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Young churchgoers from Pridnestrovie light candles in an Orthodox Christian church in Tiraspol (Photo: Ekaterina Semenyuk)

MOSCOW (Tiraspol Times) - The Moscow Patriarchate regards the decision of the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church to set up dioceses on its canonical territory as a threat to the unity of the Christian Orthodox world.

" - This is a nationalistically tainted expansionist adventure and an act directly leading to a split in the Christian Orthodox world," deputy head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Bishop Mark told Russian news agency Interfax on Wednesday.

" - One is getting the impression that the Church of Romania is simply a toy in the hands of nationalistically minded politicians and it is surprising that the Romanian Church has taken this road," he said.

On 24 October 2007, the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided to set up seven new dioceses, three of them in Moldova and Transdniestria. Both the local church authorities in Transdniestria, as well as those in Moldova, are equally opposed to the move which has so far not yet been consulted with either of the two local populations. (With information from Interfax)

See also:
» Tiraspol Bishop warns of Romanian "church war" [1]
» In Pridnestrovie, five times more religions than Moldova [2]