadership was very notable.

So as we continue with this evolving story, it may be tempting to see all of this as simply and internecine battle without much public impact. There may be some truth to this, but the contours of the ongoing struggle highlight much bigger truths about Moldova’s shifting demography and geopolitical outlook.

Pubic Reaction and the Second Letter

Following the leaking of the bombshell letter from Metropolitan Vladimir most public figures expressed some form of interest in the situation without directly commenting or taking sides. The most prominent statement on the issue came from President Sandu who said:

“The state cannot interfere in the affairs of the church. I believe that everyone should contribute to achieving the country's goal, national interests and the interests of citizens. And today it means peace and European integration, because in the EU Moldova will be protected, it will be safe, so to speak, it will have a chance to develop. I believe that even the church should join in this goal, which is to ensure the welfare of the country and its people. (...) We are interested in ensuring that society is not split, that there is social cohesion, and that all of us, including the church, contribute to maintaining the peace and freedom of the country, where the citizen feels protected,”

For most people, that was that. The letter was an interesting headline but then the topic dropped out of the news. This lasted around 2 weeks until on November 13th when Chisinau based priest Pavel Borshchevsky wrote an open letter to Metropolitan Vladimir calling on him to lead the Moldovan Orthodox Church to unite with the Romanian Patriarchate. The letter, which was signed by the majority of priests and parishioners at the St. Demetrius Church, began a process that is now trending towards outright schism. Here are some excerpts from this second letter:

“Metropolitan Vladimir’s letter to Patriarch Kirill, which notes that our people of Latin origin have nothing in common with the Russian world, allows us to believe that the time has come to correct historical mistakes and restore the dignity stolen by the Russian occupation,” …

“After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill lost the title of spiritual father of the Church, turning into a political figure who hypocritically calls for the shedding of brotherly blood, contrary to everything that the Orthodox Church teaches us,” …

“The time has come for us, under your leadership, to return to the Church of our people, the Romanian Patriarchate,”

This letter prompted more questions from journalists for the President who responded saying:

“The war made us see the light and the question is obvious - how can the Russian church support the war and the murder of innocent people? The Moldovan church is now asking the same question,”

Cracks Appear in the Metropolis of Moldova

Following the letter, 5 priests defected from the Metropolis of Moldova to the Metropolis of Bessarabia on November 14th. They were officially de-frocked and banned from performing the liturgy in the Moldovan Orthodox Church. Pavel Borshchevsky was not among them as he as a different vision from the Metropolis of Bessarabia (more on that below).

Following the second letter, and defections, Metropolitan Vladimir chose not to reply directly but instead called for a conference of all rectors of churches and monasteries on November 16th. There was no reporting directly from the conference, and statements made following it have been contradictory. In an official press statement, a representative of the Metropolis of Moldova stated that nothing will change and that the issue of joining the Romanian Patriarchate will not be discussed further. At the same time, priest Pavel Borshchevsky stated after the conference that the issue was not closed, but that there had been an agreement for unity in whatever actions are to come.

The November 16th gathering, Photo Source Metropolia.md

As of the time of writing, Moscow remains silent. Over the course of November 13 parishes have changed their allegiance to the Metropolis of Bessarabia and 11 priests have been de-frocked for defecting.

The Romanian Patriarchate has also publicly remained silent on the issue, but the Metropolis of Bessarabia has signaled open doors for those wishing to join them.

What Happens Next?

While it is impossible to predict what will happen next, we can outline a few scenarios:

1. The Metropolis of Moldova rejects Moscow: Activist priests such as Pavel Borshchevsky continue to campaign for Metropolitan Vladimir to lead the whole Moldovan Orthodox Church towards affiliation with the Romanian Patriarchate. However, where does this leave the Metropolis of Bessarabia led by Metropolitan Petru? A church can’t have 2 leaders and there can’t be 2 outposts of the Romanian Patriarchate claiming control over the same territory. Any movement in this direction would require resolving a number of complex issues.

2. Status Quo: Vladimir’s letter to Patriarch Kirill implies a sort of despair of the current situation. From his own writing we see fear that without some kind of radical change, either in Chisinau or in Moscow, the Orthodox Church in Moldova will continue to split and more and more parishes and priests will join the Metropolis of Bessarabia. If Metropolitan Vladimir chooses to continue on the current path we are likely to see increased divisions and realignments as clergy bypass the leadership and make their own choices.

3. Autocephaly: In the Russia vs Romania question, it is theoretically possible for the Moldovan Orthodox Church to request “Autocephaly” or self government. This would need to be granted by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople. Ukraine followed this path and split the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Moscow in 2019. It is vanishingly unlikely that this could happen in Moldova. The church is much smaller, and historical ties to Romania as well as Moscow offer much more likely solutions.

No matter what Metropolitan Vladimir chooses, serious fissures have opened up in the Orthodox community in Moldova. Last week Bishop Markell of Balti spoke out against defectors saying:

"Before you baptize your children, find out whether this church is canonical or a pseudo-church. We have the Moldavian Orthodox Church, which has been harmoniously part of the Russian Orthodox Church for more than two hundred years,”

While is is highly debatable whether there was any “harmonious” religious structure under the Soviet Union, the statements indicates that there are some diehards who have no intention of abandoning Moscow.

This whole struggle is playing out against the backdrop of public polls showing plummeting trust in the Church. Pre-2022, the Barometer of Public Opinion, a gold standard in Moldovan polling, showed the Church as one of the most trusted institutions in Moldova with around 70% of respondents having high trust in the institution. This fell to 62.5% in 2022 and 58% in 2023.

Given those numbers, the one thing we can say for certain now is that the church in Moldova is being pulled into debates over politics, demographics, language and history in a way not seen since Independence.