Metropolis of Bessarabia: Difference between revisions

Metropolis of Bessarabia
Metropolis of Bessarabia
	Organization of the Metropolis of Bessarabia
Location
Territory	Moldova
Headquarters	Chișinău
Statistics
Population; - Total	; 720,000
Information
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox
Sui iuris church	Romanian Patriarchate (Autonomous Metropolis)
Established	1918
Language	Romanian
Current leadership
Bishop	Metropolitan Petru
Website
	mitropoliabasarabiei.md

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The Metropolis of Bessarabia (Romanian: Mitropolia Basarabiei), also referred to as the Bessarabian Orthodox Church,^[1] is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan bishopric of the Romanian Orthodox Church, situated in Moldova. Its canonical jurisdiction is the territory of the Republic of Moldova, and over the Moldovan and Romanian Orthodox diaspora from the former USSR.^[2]

The Metropolis of Bessarabia was created in 1918, as the Archbishopric of Chișinău, and organized as a Metropolis, in 1927.^[3] Inactive during the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia (1940–1941) and the Soviet rule in Moldova (1944–1991), the Metropolis of Bessarabia was re-activated on 14 September 1992, and raised to the rank of exarchate, in 1995. The current Metropolitan of Bessarabia is Petru (Păduraru).^[4]

History[edit]

In 1812, after the annexation of Bessarabia by the Russian Empire, the Orthodox churches were re-organized as the Eparchy of Chişinău and Hotin, from the churches and monasteries of the Metropolis of Moldavia on that territory that no longer belonged to the Principality of Moldavia, by Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni, a popular promoter of Moldavian/Romanian language and culture, who also served as its first archbishop. After 1821, the Russian state and church started an extended policy of Russification.^[5]

In 1858, after southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, which soon united with Wallachia to form Romania, the Orthodox churches in Cahul, Bolgrad, and Ismail re-entered under the Romanian Church jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Moldavia, which established the Diocese of the Lower Danube, in 1864.^[6] In 1878, after Russia re-annexed southern Bessarabia, the Russian Church jurisdiction was reinstated.

In 1918, after the Union of Bessarabia with Romania, the archbishop Anastasius Gribanovsky of the Eparchy of Chişinău was ousted after he refused to accede to Romania's demand to secede from the Russian Orthodox Church and integrate the eparchy in the Romanian one. With the advent of Greater Romania in 1918, there were three church bodies: the autocephalous Romanian Orthodox Church (on the territory of Smaller Romania—prior to 1918—formed in 1872 from the union of the Metropolis of Ungrovlahia with Metropolis of Moldavia), and the non-autocephalous Metropolis of Bessarabia and Metropolis of Transylvania. Therefore, in 1925, the rank of the Romanian Orthodox Church was raised to that of a Patriarchate, with the Metropolis of Bessarabia as one of its five sees. Gurie Grosu was the first Metropolitan of Bessarabia, and Efrem Enăchescu the second.

After the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, the church, which then was a non-autonomous Metropolis, was banned, and its property has either changed uses, or was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, which established the Bishopric in Chişinău and Moldova. In 1980s, two more bishoprics were added, and the See raised to the status of the Archdiocese, in 1990, and as the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova, in 1992.

After Moldova's independence in 1991, part of the clergy followed Petru Păduraru, the Bishop of Bălţi, and re-established the Metropolis of Bessarabia. The Romanian Orthodox Church considered that, during the time, the Russian Orthodox Church jurisdiction on the former territory of Bessarabia was an unfair and abusive act in terms of historical reality and canon law, and as long as it remains under the Russian Orthodox Church, the jurisdiction right of the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova can be exercised only to the Russian ethnics of Moldova.^[7]

The Russian Orthodox Church also refused to recognize the authority of the Bessarabian church, and the two metropolia started an uneasy co-existence. During the 1990s, the one subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church gained the protection of the country's authorities and established itself as the official church, while the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia was refused registration according to the country's new law of religions. In 2004, after years of legal hurdles and a final decision by the European Court of Human Rights, the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia received official registration, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova recognizing it as "the spiritual, canonical, historical successor of the Metropolitan See of Bessarabia which functioned till 1944, including".^[8] About 20% of country's Orthodox churches were or changed to be under its jurisdictions; a strong desire to similar moves has been expressed in many other parishes.^{[citation needed]}

This decision continues to be a major area of tension with the Russian Orthodox Church. The position of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the dispute with the Russian Orthodox Church over the territorial jurisdiction is, according to a press release, that the two Metropolitan Sees should "peacefully co-exist and brotherly cooperate (…) harmonising, with wisdom and realism, the territorial principle with the ethnic principle, as agreed in the pastoral service of the Orthodox in Diaspora."^[8]

In June 2023, Romania's Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu announced that Romania will fund the Metropolis of Bessarabia with 2 million euros per year.^[9]^[10]

Structure and organization[edit]

The church is currently recognized only by some other Orthodox Churches, since the Patriarchate of Moscow opposes its recognition by all of them.^[11] The current Metropolitan of Bessarabia is Petru Păduraru (born 24 October 1946 in Ţiganca, elected as metropolitan in 1992), and it has about one third of the orthodox community in Moldova.^[12]

The Metropolis of Bessarabia consists of four eparchies:

Archdiocese of Chișinău
Diocese of Bălți
Diocese of Southern Bessarabia
Diocese of Dubăsari and Transnistria

Gallery[edit]

Gurie Grosu

References[edit]

^ International Religious Freedom Report 2007 about Moldova
^ Mitropolia Ortodoxa Romana a Basarabiei at crestinortodox.ro
^ "The Position of the Romanian Patriarchate concerning the Reactivation of the Three Dioceses in the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
^ Administrative Organisation of the Romanian Orthodox Church Archived 2014-01-23 at the Wayback Machine at patriarhia.ro
^ John Anthony McGuckin (15 December 2010). The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, 2 Volume Set. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 765–. ISBN 978-1-4443-9254-8.
^ The Lower Danube Archidiocese history
^ 19 mai 1993 - Scrisoarea Prea Fericitului Patriarh Teoctist către Sanctitatea Sa Alexei II (1993) (in Romanian)
^ ^a ^b Press release: A legitimate act for defending the Romanian identity - Explanations concerning the juridical recognition of the Metropolitan See of Bessarabia and of the suffragan eparchies Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, Romanian Patriarchy, 21 February 2008. — "Archived copy" (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-04-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) — "Stiri" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2008-04-21. — "Archived copy" (PDF) (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-04-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Ciolacu, proiect de lege pentru acordarea unui sprijin financiar anual Mitropoliei Basarabiei". 21 June 2023.
^ "Premierul Marcel Ciolacu vrea să finanțeze Mitropolia Basarabiei cu 2 milioane de lei". 22 June 2023.
^ Lucia Turcescu, Lavinia Stan, Church–state conflict in Moldova: the Bessarabian Metropolitanate (abstract)
^ (in Romanian) "Înalt Prea Sfinţitul Vladimir vorbeşte despre unirea Mitropoliei Moldovei cu cea a Basarabiei" ("Metropolitan Vladimir about the union of the two Metropolitans in Moldova"), publika.md, 30 August 2013

External links[edit]

[1] International Religious Freedom Report 2007 about Moldova

[2] Mitropolia Ortodoxa Romana a Basarabiei at crestinortodox.ro

[patriarhia-3] "The Position of the Romanian Patriarchate concerning the Reactivation of the Three Dioceses in the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-04.

[4] Administrative Organisation of the Romanian Orthodox Church Archived 2014-01-23 at the Wayback Machine at patriarhia.ro

[McGuckin2010-5] John Anthony McGuckin (15 December 2010). The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, 2 Volume Set. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 765–. ISBN 978-1-4443-9254-8.

[6] The Lower Danube Archidiocese history

[7] 19 mai 1993 - Scrisoarea Prea Fericitului Patriarh Teoctist către Sanctitatea Sa Alexei II (1993) (in Romanian)

[press-rel-20080221-8] Press release: A legitimate act for defending the Romanian identity - Explanations concerning the juridical recognition of the Metropolitan See of Bessarabia and of the suffragan eparchies Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, Romanian Patriarchy, 21 February 2008. — "Archived copy" (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-04-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) — "Stiri" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2008-04-21. — "Archived copy" (PDF) (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-04-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[9] "Ciolacu, proiect de lege pentru acordarea unui sprijin financiar anual Mitropoliei Basarabiei". 21 June 2023.

[10] "Premierul Marcel Ciolacu vrea să finanțeze Mitropolia Basarabiei cu 2 milioane de lei". 22 June 2023.

[11] Lucia Turcescu, Lavinia Stan, Church–state conflict in Moldova: the Bessarabian Metropolitanate (abstract)

[12] (in Romanian) "Înalt Prea Sfinţitul Vladimir vorbeşte despre unirea Mitropoliei Moldovei cu cea a Basarabiei" ("Metropolitan Vladimir about the union of the two Metropolitans in Moldova"), publika.md, 30 August 2013

[note_n0-13] The ROC severed full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2018, and later severed full communion with the primates of the Church of Greece, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Church of Cyprus in 2020.

[note_n1-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Autocephaly or autonomy is not universally recognized.

[note_n3-15] UOC-MP was moved to formally cut ties with the ROC as of May 27th 2022.

[note_n2-16] Semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church whose autonomy is not universally recognized.

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+{{Short description|Metropolis of the Romanian Orthodox Church}}
-The '''Metropolis of Bessarabia''' is one of the six metropolies of the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]], forming by itself the autonoumus [[Orthodox Church of Bessarabia]]. The '''Metropolis of Bessarabia''' was created in 1927, when the [[Archbishopric of Chisinau]] was raised to the rank of metropoly. Inactive during Soviet occupation and Soviet rule, it was re-activated on September 14, 1992, on the territory of the [[Republic of Moldova]]. In 1995, the Metropolis of Bessarabia has been raised to the rank of [[exarch|exarchate]], with jurisdiction over the [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian Orthodox]] communities of the ex-Soviet space and the [[Moldovan]] diaspora worldwide.<ref>http://www.lumeam.ro/nr2_2005/si_totusi_moldova.html</ref>
+{{About|one of the Orthodox churches in Moldova|other uses|Moldovan Orthodox Church (disambiguation)}}
+{{Infobox diocese
+| jurisdiction   = Metropolis
+| name           = Bessarabia
+| image          = metropolis of bessarabia.svg
+| image_size     =
+| caption        = Organization of the Metropolis of [[Bessarabia]]
+| denomination   = [[Eastern Orthodox]]
+| sui_iuris_church = [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian Patriarchate]] (Autonomous Metropolis)
+| established    = 1918
+| bishop         = [[Petru (Păduraru)|Metropolitan Petru]]
+| headquarters   = [[Chișinău]]
+| territory      = {{MDA}}
+| language       = [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
+| population     = 720,000
+| website        = [http://www.mitropoliabasarabiei.md/ mitropoliabasarabiei.md]
+}}
+[[File:Kapella jenskoi gimnazii bernardazzi.jpg|thumb|250px|[[St. Teodora de la Sihla Church]]]]
+[[File:Romanian Orthodox Church EN.svg|thumb|250px|Administrative map of the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]], including the Metropolis of Bessarabia]]
+The '''Metropolis of Bessarabia''' ({{lang-ro|Mitropolia Basarabiei}}), also referred to as the '''Bessarabian Orthodox Church''',<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2007/90189.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007 about Moldova]</ref> is an  [[Autonomy (Eastern Orthodoxy)|autonomous]] [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] Metropolitan [[bishop]]ric of the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]], situated in Moldova. Its canonical jurisdiction is the territory of the Republic of [[Moldova]], and over the [[Moldovan diaspora|Moldovan]] and [[Romanian diaspora|Romanian]] Orthodox diaspora from the former USSR.<ref>[http://www.crestinortodox.ro/religie/mitropolia-ortodoxa-romana-basarabiei-122930.html Mitropolia Ortodoxa Romana a Basarabiei] at crestinortodox.ro</ref>
+The Metropolis of [[Bessarabia]] was created in 1918, as the [[Archbishopric]] of [[Chișinău]], and organized as a [[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|Metropolis]], in 1927.<ref name="patriarhia">{{Cite web |url=http://www.patriarhia.ro/en/external_church_relations/probbasen1.html |title=The Position of the Romanian Patriarchate concerning the Reactivation of the Three Dioceses in the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia |access-date=2014-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222110029/http://www.patriarhia.ro/en/external_church_relations/probbasen1.html |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Inactive during the [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|Soviet occupation of Bessarabia]] (1940–1941) and the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet rule in Moldova]] (1944–1991), the Metropolis of Bessarabia was re-activated on 14 September 1992, and raised to the rank of [[exarch]]ate, in 1995. The current Metropolitan of Bessarabia is [[Peter (Păduraru)|Petru (Păduraru)]].<ref>[http://www.patriarhia.ro/en/roc_structure/administrative_organisation.html Administrative Organisation of the Romanian Orthodox Church] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123075000/http://www.patriarhia.ro/en/roc_structure/administrative_organisation.html |date=2014-01-23 }} at patriarhia.ro</ref>
-The current Metropolitan of Bessarabia is Petru<ref>http://www.patriarhia.ro/Organizare/structura.html#diaspora</ref>.
+==History==
+{{See also|History of the Orthodox Church in Moldova}}
+In 1812, after the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1812)|annexation]] of [[Bessarabia]] by the [[Russian Empire]], the Orthodox churches were re-organized as the Eparchy of Chişinău and Hotin, from the churches and monasteries of the [[Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina|Metropolis of Moldavia]] on that territory that no longer belonged to the [[Principality of Moldavia]], by [[Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni]], a popular promoter of Moldavian/Romanian language and culture, who also served as its first archbishop. After 1821, the Russian state and church started an extended policy of [[Russification]].<ref name="McGuckin2010">{{cite book|author=John Anthony McGuckin|title=The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, 2 Volume Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmFetR5Wqd8C&pg=PT765|date=15 December 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-9254-8|pages=765–}}</ref>
+In 1858, after southern Bessarabia was [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|returned]] to Moldavia, which soon united with [[Wallachia]] to form [[United Principalities|Romania]], the Orthodox churches in Cahul, Bolgrad, and Ismail re-entered under the Romanian Church jurisdiction of the [[Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina|Metropolis of Moldavia]], which established the Diocese of the Lower Danube, in 1864.<ref>[http://www.calauza.edj.ro/?p=8304 The Lower Danube Archidiocese history]</ref> In 1878, after Russia [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|re-annexed]] southern Bessarabia, the Russian Church jurisdiction was reinstated.
-{{orthodoxy-stub}}
+In 1918, after the [[Union of Bessarabia with Romania]], the archbishop [[Anastasius Gribanovsky]] of the Eparchy of Chişinău was ousted after he refused to accede to Romania's demand to secede from the Russian Orthodox Church and integrate the eparchy in the Romanian one. With the advent of [[Greater Romania]] in 1918, there were three church bodies: the autocephalous [[Romanian Orthodox Church]] (on the territory of  ''Smaller Romania''&mdash;prior to 1918&mdash;formed in 1872 from the union of the [[Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia|Metropolis of Ungrovlahia]] with Metropolis of Moldavia), and the non-autocephalous Metropolis of Bessarabia and [[Metropolis of Transylvania]]. Therefore, in 1925, the rank of the Romanian Orthodox Church was raised to that of a Patriarchate, with the Metropolis of Bessarabia as one of its five sees. [[Gurie Grosu]] was the first Metropolitan of Bessarabia, and [[Efrem Enăchescu]] the second.
+After the [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|Soviet occupation of Bessarabia]] in 1940, the church, which then was a non-autonomous Metropolis, was banned, and its property has either changed uses, or was transferred to the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], which established the ''Bishopric in Chişinău and Moldova''. In 1980s, two more bishoprics were added, and the See raised to the status of the Archdiocese, in 1990, and as the [[Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova]], in 1992.
-[[ro:Mitropolia Basarabiei]]
+After Moldova's independence in 1991, part of the clergy followed Petru Păduraru, the Bishop of [[Bălţi]], and re-established the Metropolis of Bessarabia. The Romanian Orthodox Church considered that, during the time, the Russian Orthodox Church jurisdiction on the former territory of Bessarabia was an ''unfair and abusive act in terms of historical reality and canon law'', and as long as it remains under the Russian Orthodox Church, the jurisdiction right of the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova can be exercised only to the [[Russians in Moldova|Russian ethnics]] of Moldova.<ref>[http://www.istoria.md/articol/54/19_mai_1993___Scrisoarea_Prea_Fericitului_Patriarh_Teoctist_c%C4%83tre_Sanctitatea_Sa_Alexei_II 19 mai 1993 - Scrisoarea Prea Fericitului Patriarh Teoctist către Sanctitatea Sa Alexei II (1993)] {{in lang|ro}}</ref>
+The Russian Orthodox Church also refused to recognize the authority of the Bessarabian church, and the two metropolia started an uneasy co-existence. During the 1990s, the one subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church gained the protection of the country's authorities and established itself as the official church, while the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia was refused registration according to the country's new law of religions. In 2004, after years of legal hurdles and a final decision by the [[European Court of Human Rights]], the '''Orthodox Church of Bessarabia''' received official registration, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova recognizing it as "the spiritual, canonical, historical successor of the Metropolitan See of Bessarabia which functioned till 1944, including".<ref name="press-rel-20080221">Press release: [http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/PDF/Mbasarabia%20eng.pdf A legitimate act for defending the Romanian identity - Explanations concerning the juridical recognition of the Metropolitan See of Bessarabia and of the suffragan eparchies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227161039/http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/PDF/Mbasarabia%20eng.pdf |date=2008-02-27 }}, [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian Patriarchy]], 21 February 2008. — {{cite web |url=http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/PDF/Mbasarabia%20fra.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227161035/http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/PDF/Mbasarabia%20fra.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-27 |language=fr}} — {{cite web |url=http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/040.html |title=Stiri |access-date=2008-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226070744/http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/040.html |archive-date=2008-02-26 |language=ro}} — {{cite web |url=http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/PDF/MBasarabiei%20rus.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227161044/http://www.patriarhia.ro/Site/Stiri/2008/PDF/MBasarabiei%20rus.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-27 |language=ru}}</ref> About 20% of country's Orthodox churches were or changed to be under its jurisdictions; a strong desire to similar moves has been expressed in many other parishes.{{Citation needed|date=September 2007}}
+This decision continues to be a major area of tension with the Russian Orthodox Church. The position of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the dispute with the Russian Orthodox Church over the territorial jurisdiction is, according to a press release, that the two Metropolitan Sees should "peacefully co-exist and brotherly cooperate (…) harmonising, with wisdom and realism, the territorial principle with the ethnic principle, as agreed in the pastoral service of the Orthodox in Diaspora."<ref name="press-rel-20080221" />
+In June 2023, Romania's [[Ciolacu Cabinet|Prime minister]] [[Marcel Ciolacu]] announced that Romania will fund the Metropolis of Bessarabia with 2 million euros per year.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://adevarul.ro/politica/ciolacu-proiect-de-lege-pentru-acordarea-unui-2277662.html | title=Ciolacu, proiect de lege pentru acordarea unui sprijin financiar anual Mitropoliei Basarabiei | date=21 June 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ziarulprofit.ro/index.php/premierul-marcel-ciolacu-vrea-sa-finanteze-mitropolia-basarabiei-cu-2-milioane-lei/ | title=Premierul Marcel Ciolacu vrea să finanțeze Mitropolia Basarabiei cu 2 milioane de lei | date=22 June 2023 }}</ref>
+==Structure and organization==
+The church is currently recognized only by some other Orthodox Churches, since the Patriarchate of Moscow opposes its recognition by all of them.<ref>Lucia Turcescu, Lavinia Stan, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110311025700/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGF-49SFG2K-1&_user=1010281&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2003&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050264&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=1010281&md5=bb8a48e2e5eddaf140db0306f6d8e0e1 Church–state conflict in Moldova: the Bessarabian Metropolitanate (abstract)]</ref> The current Metropolitan of Bessarabia is [[Petru Păduraru]] (born 24 October 1946 in [[Ţiganca]], elected as metropolitan in 1992), and it has about one third of the orthodox community in Moldova.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [http://www.publika.md/inalt-prea-sfintitul-vladimir-vorbeste-despre-unirea-mitropoliei-moldovei-cu-cea-a-basarabiei_1563041.html "Înalt Prea Sfinţitul Vladimir vorbeşte despre unirea Mitropoliei Moldovei cu cea a Basarabiei" ("Metropolitan Vladimir about the union of the two Metropolitans in Moldova")], ''publika.md'', 30 August 2013</ref>
+The Metropolis of Bessarabia consists of four [[eparchy|eparchies]]:
+*Archdiocese of [[Chișinău]]
+*Diocese of [[Bălți]]
+*Diocese of Southern Bessarabia
+*Diocese of [[Dubăsari]] and [[Transnistria]]
+==See also==
+*[[History of the Orthodox Church in Moldova]]
+*[[Religion in Moldova]]
+*[[List of members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church]]
+*[[Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina]]
+*[[St. Teodora de la Sihla Church]]
+*[[Luminătorul]]
+*[[Misionarul]]
+*[[Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova]] - The autonomous metropolitanate in Moldova under the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].
+==Gallery==
+<gallery>
+File:Stamp of Moldova 128.gif|[[Gurie Grosu]]
+</gallery>
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
+==External links==
+*[http://www.mitropoliabasarabiei.md/ Official website]
+*[http://www.mitropoliabasarabiei.ro/ Website] {{in lang|ro}}
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311032943/http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=%2Fdocuments%2Fworkingdocs%2Fdoc97%2Ffdoc7871.htm Liberté de la Métropolie de la Béssarabie]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311032938/http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=%2Fdocuments%2Fworkingdocs%2Fdoc97%2Fedoc7871.htm Freedom of the Metropolis of Bessarabia]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311033156/http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=%2Fdocuments%2Fworkingdocs%2Fdoc98%2Ffdoc7946.htm DECLARATION ECRITE N° 265 concernant l'arrêt de la Cour d'Appel de la République de Moldova relatif à la légitimité et à la liberté de la Métropolie de Bessarabie]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311032948/http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=%2Fdocuments%2Fworkingdocs%2Fdoc98%2Fedoc7946.htm WRITTEN DECLARATION No. 265 on the decision of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Moldova on the legitimacy and freedom of the Metropolis of Bessarabia]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061127095007/http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp?link=%2FDocuments%2FWorkingDocs%2FDoc04%2FFDOC10042.htm Droit de l'Eglise métropolitaine de Bessarabie à sa propre succession juridique]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311032933/http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=%2Fdocuments%2Fworkingdocs%2Fdoc04%2Fedoc10042.htm Right of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia to its own succession in title]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311032953/http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=%2Fdocuments%2Fworkingdocs%2Fdoc98%2Ffdoc8156.htm Complicité de la Patriarchie de Moscou et de toute la Russie avec le régime illégale et sécessioniste installé à l'Est de la République de Moldova]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110311033151/http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=%2Fdocuments%2Fworkingdocs%2Fdoc98%2Fedoc8156.htm Complicity of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia with the illegal and secessionist regime installed in the east of the Moldovan Republic]
+*[http://mospat.ru/?page=40264&lng=1 Statement concerning the arguments of the representatives of the Romanian Orthodox Church justifying the decision to establish dioceses of the Metropolia of Bessarabia]
+*[http://www.ec-patr.org/docdisplay.php?lang=en&id=287&tla=en Territorial Jurisdiction According to Orthodox Canon Law. The Phenomenon of Ethnophyletism in Recent Years], a paper read at the International Congress of Canon Law, 2001, (Ecumenical Patriarchate website)
+*[http://atlasofchurch.altervista.org/chiesaortodossa/bessarabia.htm Torna a Patriarcato di Mosca] {{in lang|it}}
+{{Romanian Orthodox Church}}
+{{Eastern Orthodoxy in Europe}}
+{{Eastern Orthodox Church footer}}
+{{Christianity in Moldova}}
+{{Christianity footer}}
+{{Authority control}}
+[[Category:Metropolis of Bessarabia| ]]
+[[Category:Eastern Orthodoxy in Moldova]]
+[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1918]]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States Czech Republic