VIDEO Priests and parishioners of the church subordinate to the Russian Patriarchate attacked a historical monument place of worship in the Republic of Moldova. Clashes with the Police / What started the Orthodox conflict

Approximately 150 people, including priests from the Metropolitanate of Moldova, subordinate to the Russian Patriarchate, forcibly entered a church declared a historical monument and which legally belongs to the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, subordinated to the Romanian Orthodox Church. This is just one of the most recent episodes of the religious conflict between the two churches in the Republic of Moldova.

“A group of priests, representatives of the Metropolitanate of Chisinau and the whole of Moldova, accompanied by other citizens organized by the mayor of the locality, numbering approximately 150 people, broke the police cordon and forcibly entered the church in Dereneu, Călăraşi district, contrary to the law and without taking into account that there were children present in the holy place who were emotionally pressured by these actions. The case was recorded, and the law enforcement officers are documenting the incident”, states the official information of the Police of the Republic of Moldova, about the events that took place on February 10.

The policemen also specified that the church was not locked by the police, as is reported, it was blocked from the inside by the priest who represents the Metropolitanate of Chisinau and All of Moldova, together with his wife and three minor children.

According to the authorities, six people were detained for 72 hours, including the mayor of the locality, the lawyer of the priest affiliated with the Moldovan Metropolis and four other people. They are suspected of insulting the carabinieri, hijacking some law enforcement communication stations and involvement in actions that led to the breaking of the police cordon.

The priest in the village passed from the Russian metropolitan to the Romanian one

The conflict in Dereneu has lasted for almost a decade and involves two Orthodox structures: the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Patriarchate, and the Metropolitanate of Moldavia, subordinated to the Russian Patriarchate.

The Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, built in 1827, is a historical monument and property of the state. The dispute began in 2017, when the village priest decided, together with some of the parishioners, to join the Metropolis of Bessarabia.

In 2018, a group of locals broke down the church door, changed the lock and drove out the priest who had been serving there for over 20 years. In his place came Alexandru Popa, appointed by the Metropolitanate of Moldova, subordinate to the Russian Patriarchate. The church building is a historical monument owned by the state, and in 2019 it was offered for use for 50 years to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, based on a contract registered in the Real Estate Registry.

In June 2025, the Supreme Court of Justice definitively and irrevocably established that the right to use the place belongs to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, rejecting the claims of the Metropolis of Moldova. The representatives of the Metropolis of Bessarabia have repeatedly argued that any other right invoked over the building is without legal basis.

The presence of a convicted mercenary and a man with a Russian flag

In parallel with Tuesday's events, the publication Ziarul de Gardă reported that at the service held in front of the church, a man was also seen in the crowd who was convicted of mercenary activity after allegedly participating on the side of the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Journalists also reported the presence in the crowd of a man carrying the flag of the Russian Federation, an image that later circulated on social networks and fueled controversies related to possible pro-Russian influences and mobilizations around the religious conflict.

Metropolis of Bessarabia: “The action was premeditated, violent and executed in total disregard for the law”

In an official statement published after the incident on Tuesday, the Metropolis of Bessarabia condemned the “extremely serious, violent and flagrantly illegal escalation” of the actions at Dereneu and requested the urgent intervention of the state institutions. Representatives of the Metropolis argued that tolerating such actions would set a dangerous precedent for the rule of law and encourage the escalation of religious conflicts.

“The behavior displayed by this organized group has all the characteristics of a coordinated criminal action, carried out outside any legal framework, as well as outside any moral or Christian norms. The breaking and forcible occupation of a place of worship, in the presence of minor children who are already in a state of extreme vulnerability, represents a form of collective violence that exceeds any limit of what is tolerable in a state of law,” the statement of the Metropolis states Bessarabia.

The Metropolitanate of Moldova did not respond to HotNews' questions

The HotNews editorial office also requested an official point of view from the Metropolitanate of Moldova (subordinate to the Russian Patriarchate), regarding the incidents in Dereneu. We asked the institution if it had any involvement in organizing or supporting the action, how it comments on the forced entry into the place of worship and what is its position regarding the final decision of the Supreme Court of Justice regarding the right of use over the church, established in favor of the Metropolis of Bessarabia. Until the publication of this article, the Metropolitanate of Moldova has not sent a response.

An old conflict that divides the community

The dispute surrounding the church in Dereneu started back in 2017, when part of the parish community decided to join the Metropolis of Bessarabia. In 2018, similar incidents took place, including the changing of the church lock and the installation of a priest appointed by the Metropolitanate of Moldova. Since then, the conflict has generated court actions, interventions by the authorities and repeated episodes of tension between the supporters of the two metropolises. Tuesday's incident represents the most serious episode in recent years, against the background of a final court decision establishing the legal status of the place of worship.

The religious conflict in the Republic of Moldova is also a reminder of what is happening with the religious organizations in Ukraine no longer allowed to collaborate with the Russian Orthodox Church.

The ban is directed against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which was subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church until 2022, when it split from the latter about three months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As early as 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. We specify that from February 2022, the head of the Russian church makes public statements justifying the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. For example, one of the claims is the promise to Russian soldiers dying in Ukraine that they will be “forgiven of all sins”.