SENIOR officials in Moldova have called for calm and respect for the law regarding church property after a group of believers clashed with police after a prolonged dispute. The incident, in the village of Dereneu, in central Moldova, has highlighted increased religious polarisation and the growing friction between the country’s two Orthodox Churches.

Since the end of January, the transfer of Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which is linked to the Romanian Patriarchate, has been contested. A decision of the Moldovan Supreme Court confirmed the Metropolis of Bessarabia’s use of the church, prompting protests.

A priest of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, which is affiliated to the Russian Orthodox Church, barricaded himself, his family, and parishioners in the church at the beginning of this month. Several people including the Mayor of Dereneu were detained on suspicion of forced entry.

The President of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Grosu, was reported by the agency Moldpress as saying that the Supreme Court of Justice ruling must be respected, and that the Church “must not be used as a political tool or a factor of social division. Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Moldova are in an internal conflict — who is more faithful, who is more pious — while politicians capitalise on these tensions for their own interests.”

About 95 per cent of Moldovan citizens adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy. The main and larger of the two Churches, the Orthodox Church of Moldova, says that it has about 1000 parishes, while the rival Church, which is linked to the Romanian Patriarchate, the Metropolis of Bessarabia, has more than 250 parishes. The war in Ukraine has intensified the processes linked to the transfer of parishes.

The former President of Moldova Igor Dodon, the pro-Russia leader of the Moldovan Socialist Party, warned of a “Ukraine scenario”, referring to a wave of parish transfers from the Moscow-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which, in some instances, has led to violence and allegations of forced takeovers.

Mr Dodon has accused the current leadership of being involved in a wider campaign, targeting the Orthodox Church of Moldova. He urged the State to stay out of church politics.