Nr. 4664 / 31.10.2007
Taking into account certain misunderstanding and declarations in some media circles regarding the new Romanian eparchies from outside Romania, the Romanian Patriarchate brings the following clarifications:
Press Release
The most recent session of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, held in October this year, had, as its major theme of discussion, the reviewing of the Statute of the Organisation and Functioning of the Romanian Orthodox Church, a Statute in which all the existent eparchies, at present, in the Romanian Patriarchate had to be included, each one by its name. In this respect, the hierarchs analyzed, with great responsibility, the new church context, giving a special attention to our believers who are living abroad in a great number and who require an ever increasing pastoral-missionary activity. Consequently, strictly following the obligations of this Statute, the Holy Synod had to respond, adequately and responsibly, to the existent realities in these Romanian communities, in a spirit of panorthodox brotherhood and in accordance with the canonical principles.
On that occasion, among other decisions that had to be applied without further delay there were some regarding the organization of numerous communities of Romanian Orthodox faithful living outside the boundaries of Romania in well defined structures. Thus, following the principles of the ecclesiology of the ecumenical councils, according to which a metropolitanate should have, within it, suffragan eparchies, principles which are at the very foundation of the organisation of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod decided the setting up of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe (within the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate for Germany, Central and Northern Europe), the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Spain and Portugal (within the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate for Western and Southern Europe) and the Romanian Orthodox Diocese for Australia and New Zeeland. Hence, these eparchies are facilitating the ecclesiastical organisation of thousands of Romanians who live in those parts of the world.
During the working sessions, the hierarchs of the Holy Synod have been also informed about the decision of the Autonomous Metropolitanate of Bessarabia to reactivate three eparchies from within its territory, eparchies which had been forced to interrupt their activity by the soviet power. This reactivation was an intrinsic consequence of the fact that, following the definitive ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, in 2004, and through the modifications registered in the Statute of the Organisation and Functioning of the Autonomous Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, this [the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia] was recognised as “the spiritual, canonical, historical successor of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, which functioned until 1944 included”, together with its eparchies. The Archdiocese of Chişinău, the Diocese of Bălţi, the Diocese of Southern Bessarabia and the Diocese of Dubăsari and All Transnistria, which were reactivated by the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, were all officially registered as such by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, enjoying a legal status already a few years before that. Therefore, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has only taken notice, with blessings, of the juridical recognition by the state authorities of the Republic of Moldova of the above mentioned eparchies of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia.
The decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church regarding the new church configuration in the Republic of Moldova does not intend in any way to generate conflict situations, since it is nothing but recognition of a lawful state of affairs. No more than that!
At the same time, it would be regrettable if the dialogue between the Romanian Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate on the topic of the ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the Republic of Moldova were to be affected in one way or another, the meeting scheduled for next November in Moscow constituting precisely an occasion to clarify aspects of this situation, which created certain misunderstanding and overreactions in some ecclesiastical circles from the East.
The Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate
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The Department for External Church Relations of the Romanian Patriarchate
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