In Ukraine, the house of Metropolitan Longin of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was set on fire – the clergyman was unharmed

Unknown individuals set fire to the house of Metropolitan Longin, the abbot of the Ascension Banchensky Monastery of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

This was reported in the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian public movement “Myriane.”

“Today at four in the morning, the house of Metropolitan Longin was set on fire. The house and property were completely destroyed by the fire. Thank God, the bishop himself did not suffer,” the message in the “Myriane” Telegram channel reads.

In May, the Security Service of Ukraine accused the abbot of the monastery, Metropolitan Longin, of allegedly making “disrespectful” remarks towards the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine, inciting interreligious discord. In September, Metropolitan Longin was charged, and his case was sent to court. In early November, law enforcement officers conducted a search at the Banchensky Monastery in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine. The abbot of the monastery, Metropolitan Longin, along with the believers, stood up to defend their abode. He urged the security forces, who had surrounded the monastery, to “end the circus” and leave the believers in peace.

The Ukrainian authorities have organized the most extensive wave of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the country’s recent history. Citing its ties with Russia, local authorities in various regions of Ukraine have made decisions to ban the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and the parliament passed a bill in the first reading effectively prohibiting its existence throughout the country. Sanctions have been imposed by authorities against some representatives of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Security Service of Ukraine has initiated criminal cases against the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and carried out “counterintelligence measures” – searches of bishops and priests, in churches and monasteries, in search of evidence of “anti-Ukrainian activities.