Metropolitan Longin thanks his flock for faithfulness to Church amid storms
Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny. Photo: Screenshot from monastery video
On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, May 29, 2025, a solemn Divine Liturgy was held at the Bancheny Monastery, presided over by Metropolitan Longin (Zhar). In his sermon, the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) expressed gratitude to the clergy and faithful for their steadfastness and loyalty to the canonical Church.
“I thank you all for your love, for your faithfulness, for remaining loyal to God, to our canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and to our Beatitude,” said the metropolitan, emphasizing that in these difficult times, it is precisely faith and love for Christ that strengthen the people of God.
Metropolitan Longin reminded the faithful of the serious trials they now face, which he described as “strong winds and storms.”
“Today, there are many ways being used to break us, our canonical Orthodox Church, and our Orthodox faith... But I thank God and you for standing firm on the rock, which is Christ.”
He noted that loyalty to the Church is not merely an outward stance but a deep, inward confession of Christ—despite fears, threats, pressure, and pain.
“You have remained in the faith where all our ancestors found salvation until this day. And here we remain, with God's help.”
The bishop also addressed those who may have fallen away from the Church under pressure: “I love you. May God grant that you understand this in time, that you repent, and always speak the truth. Because the truth never hurts. Only falsehood does.”
Metropolitan Longin revealed that despite a recent hospitalization, he insisted on being discharged so he could pray with his flock on the feast day:
“This morning I was discharged from the hospital… I wanted to be with you on this feast.”
He gave special thanks to the pilgrims who came from Chernivtsi on foot the day before. Despite rain and cold, he said, “you sanctified the road to Bancheny.”
“Yesterday, I prayed for you. I looked out the hospital window and saw you walking, and I asked God, ‘Lord, sanctify all of Ukraine.’ And I thought: nothing and no one can stop you. Well done. That is how it must be, brothers and sisters. No matter what—go forward, and with God.”
At the end of his sermon, the archpastor wished everyone strength in faith and called for forgiveness, love, and prayer for all: “Forgive, love everyone, and pray for everyone... And we love you, we embrace you, and the Bancheni family is always waiting for you.”
As previously reported by the UOJ, world-renowned Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko publicly expressed his support for Metropolitan Longin. Lomachenko posted a photo with the metropolitan on social media, quoting Christ’s words from the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
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