34 years since the reactivation of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, deliberately accomplished with great efforts in a post-Soviet societytranslated

Monday marked 34 years since, on September 14, 1992, the Chisinau Diocesan Assembly decided to reactivate the Metropolis of Bessarabia.

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church took note of this decision on December 19, 1992, through a Patriarchal and Synodal Act which recognized it as an autonomous and old-style metropolis, forming an integral part of the body of the Romanian Orthodox Church and having its residence in Chisinau.

How the Metropolis of Bessarabia was reactivated The Republic of Moldova had declared its independence in 1991, but the Soviet reflexes were still strong in the society beyond the Prut, so the road to the recognition by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova of the re-established metropolis was a winding one, full of obstacles and delays.

Along with the Bessarabian deputy Vlad Cubreacov, Anatol Telembici, the current Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia, was also involved in the legal battle for the recognition of the re-established metropolis, as a representative of the metropolis.

The process reached the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. The decision of December 13, 2001 of the European institution gave victory to the Metropolis of Bessarabia and to...