Church unification in Romania was a project carried out over several years. After the Great Union of 1918, the Orthodox Churches in the Old Kingdom, Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bucovina had different ways of state organization, which led to the need to draw up a unitary state and a unification law for the entire Romanian Orthodox Church. During numerous meetings, representatives of the dioceses proposed various unification projects for discussion in order to reach a consensus. As regards the involvement of the clergy of Bessarabia, it contributed to the process of church unification and declared itself very early in favour of the establishment of the Romanian Patriarchate, provided it preserved its autonomy. During the debates on unification, in parallel with the establishment of the Romanian Patriarchate, the clergy between the Prut and the Dniester also demanded the establishment of the Bessarabian Metropolitan Church, as well as the establishment of two bishoprics: in Hotin and in White City-Ismail. Due to political pressure and misunderstandings, the representatives of the Bessarabian priesthood withdrew in 1923 from the Great Electoral College and from the commissions that analyzed and debated the projects of church unification, their position being represented only by Archbishop Gurie Grosu. Bishop Dionysius Erhan of Ismail also supported the establishment of the Romanian Patriarchate. In the historic meeting that took place on February 4, 1925, Archbishop Gurie Grosu mentioned, among other things, the efforts of the Bessarabian priesthood in the process of unification, the importance of the establishment of the Romanian Patriarchate and the elevation of the Primate Metropolitan to the rank of Patriarch.