Metropolitan Vladimir Summons Deacons and Abbots Council

The meeting, scheduled for Thursday, will discuss the clerics’ request to withdraw from the Russian Orthodox Church’s subordination and come under the canonical protection of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The decision was made based on a letter sent by Priest Pavel Borsevschi, rector of the parish of St Dumitru Church in Chisinau. “Having received the letter, the Metropolitan did not tell us yes or no, but decided to convene all the deacons and abbots on Thursday to discuss this issue. I don’t think he has any reason to disagree with us, judging by his letter to Patriarch Kirill and given that this is the opinion not only of the priests, but also of the religious community we lead,” Priest Pavel Borsevschi said on JurnalTV. In the letter sent on Monday, Pavel Borsevschi, rector of the “St Dumitru” church in the capital, mentions that in the context of the “unjust and treacherous” war that Russia is waging in Ukraine, and taking into account the difficult situation in which the Moldovan Metropolitanate finds itself, most priests would prefer to move under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Patriarchate. “His Holiness Vladimir’s letter addressed to Patriarch Kirill on 5 September 2023, which states that our nation of Latin origin has nothing in common with the ‘Russian world’, gives us the courage to believe that now, more than ever, is the right time to correct historical mistakes and restore the dignity stolen by the Russian occupation,” the letter says. Last week, 13 more parishes announced that they were moving to the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, and another 50 priests are ready to follow suit. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion to Ukraine, more than 50 parish priests from the Republic of Moldova have transferred from the Moldovan Metropolis to the Metropolis of Bessarabia.