Given the negative reaction in the West to Kyiv’s plans to ban the Moscow church, it is possible that a re-elected President Sandu will not move to ban the Russian church. Pressure from her allies, however, means that the issue is not going to go away even if Sandu does not take action later. That pressure is likely to keep Moldova on the road to

There is another, more immediate reason why the Russian government is worried about the possible ban of the Moscow church in Moldova and its replacement by the Romanian Bessarabian Metropolitanate. Such a move would strengthen the position of the Romanian church in Ukraine. At present, there are more than 150,000 ethnic Romanians and 250,000 ethnic

Organization (NATO) via the backdoor, given that Romania is a member of both. Much of the anger Russian outlets and pro-Moscow officials and churchmen are now expressing about the threat of a ban almost certainly reflects these concerns rather than a theological defense of the ROC MP’s position in Moldova (e.g., Politnavigator.net, September 12).

Something else may be more significant, at least as far as the Kremlin is concerned. A ban on the MOC would not so much lead to the formation of a Moldovan national Orthodox church as to a radical expansion in Moldova of the Bessarabian Metropolitanate, which is subordinate to Bucharest. That would add to the support of those in Moldova who have so