Metropolitan Petru Păduraru

Metropolitan Petru Păduraru retired at the end of May, 2026, as the Archbishop of Chișinău and the Metropolitan of Bessarabia. The reasons given were his age and health. However, shortly after this announcement, sexually explicit videos purportedly showing the Metropolitan with a man began circulating online, and speculation arose that this was the real reason for the retirement. Ziarul de Gardă reported that in addition to the current speculation, sexual misconduct allegations against the Metropolitan were first made public as early as 2014. At that time, he was accused of making sexual advances toward several clergymen.