Metropolitan Visarion Puiu is one of the most important personalities of The Romanian Orthodox Church, and also one of the most disputed bishops we ever had. Because of his involvement in Transnistria, as leader of The Orthodox Mission, from December 1942 until December 1943, he was sentenced to death by the People`s Court, in contumacy. His mission as Metropolitan of Odessa was to save The Orthodox Church from extinction. The reason why he had to do this is because the Red Army tried to destroy religion in the Soviet Union. And since Transnistria was occupied by the Bolsheviks, they tried to do the same thing here. When Transnistria was set free from the communist occupation, the Romanian Government and The Romanian Orthodox Church founded The Orthodox Mission, to save what it was left after the persecution of The Church. In one year he reopens six hundred churches and twelve monasteries. He reopens The Theological Seminary and The School for Church Singers from Odessa, he opens a new Theological Seminary in Dubăsari and he brings missionary priests from Romania. He fights the Bolshevik propaganda by printing religious books and anti-Bolshevik books. He organizes anti-Bolshevik conferences, introduces religion classes in schools and Christian ethics in The University of Odessa. For this, and for writing a letter to Stalin, where he asks him to stop the persecution of religious beliefs and believers, when The Red Army seized Transnistria, Romania and half of Europe, and in Romania began the Communist Regime, the People`s Court sentenced Metropolitan Visarion Puiu to death, in contumacy. Soon after that, The Romanian Orthodox Church was forced to defrock him. After the fall of the Communist Regime in Romania, The Romanian Orthodox Church rehabilitates Metropolitan Visarion Puiu in 1990. Since then theologians and historians work side by side to restore the good name of the Metropolitan Visarion Puiu.
