On Tuesday evening, 10 February, about 150 people, organized by the mayor of the village of Dereney in the Calarash District, broke through a police cordon and entered the local church belonging to the Bessarabian Metropolia.

To breach the cordon, supporters of the Moldovan Metropolia, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church, deliberately used women, police said. It is alleged that in the course of coordinated actions they attacked carabinieri and also stole several of their radios, the outlet Nokta reports.

As a result, about 150 people entered the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. It is reported that when supporters of the Moldovan Metropolia stormed the church, children were inside and, according to police representatives, were subjected to serious emotional pressure.

Subsequently, with the assistance of the Fulger special forces unit, police detained the local Socialist mayor, Vasilii Revenko, who organized the group, as well as a lawyer for one of the priests and four other individuals for 72 hours.
Police classified the incident as a provocation in which women and children were used.

Reaction of the Bessarabian Metropolia

The Bessarabian Metropolia of the Romanian Orthodox Church, to which the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Dereney in the Calarash District legally belongs, categorically condemned the attempt to seize the church by supporters of the Moldovan Metropolia. It stated that the breach constitutes an act outside any moral or Christian norms.

“The breaking and violent seizure of the church in the presence of children, who were already in a state of extreme vulnerability, constitute a form of collective violence that exceeds any boundaries acceptable in a state governed by the rule of law,” the Bessarabian Metropolia added.

It also expressed deep concern over the radicalization and actions of this group, as well as statements that similar violent methods would be used in other localities of Moldova under the pretext of “returning” churches.

The Bessarabian Metropolia called on the Moldovan authorities to urgently intervene in the situation, in particular to:

• identify and bring to criminal responsibility all persons involved in violence, incitement, and the organization of these actions;
• urgently restore public order and legal control over the situation in Dereney;
• guarantee the safety of believers belonging to the Bessarabian Metropolia and their right to freedom of religion;
• ensure full and unhindered access for the Bessarabian Metropolia to the place of worship that legally belongs to it.

The conflict over the church in Dereney

The conflict over the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Dereney has been ongoing for many years, since August 2017.

At that time, the parish rector, Florinel Marin, and an active part of the faithful decided to transfer from the Moldovan Metropolia, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church, to the Bessarabian Metropolia, which in turn is part of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

However, already in March 2018, part of the village residents broke down the church door and changed its lock. A new priest, Alexandru Popa, appointed by the Moldovan Metropolia, replaced Marin. Over the following seven years, parishioners and Fr Florinel Marin held services in an improvised chapel.

At the same time, under an agreement signed by Moldova’s Ministry of Culture in November 2019, the church was transferred for free use for 50 years to the Bessarabian Metropolia.

Court proceedings and appeals continued until July 2025, when the Supreme Court of Justice issued a final ruling that the right to use the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos belongs to the parish of the Bessarabian Metropolia.

Despite the final decision of the Supreme Court of Justice, representatives of the Moldovan Metropolia have not relented and continue attempting to take possession of the church.

As previously reported by LF, deputy and leader of the Moldovan Party of Socialists Igor Dodon, who advocates the federalization of Moldova, commented on the confrontation in the village of Dereney in the Calarash District. He described the transfer of parishes of the Moldovan Orthodox Metropolia of the Moscow Patriarchate to the jurisdiction of the Bessarabian Metropolia of the Romanian Orthodox Church as “church raiding.”