 In 1677, the seat of the Metropolis of Moldavia was permanently moved to Iași.Bessarabia, the eastern half of the Principality of Moldavia, was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1812, including the territory constituting the Chişinău Eparchy, which was reorganized and placed under the Russian Orthodox Church.Its first Metropolitan was Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni, a popular promoter of the Romanian language and culture.