What was the purpose of Patriarch Kirill’s visit to Romania?

Kirill’s visit was the first by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to Romania since 1983. During his stay, the Patriarch participated in the feast of St. Demetrios the New, the protector of the Bucharest, commemoration of communist regime martyrs and the 10^th anniversary of Daniel’s elevation. The purpose of the visit was to improve relations with the Romanian Orthodox Church and its 16 million believers, the largest Orthodox Church in the world, apart from the Russian Orthodox Church. Unlike the other Orthodox Churches, Romania’s has not maintained close relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. During the visit, there were also meetings with Metropolitan Rostislav, the head of the Orthodox Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia, and Archbishop Anastasios, the primate of the Orthodox Church of Albania, who also took part in the extraordinary Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Are there disputes between the Romanian and Russian Orthodox Churches, and what are they?

Yes, and it is over the Orthodox Church in the Republic of Moldova. The Russian Orthodox Church recognises the country as its canonical territory, and as such, only the Moldovan Orthodox Church, established in 1992 as an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church, should have primacy there. This Church’s believers amount to about 80% of the population and are affiliated with about 1,200 parishes. The Romanian Orthodox Church, in turn, deems the takeover of its structures by the Russian Orthodox Church in the historical region of Bessarabia, annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, as unlawful according to Orthodox canon law. Therefore, in 1992 in Moldova, the Metropolis of Bessarabia was established as an autonomous part of the Romanian Orthodox Church. It amounts to 20% of the Moldovan Orthodox congregation and more than 100 parishes. Unsuccessful negotiations on the canonical status of Moldova were carried out until 2007 by Kirill and Daniel, who were not patriarchs then.

How does the Romanian public view Russia?

All major political parties in Romania support the Euro-Atlantic orientation of the country and are not pursuing rapprochement with Russia. This policy is unanimously supported by the Romanian Orthodox Church. Romanians, who are almost entirely Orthodox, consider themselves part of Latin civilisation. For various reasons, including the historical territorial dispute over Bessarabia, Romanians view Russia with great distrust. This is perpetuated by Russia’s threats to Romania over the construction of elements of the U.S. missile defence project in Deveselu, Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine, and its destabilisation of Moldova. Demands to return reserves of gold and works of art evacuated by Romania to Russia during the First World War are still pending, though rejected by the Russian authorities.

What are the political implications of Kirill’s visit to Romania?

Russia has no significant instrument of communication with the reluctant Romanian society. The visit of Patriarch Kirill, who emphasised the significance to Orthodox values of the joining of the two nations, probably will not increase the sympathy among Romanians towards Russia, but it could serve to strengthen the Russian Orthodox Church’s image in its rivalry with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. At the end of 2017 and in 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church will organise celebrations commemorating the restoration of the Patriarchy and victims of communist repression. The presence of the heads of the other Churches, and possibly the Patriarchate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which cooperates closely with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, could be presented by Russia as recognition of the primacy of the Moscow Patriarchate.