Rîșcani District, Moldova, November 19, 2025
Parishioners defending their church. Photo: zivotcrkve.rs
A court case has begun in Moldova’s Rîșcani District against six parishioners from the village of Grinăuți who are charged with hooliganism following a confrontation with their former priest.
The incident occurred after the priest attempted to transfer the parish from the Moldovan Metropolis of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Romanian Patriarchate’s Metropolis of Bessarabia, reports zivotcrkve.rs.
The conflict took place on July 15, at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. According to Moldovan television channel Moldova 24, the former rector Fr. Constantin Turturianu, now a priest under canonical prohibition, announced the parish’s transfer, but his initiative was rejected at a parish assembly where 267 people voted against the transfer, while only nine parishioners voted in favor and eight abstained.
Despite the clear rejection of his decision by the Grinăuți parish, Fr. Constantin refused to leave the church building, which led to the confrontation with parishioners. After peacefully standing up for their church, the people pushed him and one of his supporters out of the building.
As a result, the Prosecutor General’s Office initiated a case for hooliganism against six parishioners aged between 38 and 59. According to the indictment, they face fines of up to 52,500 lei (approximately $3,120), community service of 240 hours, or imprisonment for up to three years.
The defendants and other parishioners consider the case unjust. They view the criminal prosecution as a form of pressure on faithful of the Moldovan Orthodox Church who maintain canonical unity with the Moscow Patriarchate.
The incident reflects growing tensions between the two Orthodox jurisdictions in the country. After the incident, His Eminence Archbishop Marchell of Bălți and Fălești accused the Romanian government and the Romanian Patriarchate of orchestrating takeovers of churches belonging to the Moldovan Orthodox Church. According to the hierarch, such actions are financially supported by the Romanian government with EU funds.
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