Moldova's largest Orthodox church keeps link to Russia

FILE PHOTO: People attend a service for Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in Chisinau, Moldova January 19, 2019. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's largest Orthodox church reaffirmed its link to its Russian parent church on Thursday despite dissent from priests who have denounced the association with Moscow over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

More than 90 percent 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 has autocephaly, or full independence.