The Archdiocese of Suceva and Rădăuților has issued a statement in which it makes known its position towards the priest Viorel Sidoriuc, who passed his church into his ownership, but also towards the believers who followed him.
Council of priests from the Archdiocese of Suceava. Facebook photo/Archdiocese of Suceava
We remind you that priest Viorel Sidoriuc, from the “Holy Trinity” Church in Suceava, left the Romanian Orthodox Church and affiliated the place of worship where he serves to the Orthodox Metropolis of Montenegro in Romania, an entity that BOR does not officially recognize. In addition, he claims that the “Holy Trinity” Church was built with the help of the parishioners on his land, so he refused to give up its ownership.
“In order to clarify the situation that recently emerged at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Suceava, through the adherence of priest Viorel Sidoriuc to a non-canonical and officially unrecognized religious entity, it is essential to understand that participating in services officiated by Catherist priests and bishops is a gesture of complicity in a non-canonical practice and, implicitly, an administrative-ecclesiastical illegality and fall under some Canons.
The Holy Trinity Parish in Suceava was affiliated, illegally and immorally, by its minister, Viorel Sidoriuc, to the schismatic faction of a self-titled metropolitan in Montenegro, foreign to the Church of our nation, foreign also to the Church of Serbia from which it broke away, in in fact an association called the Vicariate of the Orthodox Metropolis of Montenegro in Romania, founded by Emilian Prodan, a Catholic priest by decision with number 3/2024 of the Diocesan Consistory of the Archdiocese of Bucharest”, shows the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuţi on its Facebook page.
The Montenegrin Orthodox Church is not even legally recognized
“The Montenegrin Orthodox Church is schismatic and unrecognized by any autocephalous Orthodox Church and has no communion with the Serbian Orthodox Church, no apostolic succession, and no recognition by the Montenegrin state. This fact is reinforced by a decision of the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro, issued on 08.08.2024, according to which Metropolitan Boris Bojović cannot be the representative and leader of the Orthodox Metropolis of Montenegro, the decision being final”. BOR representatives also explain.
The Archdiocese of Suceava believes that Metropolitan Boris is “artisan of a schism and an act of illegality in the Church”, “collecting followers and priests catharized by other Churches for very serious disciplinary violations“.
Likewise, another accusation brought by the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuților to priest Viorel Sidoriuc is that he drags the parishioners after him, in his attempt to be “his own master”, because the services of priests not officially recognized by the BOR are considered null.
The church that the priest put in his name. Photo: video capture
“The services officiated by these priests or bishops, removed from the order of the priesthood by catherization, do not benefit from the blessing of the Church and, therefore, cannot fulfill their spiritual purpose (…), becoming a schismatic group. According to the teaching of the Church, these services are considered null, they do not bring any spiritual benefit and do not have the authentic grace of the divine work”. writes the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuților.
The faithful did not know that they were giving money to a “particular” church
Numerous believers, BOR representatives also state, contributed to the construction of the “Holy Trinity” Church in Suceava with various amounts, on account of which they received “Founder’s Certificates”, but they did not know that they were giving the money for a “private” place of worship.
“Many such certificates came into our possession. These believers expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that they knew that they were contributing to the construction of the “Holy Trinity” Church of the “Holy Trinity” Parish within the Archdiocese of Suceva and Rădăuților, not for a private church of the former parish priest Sidoriuc Viorel Ionel . We urge all believers who, in recognition of their contributions, have received over time Certificates of the Founders of the “Holy Trinity” Church from the “Holy Trinity” Parish within the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuţil to send us, without fearing any pressure contrary to them, copies of these certificates of the founders of the “Holy Trinity” church to [email protected]”, it is also shown in the quoted statement.
