Metropolitan Antonie calls for reconciliation and unity as Metropolis of Bessarabia marks 34 years since reactivation

“It is time to draw closer to one another, so that common prayer and active love may prepare the way for communion and unity within our ancestral Church,” Metropolitan Antonie said on Monday as the Metropolis of Bessarabia marked 34 years since its reactivation.

Metropolitan Antonie celebrated a Te Deum service at the Metropolitan Chapel of St John the Theologian in Chișinău.

The anniversary recalled the decision of the Diocesan Assembly held in Chișinău on 14 September 1992, when participating clergy and laity decided to reactivate the historic Metropolis of Bessarabia .

Metropolitan Antonie recalled the period of Soviet persecution and the efforts of those who preserved the faith and their connection with the Romanian Orthodox Church. His Eminence noted that the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church described the reactivation of the Metropolis of Bessarabia as “a sacred act of truth and justice”.

“We honour the members of the 1992 Diocesan Assembly and all those who served this cause, sharing the same apostolic faith, the same Romanian heritage and the same calling to holiness.”

The faith we have received must bear fruit Metropolitan Antonie officiated a Te…