Historian Rebuts Moldovan Minister on Dereneu Church Origins

Cristi Jardan. Photo: media-azi.md

DERENEU, MOLDOVA — Arguing in defense of local parishioners, historian Alexei Petrovich sharply criticized statements by Moldovan Minister of Culture Cristi Jardan regarding the ownership of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dereneu. Jardan had claimed that “the church in the village of Dereneu initially belonged to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, and was then transferred to the Bessarabian Metropolitanate.”

Petrovich responded, writing on social media, “Specifically for Cristi Jardan, a victim of the anti-scientific course ‘History of the Romanians,’ we inform you: the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Dereneu, Calarasi district, was built in 1827, during the time of the Russian Empire, when our country’s territory was part of the Russian state.”

He also called on the Minister to consult the Register of Monuments Protected by the State from 1995 and provided historical documentation, including a map of the Bessarabian province, noting that the village was historically called Derenev.

Previously, the UOJ reported that parishioners had previously blocked this church seizure in January. 

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