Met Longin: Do the authorities need our churches for dances and concerts?

Metropolitan Longin. Photo: Facebook page of Bancheny Monastery

On May 10, 2026, Metropolitan Longin said in his sermon that state structures are taking church buildings not for spiritual needs, but for entertainment events. According to the hierarch, those now taking control of churches have no interest in prayer.

“Do they need our churches for dances, for concerts?” the bishop asked, recalling that the house of God must remain a house of prayer for all nations.

The hierarch drew a direct historical parallel between the actions of today’s officials and the methods of Soviet godless authorities. He urged the persecutors of the Church to remember how their “communist brothers” ended their lives in disgrace, and pointed to the sufferings of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who raised their hands against clergy. The metropolitan noted that God is a righteous Judge, who will one day demand an answer for every act of mockery against a holy place.

Metropolitan Longin also drew attention to the situation at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which he described as an example of spiritual desolation following the intervention of state structures. The hierarch recalled the grace and spiritual joy that once reigned in the monastery. He also called on officials to “remove the veil from their eyes” – the veil, he said, placed there by the devil – and to stop desecrating the holy relics.

Commenting on attempts to create new religious structures through violence, the bishop stressed that it is impossible to build the true Church on bloodshed and abuse of people.

“Let them create whatever they want; we have nothing to do with them. We are in the Church of Christ,” the hierarch concluded, adding that believers do not intend to renounce their holy places or the canonical order.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Metropolitan Longin had spoken about the abuse of his son by draft officers.

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