ANASTASIA V. MITROFANOVA Orthodox actors and equal opportunities policies in the Republic of Moldova in the context of the transformation of post-Soviet societies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.82787 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
his article examines how the key Orthodox Introduction1 actors in Moldova have reacted to chal- Moldovan society2 is currently in a process Tlenging equal opportunities legislation. The author suggests, on the basis of an economic of post-socialist transformation which has approach to religion, that under the conditions already become the subject of a number of of a deregulated religious market they use vari- academic studies (see, e.g., Iordache 2018; ous strategies to promote their agendas. The Ganzevoort and Sremac 2017; Bilic 2016; Moldovan Orthodox Church (the Metropolitan- ate of Moldova), autonomous within the Russian Slootmaeckers et al. 2016; Sremac and Orthodox Church, previously relied on making Ganzevoort 2015; Ayoub and Paternotte private bargains with the government; but this 2014). Pressure from the outside, known as policy ended with the adoption of the 2013 Law Europeanisation brings about a more rapid on Ensuring Equality in the Republic of Moldova. Now the Metropolitanate tries to assimilate change than would have happened ‘natur the strategies of direct action, but without suc- ally’. The sphere of sexual morality, includ- cess. The so-called ‘non-mentioning’ radicals, ing domestic violence, gender roles, and technically being part of the Metropolitanate the destigmatization of the LGBT commu- of Moldova, but not praying for its bishop, are nity are becoming particularly important. involved in direct political activism – from set- ting up protest camps to street fighting – to Within the last two decades or less, pro- confront de-stigmatization of homosexuality. found changes in this area have affected the The Bessarabian Metropolitanate of the Roma- Western world: even in supposedly liberal nian Orthodox Church utilizes the strategies of France thousands have protested against European ‘public’ churches and gains influence through performing some useful social functions. same-sex marriages. It is no surprise that This article concludes that all actors have their post-socialist states, living in a state of own advantages and weaknesses; nevertheless, uncertainty between European integration, so far the Metropolitanate of Moldova remains a socialist past and the impact of nationalist the strongest; while the other competitors are myths, experience problems with adopting serving specific religious niches, it is this body which still possesses the potential to influence non-discriminatory policies from Europe. society more broadly.
1 This research has been supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Grant no. 18-011-00598. 2 The research does not cover the self-pro- claimed Transnistrian Republic.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 96 In Moldova legally securing some rights for freedom of conscience, Orthodox Chris the LGBT community (in no way same-sex tianity as a whole has found itself in a situ- partnership) has provoked a fierce social ation of religious pluralism. While Islamic movement of counter-reaction. Joining influence in Moldova remains limited, mul- the ongoing discussion on the topic of the tiple Protestant denominations represent a LGBT community has provided Orthodox serious challenge to Orthodoxy. Besides, actors with an opportunity to reach a wider the Metropolitanate of Moldova, previ- portion of society than it has been able to ously a state-protected ‘monopoly’, has to before.3 compete with alternative ‘suppliers’. Those This article aims at uncovering how the actors, who adjust better to the changed key Orthodox actors have reacted to the market conditions and win more support, challenge of equal opportunities legislation, can be evaluated as stronger competitors. and to evaluate the strategies they use to Apart from printed and electronic mobilize supporters for their cause. The key sources, I rely on observations made dur actors are the Moldovan Orthodox Church ing my research visits to Moldova (2011, (the Metropolitanate of Moldova) autono- 2013, 2019); and on ten semi-structured mous within the Russian Orthodox Church, interviews taken at different stages of the and the Bessarabian Metropolitanate of research. The Metropolitanate of Mol the Romanian Orthodox Church. Other dova is represented by its secretary Fr Orthodox groups (Old Believers, non- Vadim Cheibaş; Chair of the Synodal canonical jurisdictions) enjoy very limited Youth Department, Fr Octavian Moșin; Fr influence and remain beyond the scope of Nikolai Florinskii and Fr Vitalii Shinkar this publication. from the parish of St George in Chișinău; The economic approach to religion and Fr Vasilie, who insisted on maintain- (Stark and Bainbridge 1987; Stark and Ian ing his anonymity. The radicals, technic naccone 1994; Iannaccone 1997; Young ally being part of the Metropolitanate of 1997; Stark and Finke 2000; Chesnut Moldova, but not praying for its bishop, are 2003; for a critical survey of the theory represented by Fr Anatolie Cibric. Fr Ioan see Lehmann 2010; Kargina 2014) allows Cosoi is the secretary of the Bessarabian for conceptualizing multiple Orthodox Metropolitanate and director of its social actors as competing religious producers. projects. I also quote from a previously In 2011–13 the Republic of Moldova made unpublished 2011 interview with a Mol a transition from being a regulated reli- dovan lay theologian Nicolae Fuştei, and gious market, where the Metropolitanate of with Ian Feldman, president (from 2015) Moldova, according to the UN Special Rap of the Council for the Prevention and porteur, enjoyed informal privileged treat- Elimination of Discrimination and Ensur ment (United Nations 2012: 9–10), to more ing Equality. Interviews and observations or less free religious competition. Due to the are crucial for this research, because reli- legalisation of Islam in 2011 and amend- gious life in Moldova is scantily docu- ments made in 2012 to the legislation on mented; therefore, this publication pursues the additional end of collecting descriptive data. 3 They struggle against abortion too, but it was legalized may decades ago in the USSR, In 2010 the European Union made and the topic is meaningful only for prac- effective protection from all forms of dis ticing believers. crimination – including on the basis of
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 97 sexual orientation – the condition for but they are symbolically significant, as lifting the visa obligation for citizens they are in all post-socialist countries; these of Moldova. The new Law on Ensuring processions, heavily guarded by the police, Equality was officially adopted by its par- have already attracted academic attention liament in May 2012. The first draft of this in the field of what might be called ‘Pride document underwent revisions; the final studies’ (see, e.g., Drissel 2016; Igrutinović version having been modified to satisfy the et al. 2015). demands of the Church. Oleg Efrim, erst- while Minister of Justice, told me that ‘we The Metropolitanate of Moldova: have taken into consideration all the wishes hold the balance until you fall of the Church except the one that this law The position of the Metropolitanate of should not exist’ (Efrim 2013). Sexual Moldova with regard to non-discrimin orientation-based discrimination was now ation policies seems uncompromising. prohibited only in the sphere of employ- In summer 2013 Metropolitan Vladimir ment – meaning, verbal condemnations of (Cantarean) promised to excommuni- homosexuality could not be legally pun- cate politicians who had voted for the ished; an amendment was made allowing Law on Ensuring Equality a month ear- religious organizations to employ (or not lier. In September 2014 the Synod issued employ) whoever they wanted. Article one a ‘Condemnation of gay parades and of of the Law on Ensuring Equality indicates the consequences of adopting the Law that the provisions of the law are not related on Ensuring Equal Opportunities’, which to and cannot be interpreted as causing explicitly accused the government of col- damage to (1) family, based on marriage laborating with those who promoted sinful between a man and a woman, (2) adoption, behaviour, thus ‘targeting the founda- and (3) ‘religious cults and their compon tion of the most holy values of our people’ ents in the part related to religious beliefs’ (Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova 2014).4 (Lex.justice.md 2012). Nevertheless, the No politician, nevertheless, has ever been law is still seen by the Moldovan Church excommunicated. The Church protested as unsatisfactory, since it forbids offending by organising – to counterveil the Pride individuals on the basis of their homosexu- demonstration – its own rallies. Headed by ality and obliges all non-religious employ- Metropolitan Vladimir personally, a ‘silent ers (schools, businesses, etc.) not to dis- march’ has been held annually since 2013 as criminate against homosexuals. a procession of priests, monastics and fami- The Council for the Prevention and lies (often with children), as well as of single Elimination of Discrimination and Ensur laypeople singing Orthodox hymns and ing Equality was established in 2013 to holding pro-family posters, such as images respond to complaints issued by private of the Romanov Holy Royal Family.5 The citizens. Ian Feldman stresses that their marches signify a break from the habitual activities are mostly focused on the rights of the disabled, and that the largest annual share of LGBT cases has been five per cent 4 The document was inspired by protest- (Feldman 2019). Nevertheless, political ing activity of the radicals to be discussed below. actors pay most of their attention to these 5 Such processions became characteristic of cases. Pride marches have been held in all post-socialist countries facing the reality Chișinău since 2013. They are not large, of Pride marches in their urban spaces.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 98 modus operandi of the Metropolitanate of the party which the Metropolitan had Moldova: informal agreements with the called on the public to vote for. Imagine: government where concessions used to be eighty per cent think that the Church is exchanged for ecclesiastical loyalty. the most authoritative and trustwor- There are at least two reasons why the thy institution, and, at the same time, mainstream Church remains unwilling to less than one per cent vote for someone set itself against state authorities even while who appears to be campaigned for by disapproving of specific policies. First of the church. (Fuştei 2011) all, whilst trusting the Church, people dis- trust its bishops and the clergy in general, Fuştei refers to the 2010 parliamentary because many priests are involved in com- elections, when Metropolitan Vladimir mercial activities which include selling openly supported Valery Pasat’s party,7 and renting out the property of parishes and even permitted use of a photo of them (Chebotar 2018). Some bishops are seen together in the campaign. Pasat won only to be living luxuriously: in 2014 a tabloid 0.9 per cent of the vote, and since then published some photos of Metropolitan Metropolitan Vladimir has never partici- Vladimir vacationing with a woman, and pated in political campaigns. other compromising details (Moşneag The second reason why the mainstream 2014).6 In 2017 there was a widely negative Church is interested in good connections response to a birthday party for the Bishop with the government is due to its inabil- of Ungheni, Petru Musteață (YouTube ity to reach beyond the stratum of ‘trad 2017). According to Nikolae Fuştei, Petru itional believers’ interested in a limited set was from the very beginning a contro- of services: baptisms, weddings, and funer- versial figure: in 2005 his ordination pro- als. In Russia the Church faced the same voked a split, and forty parishes (of one problem at the end of the 1980s, but was hundred) left and joined the Bessarabian able to resolve it, or postpone dealing with Metropolitanate (Fuştei 2011). At the same it, thanks to a large influx of young neo- time, it is normal for priests to have to do phytes. Orthodoxy in Moldova never fully jobs on the side, and even become migrant disappeared from the lives of the people; labourers; for example, one cleric works in but it was never an object of acute neo- the UK at a poultry farm (Florinskii 2019). phytic interest. The local clergy was not Fuştei stressed that: ready for the fact that the older generation of parishioners will simply pass away (or It sounds strange but in all the sur- for the role played by migration); they have veys enquiring into which institution no idea of how to replenish their flock. The in the country is the most trusted – the Metropolitanate of Moldova has no social Church, gets about eighty per cent. But department, even, and Fr Octavian Moşin people do not equate bishops with the has to deal with social projects, formally Church. That is why during the elec- being responsible only for the youth. He tions less than one per cent voted for regrets that only a few parishes conduct some non-religious social projects:
6 Some internet commentators expressed their satisfaction that Vladimir was, at least, 7 Valery Pasat (b. 1958) is a Moldovan pol not gay; later on the Metropolitan publicly itician who in 2010 was the head of the claimed that the woman was his niece. Humanistic Party.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 99 one, or two’ (Moșin 2019). Fr Cheibaş also confirmed that ‘it becomes more diffi- cult to gather our people around this idea’ (Cheibaş 2019). In the absence of significant public sup- port, the Church gradually returns to its bargaining strategy. The Metropolitanate had already engaged in unofficial talks with the prospect of not only changing the legis- lation on equality, but also reintroducing a regulated religious market:
There are also promises from the Socialist party, the party of the presi
Mihail Bortă, 2016. Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0 Commons, Mihail Bortă, Wikimedia 2016. dent, in this regard; and from the Democratic party too. A month ago we had meetings with the chair of Father Octavian Moșin. the Democratic party, which is the ruling one now in Moldova, and they There are no young people in the par- also promised somehow to change ishes. Everyone leaves, so, in the par- all that… to add this phrase, the syn- ishes there are only old people. I think tagma that state should support the – it is our first problem. Second, there Church. are no specific projects to involve the young people… It gets harder and Question: The Church, not religions harder every year. (Moșin 2019) in general?
I pay this much attention to social and Answer: Religions, of course; but, as youth work, because in contemporary Lenin used to say: ‘we say one thing, society organised religions have to com- but we mean another’. (Cheibaş 2019) pete with more attractive ways of spend- ing time. Providing space for socialization Fr Cheibaş expects a levelling of the (for example, through social volunteer- income gap between the urban and the ing) attracts new, younger parishioners. rural clergy and channelling of European A disadvantage of the youth and social subsidies into the historical monasteries: work in the Metropolitanate of Moldova is that Church-sponsored events are mostly All the spiritual potential of Moldova designed for people already deeply involved at the other side [i.e. Romanian inner in ecclesiastical life (e.g., reading the Bible, Moldova] has been renovated thanks joint prayers, celebrating holidays, etc.). to these funds. Each monastery got As a result, ‘silent marches’ are scantly two or three million [euros]. It is so attended: ‘A few tens of people come, not far impossible for us, because all the more… Mostly people of the Church, I money from the European Union are mean – priests, their families, and so on… transferred through the government. As for [people] from the parishes – maybe (Cheibaş 2019)
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 100 Mihail Bortă, 2016 . WikimediaMihail Bortă, Commons, CC-BY-SA- 4 . Fr Cheibaş added that the Metropolitan ate is concerned about not repeating the Ukrainian scenario, where the government explicitly supported the new autocephalous church: ‘We should not forget what has happened there [in Ukraine] and should find our golden mean in this friendship with political leaders in order to protect our identity’ (Cheibaş 2019). Although the formation of a rival autocephalous Church in Moldova is hardly likely in the foresee able future, relocation of state support to the existing Bessarabian Metropolitanate represents a real danger.
Ian Feldman evaluates the hopes of 0 the Metropolitanate as ‘wishful thinking’ (Feldman 2019); he is right, because in a country whose population heavily depends on working in Europe no party would be brave enough to amend agreements con- cerning visa liberalization. Igor Dodon, Father Vadim Cheibaș. the President of Moldova, looks like a reli- able supporter for the Metropolitanate of Moldova, but the situation is not that himself as a leader promoting Moldovan simple. Dodon tries to instrumentalize sovereignty and the unity of all ethnic the issue of LGBT equality by presenting groups.8 His message, apparently designed himself as a protector of traditional family for a wider domestic audience, presented values. Apart from participating – with an enigma to the foreign delegates: his family – in the ‘silent marches’, he ini- tiated an annual ‘Festival of Family’. The We will preserve and defend our year 2019 in Moldova is proclaimed the essence, identity, and values. For it is ‘Year of the Family’. Under Dodon’s patron- sacred for us. It is all we have. We have age, in September 2018 Chişinău hosted no strong army; we have no gas and oil. the World Congress of Families (IOF web- We have people, we have traditions, site). Fr Cheibaş stresses that the congress we have faith, and we have history. We was not organised by the Church (Cheibaş are strong thanks to it – without army, 2019). Metropolitan Vladimir did not even without oil, without gas. Why destroy address the forum; neither did Patriarch all this? (YouTube 2018a) Kirill, although Dodon planned to invite him to Moldova precisely for the event. Dodon’s backing in many ways can be The presidential address at the closing said to undermine the Metropolitanate, session of the World Congress of Families had not much in common with the agenda, 8 He spoke in Russian, stressing that more but was full of references to the political than one million Moldovan citizens use this situation in Moldova. He tried to present language.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 101 whose pro-family initiatives are seen by nadie Valuța. Originally they derive from the general public as political rallies in sup- the Moldovan Orthodox Church and share port of Dodon. The Metropolitanate has the same ideology, but disagree about the to strike a balance between the president means to implement it. and his political adversaries: ‘One polit These people are a social and ecclesi- ical structure is sympathetic to the East, astical minority; sometimes the Council one political structure is sympathetic to the for the Prevention and Elimination of West. So far this balance is very… favour- Discrimination and Ensuring Equality pro- able for the Orthodox Church’ (Cheibaş tects their rights as well. Feldman recalls 2019). In spite of many verbal condemna- that someone, apparently from the radical tions of European integration previously Orthodox milieu has applied to the council made by the Synod and by Metropolitan because without an enumerated ID card, he Vladimir personally, Fr Cheibaş rounded was granted no access to medical services: off with the statement that ‘If the state is already oriented towards this process – can The Council, having considered his the Church ever be against it?’ (ibid.) case, said that it was, in our opinion, Priests on the whole are not so moder- discrimination… State should find out ate. Fr Vitalii Shinkar says that ‘the main how to protect the rights of this small European value is pederasty’ (Shinkar group of people… We have sent a copy 2019). In 2018 he was one of the four of the decision to the Metropolitanate priests (including Marchel, the Bishop of of Moldova, but there was no reac- Bălți and Fălești) who were fined in2016 tion. And this man, when he came for insulting a presidential candidate Maia to me, he said: as I was going to you, Sandu: they said that she was ‘barren’ (i.e., I thought that there would be truly not married and without children in her demonic scum here, that you were forties) and a danger to Christian soci- for gays only; but you were the only ety because of her tolerant attitude to people, with whom I found under- sexual minorities (Privesc.eu 2016). The standing of my situation, support, Metropolitanate of Moldova neither stood and you even made a decision in my in solidarity with these priests, nor issued favour. (Feldman 2019) any letters in their support. Not once did Metropolitan Vladimir threaten to defrock The radicals have a clear understand- Bishop Marchel for his participation in ing of why they oppose the normaliza- street protests against the new legislation. tion of homosexuality. The mainstream Church mostly refers to the obscure dis- The radicals: the end is nigh course of ‘traditional values’, admitting (at The radicals are a loose community of least, at the level of ordinary priests), that the clergy and laity, partly organised in contemporary Moldova one can only around small formal and informal groups, speak about some persistent rural tradi- of which the most well-known are the tions, gradually withering away because Asociaţia Fericita Maică Matrona (‘Blessed of urbanization; ‘the traditions to deco- Gerontissa Matrona’) headed by Arch rate churches with rags’ (Florinskii 2019). priest Anatolie Cibric (see Ulmanu 2013; So far the Metropolitanate of Moldova has Mitrofanova, forthcoming), and the Pro produced no published material as a theo- Ortodoxia association led by Deacon Ghe logical foundation for its opposition to
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 102 homosexuality. The 2014 document con- duced, previously unknown to his- demning gay parades contains only one, tory: I would call it anti-human. moderate, reference from the Bible (2 Cor. (YouTube 2012) 6:17). In this light, it becomes problem- atic for the clergy to explain theologically The rhetoric of traditional values seems why they oppose the Pride marches, and Fr to be irrelevant for the radicals; Fr Cibric Florinskii has resorted to rhetorical ques- says that ‘traditional values mean betrayal… tions: ‘Why is the Church against them? – in the past people just lived in accordance And why do you not eat glass?’ (Florinskii with these values and did not protect them’ 2019). The ambiguity of the term ‘tradi- (Cibric 2019). None of the radicals partici- tional values’ allows Ian Feldman to claim pated in the Congress of Families. semi-seriously that his Council is, actually, Another difference between the main- the main defender of these values, because stream Church and the radicals is that it ‘protects values of maternity, values of the latter refuse to accept the unwritten supporting the seniors, etc.’ (Feldman pact of friendship with the government. 2019). According to Fr Cibric, ‘one should not Explanations provided by the radicals play by the rules of a gangster; and they [the are much more theologically refined, and Metropolitanate of Moldova] play by the this is mostly to the credit of Viorel (Vene rules of a gangster’ (Cibric 2019). While the dict) Ciubotaru – an independent journal- Metropolitanate writes letters to the presi ist and thinker who used to be associated dent and the parliament, the radicals are with ‘Blessed Gerontissa Matrona’. First, he becoming engaged in direct political activ- articulated ethical arguments against the ism – from protest camps to street fighting. newly adopted Law on Ensuring Equality: Since 2013 they have organised counter- demonstrations to interrupt and disperse First time at the level of legislature ‘gay parades’ (of which none looked like some things being wicked, bad, abnor- a gay parade in the European sense). Riot mal, are proclaimed equivalent to the police guarding the Pride marches was par- normal… the horror of this law is that ticularly violent towards the radicals in the evil, in fact, is proclaimed a vari 2018. The Metropolitanate expressed its ation of the good. (YouTube 2012) disapproval of violence, distancing itself, at the same time, from the anti-Pride protests: Then, Ciubotaru proceeded to more profound themes, presenting homosexual- We [the Metropolitanate] have good ity as something ontologically vicious, able relations with the police. And in to distort God-created human nature and case such clashes with demonstrat to destroy the likeness to God in human ors happen… well, they also want us beings: to understand their position, because they have to keep order… Policemen By this law, in fact, the very notion themselves are sort of against this idea of human is being eliminated in us, [of the Prides], these minorities, at the because a human is a being able to same time they have to keep order. distinguish between the good and (Cheibaş 2019) the evil… If we base on the European values, the new type of human is pro-
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 103 Those protest marches against the where every member is important for gay parade were not organised by the the life of the organism. (Fuştei 2011) Church. It comes more like society’s reaction. I would not say that only the Nikolai Fuştei and Viorel Ciubotaru Orthodox, or only the believers parti have very low opinions of each other; cipated there; it was society, I mean, nevertheless, both do not want one person people, who are against this phenom- in the Church to decide for all: enon, against gay parades. (Moşin 2019) The Metropolitanate cannot be reduced to the personality of the Met Activities of the radicals are directed ropolitan. The Metropolitanate, if it is against the mainstream Church not less a Church, and not a private office of than against state policies. In summer citizen Vladimir Cantarean, working 2014 Fr Ghenadie Valuța initiated a two- as the manager of this office, bracesem months’ protest camp along the fence of all Orthodox members in its terri- the Metropolitanate building, demand- tory… All decisions in the Church ing an official condemnation of the Law should be made on a conciliar basis on Equality and of the Pride marches: (soborno). (Vedomosti 2014) the above-mentioned document on gay parades, as well as another paper directed Since around 2016, many radicals against European integration in general, have ceased to pray for Patriarch Kirill were adopted by the Synod under pres- and Metropolitan Vladimir during litur- sure from below. Both documents are now gical services – such believers are known available at the official ecclesiastical web- in the Russian Orthodox Church as ‘non- site only in their scanned versions, which mentioning’. The split was triggered by makes finding them complicated. Fr Valuța the Patriarch’s meeting with the Pope in was then temporarily suspended; there are Havana. Viorel Ciubotaru joined the non- persistent rumours that one of the reasons mentioning side earlier on the ground of was that he had been involved in publicis- a ‘homosexualization’ of the mainstream ing the notorious pictures of Metropolitan Church: Vladimir (Vedomosti 2015). The radicals claim that the Church According to the canons of the lacks sobornost (‘conciliarity’), and this Church citizens Filat, Timofti, Prime makes it unable to defend Christian values. Minister Leancă, Ministers of Justice This issue was brought to my attention by (Efrim and Tănase) and all the 53 dep- Nicolae Fuştei: uties, who have voted for the law on homosexualization, for lifting the ban Many priests let themselves ask: where on homosexual propaganda among is the conciliar principle (sobornoe minors, should be anathematized. nachalo) of the Orthodox Church in Instead, citizen Vladimir Cantarean Moldova, why is everything decided has awarded these people represented by one person? However smart he may by Filat the Order of Appreciation. be, but he cannot know everything, This means that the Metropolitan is and he cannot control everything. It not with the Orthodox Church, but is the Church, the body of Christ … with the ‘Satanic gathering’, which
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 104 Soborjane.ru
Assembly of the non-mentioning priests in Krasnodar, Russia, 5.10.2017. Fr Cibric is third from the left.
is what the existing government is. his spiritual children to attend liturgies (Vedomosti 2014) where people pray for the Patriarch, and to consume liturgical bread given by loyal The non-mentioning group do not en priests, recommending them ‘to dispose of vision themselves as schismatics, insisting it’ (Vasilie 2019). It is unclear which non- that they remain within the Church, while mentioning bishop is expected to ordain the Patriarch and bishops have excommu- Pafnutie, but according to Vasilie this must nicated themselves: be someone from Ukraine. The radicals are backed by some main- The Metropolitan is doing strictly stream hierarchs, of whom Marchel, Bishop heretical deeds, having no relation of Bălți and Făleşti, is the most high pro- to Orthodoxy, as well as his secre- file.9 External observers suggest that ‘this tary Archpriest Vadim Cheibaş. The specific activity of Marchel depends on Metropolitan, doing what is contrary his wish to become the Metropolitan of to Orthodoxy, becomes a false bishop Moldova… If this happens, at the moment and, by this, he loses the apostolic suc- he becomes the Metropoitan (if and when), cession, ceasing to be the member of he will change his rhetoric’ (Feldman 2019; the Orthodox Church. (Vedomosti see also Esp.md 2012). Anyhow, Marchel 2014) seems uninterested in joining the non- mentioning group, although they are in The absence of the bishops needed to urgent need of a bishop. ordain new priests is a problem for the non- What is not fully clear is why none mentioning believers. Father Vasilie says of the non-mentioning priests has yet that they have a plan to ordain as bishop been suspended. Fr Cibric insists that a hieromonk from Răciula Monastery; Archimandrite Pafnutie, an active par- 9 Bishop Petru of Ungheni is also support- ticipant of rallies against homosexual- ive of the radicals; Archimandrite Pafnutie ity (YouTube 2018b). Pafnutie forbids belongs to his bishopric.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 105 Metropolitan Vladimir ‘knows for sure that The Bessarabian Metropolitanate: I am right’, and admits that he has once a nascent ‘public’ church said to Vladimir: ‘I pray for you secretly’ In October 1992, when the assembly of the (Cibric 2019). A mundane explanation is Moldovan clergy decided to stay within that the Moldovan Church, after 27 years the Moscow Patriarchate, a group of cler- of performing a ‘balancing act’ has become ics broke away. To admit them, the Ro dangerously fragmented and sometimes manian Church restored its Bessarabian appears as a collection of independent par- Metropolitanate, open to priests and parish ishes. Nicolae Fustei stresses that: communities wishing to leave the jurisdic- tion of the Russian Church in Moldova and [People] look for a faithful priest, and Ukraine (see Avram 2014). Although the they are not interested in which juris- Russian and Romanian Churches remain in diction this priest is… These priests Eucharistic communication, in Moldovan are authoritative, naturally, for their territory the flock of the Metropolitanate parishes. And one can see, which of Moldova is not in communion with the church has an authoritative priest, and Bessarabian Metropolitanate. which does not: just enter this church The Romanian Church has its own his- during Liturgy, and look, which tory of confronting equal opportunities church is empty and where people are policies in Romania, but without any signi standing even in the street and listen ficant results (see Conovici 2009–10; Cirlan to the Liturgy. (Fustei 2011) 2019). A referendum held in 2018 was the last initiative of the conservatives; its pur- Fr Nikolai Florinskii agrees that each pose was to secure that marriage would Moldovan priest is ‘the Patriarch in his be defined as a union between a man and parish’, ‘distanced from Moscow, …dis- a woman. Fr Ioan Cosoi, secretary of the tanced from Bucharest’ (Florinskii 2019). Bessarabian Metropolitanate, said that in This fragmentation does not allow the the days of the referendum the Bessarabian Metropolitan to dispose of ‘authoritative’ priests in Moldova ‘were saying in all par- priests, while risking loss of their flock ishes that those who possess Romanian too. The above-mentioned Pafnutie is an citizenship must go to the referendum, example of such priests, thanks to his asser- because its subject was good and we must tive and emotional style of preaching, even protect our children, our future’ (Cosoi going so far as (according to Fr Vasilie) 2019). The referendum, nevertheless, failed bursting into tears. because of a low turnout. According to Fr Police violence in 2018 had diverted the Cosoi, his bishopric is concerned with trad radicals from physically confronting the itional values, but works ‘at the other level’: Pride demonstration in May 2019. Fr Cibric ‘in the Metropolitanate of Moldova there deemed street fights to be useless because are groups of people who go out to protest. the time of Judgement had come and ‘we We do not have such a policy to go out and were waiting for the end’ (Cibric 2019). protest’ (ibid.). Ian Feldman confirms that he has never heard ‘strong statements’ from the Bessarabian priests (Feldman 2019). The ‘other level’ refers to system- atic social and youth work done by the Romanian Church. Fr Cosoi has shown
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 106 Anastasia V. Mitrofanova me a shelter for single mothers aban- doned by their families, and a ‘social apart- ment’ where girls from families in crisis can live for a year and learn useful trades. Social projects are run by volunteers and paid employees; steady parishioners and non-believers. Volunteers are attracted by three things: opportunities for professional development while working for projects; ‘volunteer cards’ which may later help hold- Headquarters of the social division of the ers to enrol into a university; and ‘showing Bessarabian Metropolitanate in a remote dis- the other side of the Church – namely social trict of Chișinău. influence. If they have their own place, and this place is very important, they can own social work system, analogous to the make decisions in our organization, they Romanian ‘Diaconia’, and already provides come’ (Cosoi 2019). Speaking the language grants for NGOs. The Moldovan Church, of the market, however, the Bessarabian as I concluded from the interview with Metropolitanate is sponsored by the Ro Fr Moşin, does not do, or plan, anything manian state and the European Union, similar. while the Metropolitanate of Moldova has According to Fr Cosoi, his faith com- no external financial resources. At the same munity experiences depopulation problems time, the Russian Orthodox Church (also comparable with those of the Moldovan having no such resources) has initiated its Orthodox Church: Anastasia V. Mitrofanova Anastasia V.
Poster of the social work conducted by the Bessarabian Metropolitanate in Moldova.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 107 Our villages are dying now, because all much lower than at the Metropolinate of the young people leave villages, leave Moldova. While it is sociologically proven for cities – move here, to Chișinău, or that most people in Moldova declare that abroad… When I was young, I mean they have a specific Moldovan identity – at school – our parents moved out, (Kirillov and Putintsev 2018: 44), this but they moved out to come back bishopric insists that the Moldovans are with money, to build a house and so a regional variation of the Romanians. on. Now they leave, then they come It is not that the Bessarabian parishes are back, take their families, and all of attended only by believers with a Ro them leave. I talked to our priests, and manian identity, but such people do feel they say: Father, when I came to my more comfortable there. Another prob- parish in 91, or in 93, or in 95, I had lem of this bishopric is that sometimes it one hundred baptisms there, one hun- offers solutions tailored for a society with dred weddings; and now I have two or much longer history of Europeanization. three in a whole year, but one hundred The position of the Romanian Church in funerals. (Cosoi 2019) Romania is much stronger than the posi- tion of its Bessarabian Metropolitanate, The Bessarabian Metropolitanate has because the Romanian Church has been chosen its own strategy for adaptation: to changing in step with with Romanian soci- be a European-style church that remains ety, or even much more slowly. In Moldova deeply involved in social life, providing the Bessarabian Metropolitanate is at assistance to those in need, but stays within the moment more Europeanized than its the framework set by the democratic state. potential followers. Jose Casanova has called it ‘public religion’ (Casanova 1994: 57). Being a ‘European Conclusion church’ presumes also some level of democ- Under the conditions of a deregulated ratization. Fr Cosoi says that even the nega- religious market, key Orthodox actors in tive media coverage of the Metropolitanate Moldova explore three different strategies of Moldova is harmful for the Orthodox to win public support. Church as a whole: Since its formation in 1992 the Metro politanate of Moldova has struck a balance We have some bishops, and they are between political groupings and relied on like barons, they have luxury, live lux- private bargains with their leaders. Splits in urious lives… There was that birth- the political class played into the hands of day party for Bishop Petru from the Church, because each faction tried to Ungheni… Generally, the Orthodox present the Metropolitan as its supporter. Church as such should now demon- This policy of ‘balancing’ came to the end strate great humility: that you are a with the adoption of the Law on Ensuring humble man, one of us… (Cosoi 2019) Equality, and the religious monopoly of the Church began to wither away. Recently, the The social activism of the Bessarabian Metropolitanate has tried to assimilate the Metropolitanate does not make it popu- strategies of street politics, characteristic lar: so far it has attracted about ten per cent of the competing radical groups, but with- of the priests (Florinskii 2019); the exact out any visible success. Ordinary believ- number of parishes is unknown, but it is ers are less and less inclined to participate
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 108 in the initiatives of the Metropolitanate. not associated with concrete political fig- Priests and bishops pursue their private ures and are open to coalitions with other goals, and the Church remains united only like-minded actors, for example, with con- by Metropolitan Vladimir, to whom people servative Protestants. There are, however, remain personally loyal. The rise of com- important factors playing against them. peting ‘religious suppliers’ from within con- First, the radicals are relatively few, and tinuously undermines the influence of the not supported by the Church – the latter Metropolitanate. The latter strives to bring remains important in Moldova. Second, the back a regulated religious market, and even state becomes more and more persistent in speaks in support of Europeanization, as persecuting the protesters. Third, the radi long as this concept entails state support of cals demand too much of those who join churches. them. Their struggle is not just against The Bessarabian Metropolitanate seems some bad legislation; they see the polit well equipped for finding its place in the ical situation through apocalyptic lenses, changing social order. It utilises the strat encouraging people to destroy their docu- egies of the European ‘public’ churches and ments and to hide in the forests. As a result, gains social influence through perform- the radicals serve a narrow market niche ing useful social functions without pre- for people seeking a ‘high-tension religious tending to be the spiritual guide of society option’ (Stark and Finke 2000: 197; see as a whole. At the same time, in terms of also Iannaccone 2012). It is important for the market theory of religion, providing them not to exceed any ‘limit to strictness’ non-religious communal services attracts (Iannaccone 1994: 1201–4); but the radical ‘free riders’ rather than devout believ- movement may even enjoy limited popular- ers (Iannaccone 2012: 113). Compared ity if it manages to avoid marginalization. with the ‘outdated’ Moldovan Church, the So far the Metropolitanate of Moldova Bessarabian Metropolitanate has surpris- remains the strongest Orthodox actor, ingly few followers (although its num- potentially able, unlike its niche-oriented bers may grow with years). As a result, it competitors, to reach the wider society. needs financial support from Romania and Unfortunately, this strength owes much to the EU, and has to serve a ‘market niche’ what Rodney Stark and Roger Finke (2000: of believers with a strong Romanian iden- 201) define as cultural inertia, that delays tity. To reach beyond this stratum, this the acceptance of new religious suppliers. bishopric needs to admit that most people Restoration of the religious monopoly is in Moldova see themselves as a sovereign hardly possible, but the Metropolitanate nation; this, however, would hardly be pos- remains not fully confident about attracting sible for the Romanian Church in general. young urbanites and mobilising parishion- The radicals are a competing group that ers for political rallies. Its social and youth almost split from the erstwhile monopol- work remains sporadic. Adopting the strat- istic Church. They utilise the strategy of egies of ‘public churches’ (probably bor- direct action, involving their supporters rowed from the Russian mother church) in street-political carnival activities. Their would make the Metropolitanate a stronger opposition to the equal opportunities leg- religious competitor. The ecclesiastical mes- islation is strongly expressed, and they sage concerning equal opportunities will are able to satisfy the need for authorita- be, in this case, better heard by society and tive ecclesiastical leaders. The radicals are the government. Nevertheless, even having
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 109 increased its influence, the Metropolitanate Bilic, Bojan (ed.), 2016. LGBT Activism and would never radicalize because of its fear of Europeanisation in the Post-Yugoslav Space: repeating ‘the Ukrainian scenario’. On the Rainbow Way to Europe (Bas- ingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan) Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova, 2014. ‘S-a Anastasia V. Mitrofanova încheiat prima zi a ședinței Sinodului is Leading Research Fel- Bisericii Ortodoxe din Moldova Condamna- low at the Institute of rea paradelor gay și a consecințelor adoptă- Sociology of the Federal rii Legii cu privire la Egalitatea de Șanse’, Centre of Theoretical and Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova, 3.9.2014, Applied Sociology at
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 110 ——2012. ‘Extremism and the economics of reli- eu, 4.11.2016,
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 111
Approaching Religion • Vol. 9, No. 1–2 • October 2019 112