In a Moldovan village, rival Orthodox jurisdictions clash as politics, faith, and geopolitics collide
At night, parishioners sleep on benches and on the floor inside the church in the Moldovan village of Dereneu. During the day, they stand watch outside the gates.
Police patrol the area, and in recent weeks, special forces have been called in to disperse the crowd. The villagers say they are protecting their parish from a takeover by a rival Orthodox jurisdiction – the latest chapter in an eight-year battle over a single church that has come to embody Moldova’s wider political fault lines.
At first glance, the fight in Dereneu is about a single church building. In reality, it reflects a deeper struggle within Moldovan society.
For decades, most Orthodox parishes in the country have belonged to the Metropolis of Moldova, historically linked to the Moscow Patriarchate. But since the 1990s, a rival structure – the Metropolis of Bessarabia, under the Romanian Orthodox Church – has sought to expand its presence. As Moldova’s political leadership pushes for closer integration with the EU, disputes over church allegiance have increasingly become entangled with questions of identity, geopolitics, and influence.
How the conflict started
In 2017, Father Florinel Marin, the pastor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary church in the Moldovan village of Dereneu and a Romanian citizen, backed by the Ministry of Justice, announced that he was transferring the church from the Metropolis of Moldova, affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, affiliated with the Romanian Orthodox Church. Marin cited dissatisfaction with the “illegality of the Metropolis [of Moldova] in the country” and promised parishioners that they would “not have to pay high fees” for funerals, baptisms, and other rites when the church is transferred to the jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
That same year, the Metropolis of Moldova dismissed Marin from pastoral duties. Vadim Corostinschi, episcopal secretary of the Diocese of Ungheni and Nisporeni, claimed that allegations were made against Marin regarding the extortion of large sums from parishioners and later for falsifying the signatures of locals to formalize the transfer of the church to the Metropolis of Bessarabia. According to Corostinschi, these forged documents were registered with the Ministry of Justice, enabling Marin to legally approve the transfer of the church to the Metropolis of Bessarabia.
“As far as I know, the transfer of the church from the Metropolis of Moldova to the Metropolis of Bessarabia of the Romanian Orthodox Church was an initiative of the pastor, a Romanian citizen who, as recently discovered, forged the signatures of some members of the parish council.
Church of the Assumption in Dereneu, Calarasi, Moldova. © Wikimedia
“Moreover, it’s important to note that those currently holding seats in the ruling party also played a role in this manipulation. Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, the former Minister of Education, Culture, and Science, signed a lease agreement on November 5, 2019, granting the Metropolis of Bessarabia the right to use the church for 50 years,” Maxim Morosan, the head of the ‘I am From Balti’ civic organization and a municipal adviser in Balti, told RT.
Takeover of the church and legal battles
In spring 2018, opponents of the Metropolis of Bessarabia in Dereneu sprung into action. A group of local residents loyal to the Metropolis of Moldova broke down the door of the church, changed the locks, and ousted Florinel Marin, appointing priest Alexandru Popa, sent by the Metropolis of Moldova, in his place.
Meanwhile, the Metropolis of Moldova filed a lawsuit seeking to declare the transition of the parish to the Metropolis of Bessarabia illegal and regain control over the church; this was supported by many of the villagers.
However, in 2019, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary church building, classified as a historical monument and formally owned by the Moldovan Ministry of Culture, was handed over for free use to the Metropolis of Bessarabia for a period of 50 years.
In June 2025, the Supreme Court of Justice of Moldova brought the long-standing dispute to a close, definitively ruling that the right to use and own the church belonged to the religious community registered under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which is part of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Interestingly, the court overlooked a 2001 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the ‘Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Others v. Moldova’ case.
“At that time, the court mandated the Moldovan government to register this religious entity; however, it cited the preamble of the metropolis’ charter, which clearly stated that it had no property claims against other churches. This meant that the Metropolis of Bessarabia could not assert any claims over other religious organizations. Nonetheless, the court’s recent ruling, based on forged signatures and a contract from November 5, 2019, upheld the property rights of the Romanian Orthodox Church over the church,” Morosan told RT.
