The rector of the UOC-MP Banchen monastery, Chernivtsi region, Metropolitan Longin (Zhar), during a Sunday sermon, "thanked" the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill Gundyaev for blessing the Russians to kill Ukrainians during the war.
This is reported by Apostrophe.
"Your Holiness, thank you for your blessing. That people are dying, and blood is being spilled. For bombing our monasteries, our churches. For killing our monks, our priests. Thank you, Your Holiness, for your great blessing for the bloodshed," Metropolitan Longin said.
He added that Kirill will answer to God for this.
"Someone will be responsible for the bloodshed, the mothers' tears, and the children made orphans. Those who blessed war and bloodshed - you will answer to God. For every tear of your mother, for every fresh grave, you will answer to the Lord God. You have wounded the entire Ukrainian Orthodox world, you have caused us pain. Don't make excuses for yourself," said the rector of the Banchen monastery.
At the end of January 2015, the Vicar of the Diocese of Chernivtsi, UOC-MP, Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) of Banchen, called on the Romanian-speaking population of Bukovyna to boycott the mobilization to the Ukrainian army, he also criticized the leaders of the state calling them "cursed" and "Satanists", for "finding pleasure" in the "bloodshed" – the war in the Donbas.