gave its church in Moldova

Moscow gave its church in Moldova self-governing status, but at the same time, the Romanian Bessarabian Orthodox Church returned and became more active, although it has remained significantly smaller According to surveys, 86 percent of the Moldovan population say they are affiliated with the Moldovan Orthodox Church (MOC), as the Moscow church in Moldova styles itself, while only 11 percent identify as being part of the Romanian Bessarabian Metropolitanate (Rubaltic.ru, September 16). There has been some recent erosion in the support for the former, with some 60 parishes of the MOC have resubordinated themselves to the Bessarabian Metropolitanate ufabet