Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA
On October 20, a very important election was held in Moldova. In the election for president, the current president Maia Sandu received 42% of the vote and will face a November 3 runoff against Alexandr Stoianoglo, who received 26%. However, the greatest media attention has been focused on a referendum which posed the following question to the voters: “Do you support the amendment of the Constitution with a view to the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union?” With almost all of the votes counted, the “yes” votes are prevailing by an unexpectedly close margin — 50.39%. https://apnews.com/article/moldova-elections-eu-referendum-russia-325cb2c13beb1d76565a6e2aadef971a As shown by the foregoing link, the media has also focused on many allegations of Russian interference with the election.
Allegations of interference have also been directed at the Orthodox Church of Moldova (“OCM”), which is part of the Moscow Patriarchate. One source of these allegations is the smaller Metropolis of Bessarabia (“Metropolis”), which is part of the Romanian Patriarchate. On September 26, the Metropolitan Petru, head of the Metropolis, issued an extremely strong statement which was clearly directed at the OCM without specifically mentioning the OCM by name. https://www.mitropoliabasarabiei.md/comunicat-mitropolia-basarabiei-condamna-implicarea-politica-a-clerului-din-republica-moldova-in-campaniile-electorale/ The first part of the statement reads:
With unspeakable pain and concern, we note the intensification of the actions lacking discernment and spiritual tact of some hierarchs and clerics from the Republic of Moldova, belonging to an ecclesiastical structure aligned with secular and imperialist ideologies, who have engaged unhindered in electoral political propaganda. These actions, deeply offensive to the Christian and Romanian soul, are clearly directed against the spiritual and national unity of the people between the Prut and Dniester and represent a serious violation of the values of the Gospel, the love of the nation and the authentic mission of the Orthodox Church.
From both media sources and on the ground, I have learned with indignation that in recent weeks these church figures have been actively engaged in a hostile political mission. This involvement deepens the spiritual, social and political fractures in the Republic of Moldova, contributing to the destabilization of all Orthodox communities in the country. More seriously, this scandalous agitation takes place within the Holy Altars and from the Holy Pulpits of the cathedrals and churches erected by the sacrifice and love of our forefathers, who loved their language, nation and faith, defending them with martyrdom at the cost of blood.
Just as the Soviet atheistic regime profaned the holy places, using them to spread the ideology of hatred and the destruction of everything that was holy, Romanian and Christian, today we observe a repetition of this cruelty, through the infiltration of the same relentless imperialist aspirations by the Russophile hierarchs who continues a political agenda, this time masked under the appearance of a Church that should defend the Orthodox faith, but which serves other purposes, animated rhetorically under false victimizing calls “to prayer and fasting for peace,” admired by idolaters of appearances that deceive the masses.
I could not find any statements on the website of the OCM specifically refuting these allegations. Metropolitan Petru himself, in a letter urging the faithful to vote in the election, did state: In current times, Romania and the European space are essential landmarks for our trajectory, both culturally and spiritually. Our belonging to the European space is more than a political or economic objective, but concerns the preservation and consolidation of our Romanian and European identity values. https://mitropoliabasarabiei.md/comunicat-mitropolitul-basarabiei-indeamna-crestinii-sa-si-exercite-dreptul-la-vot-ca-o-marturisire-a-grijii-pentru-viitorul-tarii/ Although subtle, these remarks indicate that Metropolitan Petru is in favor of the constitutional amendment.
As you may recall, Metropolitan Vladimir, the head of the OCM, wrote a very strong letter in September 2023 to Patriarch Kirill with a series of grievances against the Russian Church. See https://www.unifr.ch/orthodoxia/de/dokumentation/anderson/ (newsletter of 20 October 2023) There was then speculation that the OCM might seek to leave the Russian Church. However, this speculation has now subsided. It appears that the Moscow Patriarchate has taken steps to respond to at least some of the grievances. For example, Moscow has allowed the OCM to nominate its own bishops (subject to the approval of the Moscow Holy Synod) and to have the episcopal ordinations occur in Moldova. At the present time, it appears that the pro-Moscow elements of the OCM are in control.
Beginning last summer, the Moscow Patriarchate has provided free pilgrimages for OCM clergy to visit the holy places of Russia and to strengthen fraternal ties between OCM and the Russian Church. The OCM has denied that these pilgrimages have any electoral or political goals. https://ortodox.md/patriarhia-rusa-organizeaza-pelerinaje-gratuite-pentru-clerul-moldovean-initiativa-spirituala-nu-politica/ As of early October 900 priests and faithful of the OCM have participated in these pilgrimages. https://ortodox.md/intaistatatorul-bisericii-ortodoxe-din-moldova-ips-mitropolit-vladimir-a-luat-parte-la-pelerinajul-la-locurile-sfinte-din-rusia/ On October 2, Metropolitan Vladimir, primate of the OCU, was at the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius with 150 priests and parishioners of the OCM. http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/6163394.html
In other news, the Ukrainian government has recently said very little about Law 3894 as the U.S. presidential election approaches. A People’s Deputy has stated on the social media that the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has now approved a procedure submitted by DESS with respect conducting studies on the presence of signs of affiliation of religious organizations with the Russian Church. https://t.me/oleksiihoncharenko/43928 While there has been relatively few recent events relating to Law 3894, there have sadly been violent confrontations recently between members of the OCU and the UOC with respect to control of the cathedral in Cherkasy. The factual version of the UOC with respect to these events can be read at https://uoc-news.church/2024/10/20/v-cherkaskij-jeparxiji-opublikuvali-zayavu-pro-grubi-porushennya-prav-lyudini-pobittya-viryan-upc-pid-chas-rejderskogo-zaxoplennya-svyato-mixajlivskogo-kafedralnogo-soboru-v-m-cherkasi/#2024-10-21. The events from the perspective of supporters of the OCU can be read at https://religionpravda.com.ua/ .
On October 6, Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals-elect who will become cardinals at a consistory on December 7. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-10/pope-francis-announces-consistory-for-creation-of-new-cardinals.html Included in the list of new cardinals is UGCC Bishop Mykola Bychok, CSsR., of Melbourne of the Ukrainians. He is 44 years old and will be the youngest in the College of Cardinals. A very detailed description of his life, including his service at Prokopievsk near Novosibirsk, can be read at https://synod.ugcc.ua/data/vladyka-mykolay-bychok-3324/ . He has now given several interviews. In one of the interviews (https://risu.ua/velika-vidpovidalnist-i-mozhlivist-donositi-pravdu-pro-ukrayinu-intervyu-z-kardinalom-nominantom-mikoloyu-bichkom_n151623), there was the following question and answer:
Vladika, immediately after the announcement of the cardinal nomination by the Holy Father, questions began to spread on social networks, why was the Head of the Church not declared a cardinal, but a bishop from Australia? Did you have a chance to talk to His Beatitude Sviatoslav about your appointment? What did he tell you?
— Yes, I had the opportunity to talk with His Beatitude Sviatoslav, to talk about this appointment, which really raises a lot of different questions. However, as we know, this is a personal initiative of the Pope. And the Pope chooses those whom he deems necessary.
Only the Lord God knows how my name appeared there. But I want to tell all our faithful that my appointment as a cardinal in no way puts me above the Patriarch and the Head of our Church. His Beatitude Sviatoslav is our father, he is our Patriarch. The fact that the Holy Father chose me as a cardinal does not mean that I will not fulfill my duties as a bishop. I will continue to be the bishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania and will continue to serve as long as God entrusts me.
The appointment, as stated by Bishop Mykola, raises many questions. Why has Pope Francis continued not to name Sviatoslav a cardinal when the three prior primates of the UGCC (Slipy, Lubachivsky, Husar) were cardinals? If Pope Francis wished the appointment to be a sign of papal support of the Ukrainian people in their sufferings in the current war, why did he select a bishop in peaceful Australia, rather than one sharing the struggles of the Ukrainian people in their war-torn nation? Why was such a young bishop appointed? I know of no answers to these questions, except that Pope Francis continues to break traditions and expectations in his appointment of cardinals. For example, the bishop of Mongolia is a cardinal, but the archbishops of Milan and Turin are not.
In the eleven years prior to the naming of the new 21 cardinals-elect on October 6, Pope Francis had refrained from naming as a cardinal any active head of an episcopal see in Eastern Europe except for one – Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś of Łódź (Poland). On October 6, the Holy Father named Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas, Archpriest Coadjutor of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, to be a cardinal. Archbishop Makrickas is a Lithuanian, but there continues to be no cardinals currently heading any episcopal see in the three Baltic nations, including Catholic Lithuania. In another surprise, Pope Francis on October 6 named as a cardinal Archbishop Ladislav Nemet of Belgrade (Serbia). Belgrade will become the only episcopal see headed by a cardinal in the nations that were part of the former Yugoslavia. Orthodox Serbia will have a cardinal heading an episcopal see but Catholic Croatia and Slovenia will not.
On October 17, the Moscow website of RAPSI, https://rapsinews.ru/incident_publication/20241017/310331262.html, posted an article entitled: “’Evidence’ of Metropolitan Hilarion’s guilt turned out to be fake.” This is followed by the statement: “RAPSI has initiated an official forensic examination of the video and audio materials published by Georgy Suzuki with the aim of discrediting Metropolitan Hilarion: the experts have put an end to attempts to incriminate the respected cleric.” RAPSI is the Russian Agency of Legal and Judicial Information. It was founded in 2009 in coordination with the Russian Constitutional Court, the Russian Supreme Court, the Russian Supreme Commercial Court, and RIA Novosti. It covers Russian and international legal news and provides exclusive information directly from the press services of courts of all levels and competencies. https://www.rapsinews.com/docs/about/index.html The article states that RAPSI had retained the Center for Law and Forensic Expertise “ISTINA” (https://www.istinaexpert.ru/) to examine the videos and recordings used by Suzuki in his claims against Hilarion. The article quotes in detail the findings of Istina that the videos had been edited and contain parts of “artificial origin” and that the audio recordings had also been changed through digital editing. Immediately after the posting of the article, the state news agency RIA Novosti contacted Metropolitan Hilarion concerning the report. The Metropolitan’s comments were then reported at https://ria.ru/20241017/ekspertiza-1978589115.html. According to the Metropolitan, the published forensic examination of fragments of audio and video materials published to make accusations against him indicate that the files were manipulated and the recordings were unreliable.
Over the past month, Suzuki has posted five separate videos on YouTube in which he strongly attacks Metropolitan Hilarion. These videos have been publicized by Andrey Kuraev on his blog. Kuraev has now publicized a sixth video in which Suzuki has commented on the expert examination of the videos and recordings. https://diak-kuraev.livejournal.com/ Kuraev states: “Georgy rightly says that these Russian ‘experts’ could not have had access to the original of his recordings (that is, to his phone, which is in Japan), and therefore they could only work with fragments of them, located on the open network and specially prepared for publication.” All of this involves matters that are far beyond my own personal expertise. However, the Istina report acknowledges that it was dealing with fragments (presumably the incriminating parts of the videos). The question remains in my mind as to why it was necessary to edit within those fragments.
Peter Anderson, Seattle USA