George Simion visits Chicago church tied to Moscow Patriarchate during US tour

Speech in Chicago

The president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, addressed attendees at a Romanian community festival hosted by Saint Andrew Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois. Parish priest Gheorghe Pavel invited Simion to speak before an audience comprising Romanians from several regions of Romania as well as the Republic of Moldova. During the address, Simion praised the gathering for preserving religious traditions and Romanian national identity abroad. He noted the presence of attendees from cities including Bălți, Mereni, Timișoara, Bistrița, Sibiu, and Baia Mare.

I see that here, at the Saint Andrew Church, you have already achieved union: Romania with Moldova. You are from Bălți, and from Mereni, and from Timișoara, and from Bistrița, and Sibiu, and Dobrogea, and Baia Mare, Mureș. How could it not be? It is an entire Romania, a Greater Romania here.

Canonical ties to Moscow

Saint Andrew Romanian Orthodox Parish in Chicago operates outside official Romanian Orthodox Church structures in the United States. According to parish records, the church has functioned since November 2016 under the omophorion of Metropolitan Vladimir of Chișinău and All Moldova, whose secular name is Vladimir Cantarean. The Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova operates under the canonical jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, headed by Patriarch Kirill of Russia. Article 2 of the statute of the Orthodox Church of Moldova establishes its canonical subordination to Moscow while maintaining administrative autonomy.

Tour stops in Ohio and Pennsylvania

The Chicago event forms part of an outreach tour by the AUR leader across Romanian diaspora communities in the United States. Simion began his visit in Cleveland, Ohio, where he toured a Romanian cathedral, viewed historical documents in the cathedral museum, and attended a local community festival. Party representatives released statements urging Romanians living in the United States to contact the party and participate in its political activity. Simion is scheduled to travel next to Reading, Pennsylvania, to attend another diaspora festival.

Visa controversy and diplomatic dispute

The tour follows diplomatic scrutiny regarding Simion's entry into the United States. One week before his arrival, a group of four former American diplomats requested that United States authorities review his visa status, alleging that he promotes Russian interests. The signatories included two former United States ambassadors to Romania, Adrian Zuckerman and Mark Gitenstein, as well as former Virginia governor James S. Gilmore III and a former acting United States ambassador to the European Union. In a video published on Facebook before reaching Cleveland, Simion rejected the initiative.

Dear friends, despite the former American ambassadors, some of whom enriched themselves with millions and millions of euros from our money, relying on the corruption and stupidity of the leaders we had, nobody canceled my United States visa.

Simion claimed that Romanian President Nicușor Dan, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, and the Romanian ambassador to the United States orchestrated the diplomatic petition. No public evidence was presented to support those claims.