The Diocese of Chișinău (; ) is an

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of the

Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova The Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova (; ), also referred to as the Moldovan Orthodox Church (; ), is an autonomous metropolitanate under the Russian Orthodox Church. Its canonical territory is the Republic of Moldova. The Metropolis of ...

under the

Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

with its seat in the capital city of

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

History

Prior to 1812, the Orthodox Church in eastern

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

, modern day Moldova, was part of the Metropolis of Moldavia (under the

Church of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

). Following the annexation of Bessarabia by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1812, the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

established the Eparchy of Chișinău and Khotin under Metropolitan Gavril (Bănulescu-Bodoni) to care for the region's Orthodox Christians.Viața bisericească din Basarabia sub stăpânirea rusească (1812-1918)
The Eparchy of Chișinău and Khotin remained part of the Russian Orthodox Church until Bessarabia's union with

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in 1918, after which the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the East ...

established jurisdiction over the territory following the expulsion of the then Archbishop of Chișinău,

Anastasius (Gribanovsky) Metropolitan Anastasy (secular name Alexander Alexeyevich Gribanovsky, ; August 6, 1873 – May 22, 1965) was a hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and the second First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Life Alexander Gr ...

, and reorganized the Eparchy as the Metropolis of Chișinău and Bessarabia. In 1940, following the annexation of Bessarabia by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the Moscow Patriarchate established in Chișinău a new Russian Orthodox eparchy, while the Metropolis of Bessarabia was forced to interrupt its activity. Following Moldovan independence from the USSR, the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

of the Russian Orthodox Church granted the Church's eparchies in Moldova autonomy as the Moldovan Orthodox Church, with Archbishop

Vladimir (Cantarean) Vladimir, (born Nicolae Cantarean, 18 August 1952), is a bishop of the Moldovan Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. He serves as Metropolitan of Chișinău and All Moldova and thus as first hierarch of the Church of Moldova and as a ...

of Chișinău becoming first hierarch of the Church of Moldova as Metropolitan of Chișinău and All Moldova.

Eparchy today

As of 2010, the Eparchy consisted of 610

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es, 24

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

, and 5

skete A skete () is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, alo ...

s served by 730 full-time

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s and 60

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s. It continues to be led by Metropolitan Vladimir (Cantarean).

Bishops of Chișinău

Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni (; 1746 – 30 March 1821) was a Romanian clergyman who served as Metropolitan of Moldavia (1792), Metropolitan of Kherson and Crimea (1793–1799), Metropolitan of Kiev and Halych (1799–1803), Exarch of Mold ...

(1812–1821) * Demetrius (Sulima) (1821–1844) * Irenarch (Popov) (1844–1858) * Anthony (Shokotov) (1858–1871) * Paul (Lebedev) (1871–1882) * Sergius (Lyapidevsky) (1882–1891) * Isaac (Polozensky) (1891–1892) * (1892–1898) * Iakov (Piatnitsky) (1898–1904) * Vladimir (Sinkovsky) (1904–1908) * Seraphim (Chichagov) (1908–1914) * Platon (Rozhdestvensky) (1914–1915) *

(1915–1918)

References

External links

* Ion Nistor, ''Istoria Basarabiei'', Humanitas, 1991. , p. 226-240
Eparchy of Chișinău (Russian)

Metropolia of Chișinău and All Moldova (Romanian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese of Chisinau Eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church