The higher gas rate causes difficulties to churches and monasteries in Moldova, primarily ahead of winter. The rate of 11.08 lei per cubic meter of gas is a problem for the church communities that coped with the bills with difficulty even at the old rate. “In the Republic of Moldova, most of the churches in localities and monasteries have gas heating systems. At the current rate, the costs for church communities will be very high,” bishop of Saint Apostle and Evangelist Ioan Teologul Church of Peresecina, Orhei, Vasile Garbuz, has told IPN.

He explained that in winter the church in which he serves during 24 hours uses 100 cubic meters of gas to maintain a temperature of 15-16 degrees Celsius. During 30 days, they consume 3,000 cubic meters of gas, which is 33,240 lei. For rural communities, this is a rather heavy burden, given that many of the villages are poor. “The churches belong not to priests, but to communities of parishioners and the state institutions, when supporting the citizens, should also take into account the problem of gas bills of churches to which the same citizens go. The Cabinet members, as faithful persons, also form part of church communities,” stated Vasile Garbuz.

The priest suggested that the churches and monasteries should also enjoy compensations for heat, as residential users do, given that they are nonprofit institutions. He also made reference to the EU member states with a majority Christian Orthodox population, where the state supports the churches, like Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. He said the priests there receive monthly salaries from the state in recognition of the special role played by the Orthodox Church in establishing a climate of morality and respect for the law in society.

Asked if he supports such an idea, spokesman for the Orthodox Metropolitan Church of Moldova Vadim Cheibaș stated for IPN that they surely support such an idea, but this will be examined within the Metropolitan Church so as to see if the administration of the Church needs to take attitude.

According to church officials, the renewable sources of energy, including Aeolian installations, solar panels and biomass heating systems, are an alternative solution for providing the churches with energy. In this case, a governmental program to support church communities by investment in new technology is needed.