On June 27, 1940, the Soviet government addressed its Romanian counterpart with an ultimatum to withdraw its civil and religious authorities from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in four dayS.49 AS a result, the Romanian Orthodox Church lost its control over the eparchies of Kishinev and Czernowitz.50 They were immediately incorporated into the Moscow Patriarchate as having been uncanonically acquired by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1918.51 IN contrast with Eastern Poland, no Romanian episcopate remained in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. In this way, the newly established administration consisted only of representatives of the Sergian Church. In January 1941, it was put under the leadership of Bishop Alexii (Sergeev) of TulA.52 It is interesting that he had belonged to the Living Church and reunited with the Sergian one in December 1940.
In May 1941, he was rewarded for his service and was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Kishinev.53 In 1940, the abbot of the Pochaev Monastery, Damaskin (Malyuta), was consecrated as Bishop of Zhitomir and several months later appointed to rule the Czernowitz diocese.
In contrast with the Polish case, the integration of the “Romanian eparchies” did not affect the status of the Romanian Orthodox Church, thanks to the support of its independent state. Moreover, as an ally of Hitler, the Romanian Kingdom was able to reestablish its control over these territories after June 22, 1941, and even to expand it by the inclusion of the city of Odessa and its area. In parallel, the Romanian Patriarchate restored its administration in the Orthodox eparchies of Kishinev, Czernowitz, and Odessa, whereas this did not happen with the Polish Orthodox Church, which remained under direct Nazi control.
World History
