ABSTRACT
In consequence of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s decision to restore the metropolis of Bessarabia,3 structures of both churches – Romanian and Russian – have coexisted in Moldova since December 1992.4 In contrast to the similar situation in Ukraine and Estonia, this time the ROC has had an ally in the Moldovan authorities at least until the elections won by the opposition in 2009. Supporting the canonical Russian church, for nearly 10 years Kishinev has refused to register the structures of the Romanian patriarchate. In 1998 representatives of the metropolis of Bessarabia filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, following the decision of the Moldovan Supreme Court in December 1997, according to which legalization of the structures of the Romanian patriarchate depends entirely on the decision of the state-recognized church – the ROC.
