Metropolis of Bessarabia: 24 years after historical recognitiontranslated

On Thursday, July 30, 2026, the Metropolitan of Bessarabia, Mr. Antonios, prayed at the Metropolitan Chapel of St. John the Theologian in Chisinau, marking the 24th anniversary of the official recognition of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which was re-established after the fall of communism. After the service, a message was read by His Holiness, in which he characterized the moment as a "reaffirmation of a historical, canonical and spiritual truth, after a long period in which religious freedom was tested by the consequences of a totalitarian past".

Metropolitan Antonios emphasized that the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of the Metropolis of Bessarabia and others against the Republic of Moldova, which was issued on December 13, 2001 and was implemented by the authorities through the official recognition of the Metropolis of Bessarabia on July 30, 2002, is one of the most important decisions on religious freedom issued in the European area after the fall of totalitarian regimes.

The decision affirmed a fundamental principle of democratic society: religious freedom…