Madalin NecsutuChisinauBIRNMarch 10, 202312:17Draft law backed by ruling party deputies proposes returning important assets to the Romanian-linked Metropolis of Bessarabia which were confiscated under the Soviet regime.

Moldova Mulls Returning Properties to Romanian-Linked Church

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, right,, embraces Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Daniel at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania, October 27, 2017. Photo: EPA/Robert Ghement

Moldova will hand over the building of the former Theological Seminary in Chisinau to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which is linked to the Romanian Orthodox Church, if a draft law registered by several deputies of the ruling Action and Solidarity Party, PAS, is adopted.

The supporting note of the draft law, submitted on Thursday, is that the assets of the Metropolis of Bessarabia were wrongly confiscated and nationalised by the Soviet regime after World War II, when Moldova became part of the USSR, so the transfer back of the property would “restore in the smallest possible way a measure of historical equity.”

The draft law has been also signed by the Moldovan parliament’s speaker, Igor Grosu, who on February 9 met the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, in Bucharest.

During the meeting, the Romanian Patriarch said Moldova should return the former Orthodox Theology Faculty and former Theological Seminary in Chisinau to the Metropolis of Bessarabia.

However, current Moldovan legislation only allows the retrocession or compensation of nationalised assets for persons who were subject to political repressions, not legal entities.

The Catholic Church and Jewish community have also requested the return of properties confiscated by the Soviets but have obtained nothing because of the current law.

The initiators of this bill propose that the retrocession to the Metropolis of Bessarabia be done via the laws on the protection of monuments and denationalisation of public property.

The leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party in Romania, PSD, Marcel Ciolacu, said Moldovan citizens would benefit from justice being done to the Metropolis of Bessarabia.

“After 30 years of discrimination and injustice, justice is finally being done for the Metropolis of Bessarabia, the only faith-based alternative in Moldova to the Church directly subordinated to the Patriarchate of Moscow,” Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.

Moldova was part of Romania between the two world wars before being annexed by the Soviet Union. It remained a Soviet republic until the USSR dissolved, when it became an independent state. Over one million of 2.6 million Moldovans – around 40 per cent of the population – have Romanian citizenship, mainly to access the EU, of which Romania is a member.

Most Moldovans, however, belong to the Metropolis of Moldova, which is subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church and controls most Church assets. The ratio between the two entities’ possession of churches and monasteries is about 8 to 1 in favour of the Church linked to Moscow.

Russia maintains great influence in Moldova via the Moscow-linked Church whose clergy get closely involved in elections on the side of pro-Russian, anti-Western parties.

The Metropolis of Moldova has also engaged in propaganda and manipulation of public opinion concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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