The Romanian Orthodox Church has publicly opposed a draft law that would legalize prostitution, warning that the initiative contradicts Orthodox teaching and undermines respect for human dignity.

In an official statement, the Romanian Patriarchate said the Patriarch and the Holy Synod view prostitution as a form of exploitation and commercialization of the human body, with serious negative consequences for individuals involved and for society as a whole. According to the Church, legalizing prostitution would not resolve the social problems associated with the practice and could instead deepen them.

The statement also recalled that Romania is a signatory to the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. The convention defines prostitution as incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and obliges states to prevent organized forms of the activity.

The Church’s response follows the submission of a bill to parliament by Ion Iordache, a lawmaker from the National Liberal Party, with support from several other deputies. As reported by tvrinfo.ro, the proposal seeks to regulate, license, and place paid sexual services under state control. Its authors argue that the goal is to bring an existing underground market into the open, ensure health and safety oversight, protect the rights of consenting adults, and strengthen efforts to combat human trafficking.

Iordache has said the initiative is not intended to promote prostitution but to impose strict rules, including mandatory medical examinations, limits on where services may be provided, and oversight by local authorities and law enforcement. He has pointed to regulatory models in several European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands.

The Romanian Patriarchate stated that the Church will continue to speak out whenever legislative initiatives, in its view, clearly conflict with moral values and Orthodox doctrine, grounding its position in the teachings of Holy Scripture and the Church Fathers.