On May 21, 2024, the Hertsaevsky District Court of Chernivtsi region held another court hearing in the case initiated by the authorities against Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) of Banchena. After the hearing, the hierarch said that for more than a year he has been “dragged through the courts” without any special reason, without giving him the opportunity to fully defend himself. The metropolitan’s commentary was published on the YouTube channel of the Banchen Monastery.

“A year has passed, and they don’t let me say a word. I have 400 children to feed. I have saved the state 150 million hryvnias by taking all the costs of keeping the children. What are we guilty of, why did we become an enemy of the people? It is a shame to these people that they want to destroy our state Ukraine and divide our people into white and black. But they will not succeed. We love Ukraine”, – said Metropolitan Longin.

We will remind, earlier we reported that in the capital of Slovakia Bratislava held a rally in support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Orthodox Slovaks and Ukrainians who gathered under the walls of the Ukrainian embassy demanded to stop the pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and release hierarchs, clergy and believers from prisons.