The Centennial Anniversary of the Metropolis of Bessarabia is a day of gratitude for all those who supported and contributed to its establishment and an opportunity to highlight the importance of dignity and unity of national identity, language and faith among Romanians on both sides of the Prut, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel said in the message conveyed on the 100th anniversary of the Metropolis of Bessarabia.
"The Centennial Anniversary of the Metropolis of Bessarabia is therefore an occasion to give thanks to God for the gifts bestowed upon the hierarchs, clergy and faithful of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the left bank of the Prut, as well as a day of gratitude towards all those who supported and contributed to the establishment of the Metropolis of Bessarabia. At the same time, this anniversary is an opportunity to highlight the importance of dignity and unity of national identity, language and faith among Romanians on both sides of the Prut, as well as an occasion for reflection, evaluation and launch of new initiatives whereby the spiritual and cultural values of the Romanians in the Republic of Moldova can be promoted and developed through peaceful dialogue, cooperation and respect for freedom and human dignity," emphasizes the Patriarch.
His All Holiness the Patriarch shows that "the foundations of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, laid a century ago deep down in the conscience and heart of the Romanian people on the left bank of the Prut, set the premises in place for the intensification of the Church's mission in the blessed and fruitful land of the Republic of Moldova, especially after the achievement of freedom and state independence in 1991 and after the Metropolis of Bessarabia was reactivated in 1992."
"Currently, 100 years on after the elevation of the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia to the rank of Metropolitanate, under the tireless and sacrificial pastorate of His Eminence Petru, Archbishop of Chisinau and third Metropolitan of Bessarabia, supported since 2018 by His Eminence Antonie, Bishop of Balti, and His Eminence Veniamin, Bishop of Southern Bessarabia, and as of the spring of this year by His Eminence Nectarie of Bogdania, Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chisinau, church life in the Republic of Moldova is experiencing an intense development in the pastoral-missionary, cultural-educational, administrative-urban and social-philanthropic spheres," the Patriarch said.
According to Romania's top Orthodox hierarch, the number of religious institutions and clerical and monastic personnel has increased "significantly", many places of worship and church buildings of the Metropolis of Bessarabia have undergone construction or repair works, interventions to create or restore murals, endowment and beautification activities, and various cultural-educational and social-philanthropic programs are being carried out in close collaboration with the Diaconia Social Mission.
Also, several properties (land and buildings) have been purchased for the construction of places of worship or the organization of administrative headquarters and social and pastoral centers. Most of these projects are financially supported by the Romanian state, through the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, and by the Romanian Patriarchate and the neighboring dioceses of Bessarabia, on the basis of fraternal mutual assistance.
"We assure all the Orthodox believers in the Republic of Moldova that the Romanian Orthodox Church, as a spiritual mother who loves her sons, through the worthy hierarchs and priests of the three Bessarabian dioceses, will continue to stand by their side both through permanent prayers and by supporting the concrete pastoral, social-philanthropic and cultural activities of the Metropolis of Bessarabia," Patriarch Daniel transmits.
The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church congratulates the leadership of the Metropolis of Bessarabia and wishes "health, help, peace and joy" to His Eminence Father Petru, Archbishop of Chisinau, Metropolitan of Bessarabia and Exarch of the Plains, and to all the other hierarchs of the Metropolitan Synod of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, the clergy, monks and laity.
"We pray to the Most Holy Trinity to protect and bless with health, help, peace and joy all the hierarchs, clergy, monks, founders, workers and faithful lay people of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, exhorting them to cultivate the spirit of unity and brotherhood, of communion and solidarity, to preserve and promote the values of the faith and culture of the Romanian people, for many blessed years!," is the wish sent by Patriarch Daniel.
The Centennial Year of the Romanian Patriarchate also marks 100 years since the establishment of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which includes the Orthodox Romanians on the left bank of the Prut River. The Law and Statute for the Organization of the Romanian Orthodox Church adopted on May 4, 1925, gave legal recognition to the organization of a new metropolitanate with jurisdiction over the Orthodox faithful between the Prut and the Dniester, and thus all the Romanian provinces that decided in 1918 to unite with the Motherland acquired, as per church organization, metropolitan dignity.
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