At the same time, the Catholic Church of Moldova maintains positive relations with the Orthodox churches of the country, including structures of the Moscow Patriarchate
“We respect each other and try not to interfere,” says Bishop Anton Cosa, who has headed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chisinau since 2001.
He is quoted by the Holy See’s information portal Vatican News. The author notes that the Catholic community strives to be an active part of Moldovan society and does not feel isolated, thanks to the support of the world Catholic Church, including in the cultural and educational spheres.
An example of mutual understanding and harmony
According to the newspaper, most of the priests in the Chisinau diocese are foreigners, only four out of twenty are local, two of whom were formerly Orthodox. In the cathedral, services are held in Romanian, Russian, English, Italian, Polish and Latin. Most of the believers speak Russian,” the author notes.
Moldovan Catholics appeared in the region before 1812, but then they were very few. After Moldova was incorporated into the Russian Empire, settlers from Germany and Poland moved here, bringing with them the Catholic faith. In 1821, the first Catholic parish community was founded in Kishinev.
Today the Catholic Church of Moldova is organized into three deaneries: Central, Northern and Transnistrian. In total, they unite about 25 parishes.
