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In the year 1500, at its largest under Ştefan cel Mare, Moldavia extended all the way to the Dniester river but never beyond

BUCHAREST (Tiraspol Times) - Transnistria was never part of Moldova, says the Romanian church. Romanian patriarchal bishop Vincenţiu Ploieşteanu, interviewed by Romanian newspaper „Gardianul“, believes that a solution to the Transnistrian conflict must be grounded in historical reality.

" - Transnistria is not Moldovan and it never belonged to Stefan cel Mare," Bishop Ploiesteanu told the Bucharest newspaper. "Transnistria, that was a creation of Stalin," he added.

The church leader also said that the ideal time for a reunification of Moldova and Romania was in 1990.

Stephen III of Moldavia, also known as Stephen the Great (Romanian: Ştefan cel Mare) was ruler of Moldavia - which included today's Moldova - between 1457 and 1504.

During his reign, Stefan cel Mare turned Moldavia into a strong state and maintained her independence. At its largest, the borders of the principality extended to the Dniester river. The land on the other side of the Dniester - which was inhabited by Slavs - was never part of Moldova or its forerunner Moldavia at any time in history.

Instead of being an unnatural part of Moldova, de facto independent Transnistria is now seeking international recognition as a free and sovereign state.

Bishop Vincenţiu Ploieşteanu of the Romanian Orthodox Church says that Transnistria was never original Moldovan territory in the first place.

Throughout its history, Europe has embraced the emergence of newly independent states, from Switzerland and the Netherlands in 1648 to Montenegro in 2006. It is a fact that most states in Europe today originally seceded from a larger entity — as indeed did the United States, too. The emergence of new states has never meant the collapse of the international order or a free-for-all, but is simply an inevitable, unavoidable, and ultimately desirable part of Europe's evolution.

The Romanian Orthodox Church is organized as Patriarchate and comprises 6 Metropolitan Sees, made up of Archdioceses and Dioceses, with a total of 11,102 parishes, served by 13,925 priests and deacons, in 14,870 places of worship.

See also:
» Bishop Justinian: "We have to recognize the people’s self-expression and will" [1]
» As democracy spreads, new countries will be born [2]

On the web:
» Patriarhii României [3]