Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and All Moldova has commented on attempts by the Romanian Orthodox Church to legitimize a priest who had previously been defrocked.
In a video address, Metropolitan Vladimir effectively accused the leadership of the Romanian Orthodox Church of supporting schism and attempting to legitimize clergy who had been removed from the priesthood. The controversy arose after reports that the Romanian Synod intended to restore the rights of a cleric who had previously been defrocked.
In his remarks, Metropolitan Vladimir used unusually strong language. He argued that the Metropolis of Bessarabia is not a legitimate church structure but rather a “schismatic gathering.” He also accused church leaders in Bucharest of disregarding canonical rules.
“The Metropolis of Bessarabia is not a church structure; it is a schismatic assembly. Those in Bucharest know this perfectly well, yet they continue to gather, in evangelical terms, all the weeds—or, using the words of the Apostle Paul, they collect all the rubbish. I sit and wonder: Lord, can one truly become so lost? Do those hardened people in Bucharest really not understand that this is not the way?”
The metropolitan expressed particular outrage at the reported attempt by Romanian church authorities to restore clergy who had been removed from ministry by the Moldovan Orthodox Church. He compared such efforts to attempting to revive a dead man.
“One does not need to be a great theologian to understand that the attempt by the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church to restore to the priesthood those who were defrocked, those who lost their bishop, is very similar to trying to bring back to life a hanged man who has been hanging for several days,” he said.
The statement comes amid a scandal surrounding a video allegedly showing Petru, head of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, engaged in an intimate relationship with another man.
According to the article, Metropolitan Petru had previously been separated from the Moldovan Orthodox Church over allegations related to homosexual conduct. Following the circulation of the video across Moldovan and Romanian social media platforms, the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church reportedly placed Metropolitan Petru into retirement, officially citing his advanced age.
