The Chisinau Church “Saint Apostles Peter and Paul” will become the Cathedral of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. Romania’s Ambassador to Moldova Cristian-Leon Țurcanu, alongside His Holiness Petru, Archpriest of Chisinau, Metropolitan Bishop of Bessarabia and Exarch of Land, paid a visit to the given church. The building of the future Cathedral of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia is close to being finished. Ambassador Țurcanu said that this is an indisputable symbol of Romanian Christianity on both banks of the Prut River, IPN

The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia forms part of the Romanian Orthodox Church and is based in Chisinau. It was reactivated in 1992. During ten years, it hadn’t been recognized by the authorities in chanson and was registered only after the ECHR passed a relevant judgment.

At the end of last year, Moldova’s Parliament authorized the Metropolitan Bishop of Bessarabia to hold a diplomatic passport so as to equalize his rights with those enjoyed by the Metropolitans Bishop of Moldova, who is canonically subordinated to the Patriarchate of Moscow.

RFE/RL reported that both of the heads of the Orthodox Church already have similar papers issued by other countries, which is banned by law. They are the only representatives of religious denominations that benefit from such a privilege.

Recently, a group of PAS MPs proposed a bill to transfer free the former building of the Theological Seminar in Chisinau, which is now a wing of the National Library of the Republic of Moldova, to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia by derogation from the law. The legislative proposals generated debates in the public sphere, with people of culture expressing their concern about the fate of the special collections, including of old and rare books.