 The Romanian Orthodox Church consider that, during the time, the Russian Orthodox Church jurisdiction on the former territory of Bessarabia was an "unfair and abusive act in terms of historical reality and canon law", and the jurisdiction right of the Russian Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova can be exercised only to the Russian ethnics of Moldova.In the lead-up to the independence of Moldova, the Romanian Orthodox Church reactivated the interwar Metropolis of Bessarabia, granted it autonomy, and gave it authority over the Republic of Moldova and areas in southwestern Ukraine with Romanian populations.The Metropolis was started in 1992 by the Moldovan Orthodox Bishop of Bălți, Petru (Păduraru).