Moldovan PM says law must be upheld in dispute over occupied church

CHISINAU, Feb 11 - Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu said on Wednesday that all Moldovans had to obey the law, including parishioners facing public order offences for barging into a church handed by the country's court system to a rival branch of the Orthodox faith.

More than 95% of Moldovans adhere to Orthodox Christianity, but parishioners are divided between two churches - the Moldova Metropolis, subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which reports to the Romanian church.

Neither church has full independence in the country lying between Ukraine and Romania.

A priest from the Russia-linked church, accompanied by his wife and two children, took over the building last week in the village of Dereneu in central Moldova. A group of parishioners then clashed with elite police on Tuesday and pushed past them to barricade themselves inside.

The furore over the church's occupation reignited a dispute pitting the Moscow-linked church, which has about 1,000 parishes nationally against its Romanian-linked rival, which has about 300 parishes.

Six people were detained, including the village's mayor.

Munteanu told a news conference that it was up to clergy and parishioners to resolve their differences without the government getting involved.

"But the law is the same for everyone and must be observed by all without reference to religious, ethnic or other affiliations," he said. "We will watch developments in criminal cases which I understand have begun." REUTERS