The Moldovan Orthodox Church requested on Monday that the government not recognize same-sex marriages as legitimate or pass laws to safeguard the rights of LGBT couples in accordance with a recent European Court of Human Rights decision, Balkan Insight reports.
“We are in a worrying situation for our Christian-Orthodox people… For Moldova, this means mandatory recognition by law of same-sex couples,” said Metropolitan Vladimir of Moldova.
“A commensurate reaction will follow the timidest attempt to legally register a gay couple in our country because such decisions go against the eminently Orthodox and historical conscience of the people,” the cleric warned.
The decisions of the European Court of Human Rights must be followed by Moldova because it is a member of the Council of Europe.
On January 17, a court in Strasbourg declared that nations in the Council of Europe must legally recognize and safeguard same-sex families. The court found that the plaintiffs’ human rights were infringed by the Russian state’s unwillingness to provide same-sex couples legal recognition in the Fedotova and others v. Russia case.
Three same-sex couples who requested to have their relationships legally registered with the Russian authorities but were turned down started the lawsuit.
The Patriarchate of Moscow is canonically superior to the Metropolis of Chisinau and All of Moldova. The LGBT population, according to the two churches, poses a threat to the typical church-going family.
Orthodox believers were exhorted to take action “so that such legalizing and encouragement of evil would not occur,” according to Metropolitan Vladimir of Moldova.
Additionally, he emphasized that rather than “a tiny homosexual minority,” the “vast majority” of Orthodox Christians backed him.
He expressed concern that the present Moldovan leaders would be viewed in the future either as “people with dignity” or as “traitors who promote [values] foreign to this nation for the sake of fleeting benefits and appreciation.”
While stating categorically that the church does not oppose Moldova’s desire to become more integrated into the European Union, he added that the church “wants this integration to take place with respect for the real Christian and historical values of Europe.”
Metropolitan Vladimir’s remarks were labeled as “incitement to hatred and discrimination” by Angelica Frolov, the program coordinator for Genderdoc-M’s lobbying and advocacy program, which works to protect the rights of the LGBT population in Moldova.
“It contains threats and calls for disobedience. It is a serious criminal violation,” Frolov said, citing Moldovan legislation.
