Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) of Herts with the UOC (in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate) accused the Ukrainian authorities of allegedly persecuting Romanian priests under the guise of fighting against the Moscow Patriarchate.
As Glavcom reports, Metropolitan Longin recorded dozens of video addresses in which he called on Romania to stop supporting Ukraine. It is noted that one of the goals of the propaganda campaign was achieved immediately: some Romanians, known to be quite religious and conservative, were outraged by what the priest claimed were the actions of Ukraine. The Romanian Orthodox Church was even forced to explain the situation of Romanian priests on the territory of Ukraine. In an official communique, the Romanian Church informed that the priests mentioned by the UOC MP hierarch, who are allegedly being persecuted, are actually followers of the UOC Moscow Patriarchate and have no relation to the Romanian Church.
Longin is the founder and head of a children’s shelter in Chernivtsi region, and has been politically active for the last few years, openly supporting pro-Russian parties such as the Opposition Bloc. Supporters of Moscow, in turn, often visited Longin for PR purposes under the banner of “protecting traditional values”.
After Russia occupied Crimea, Longin sided with Moscow, calling the Ukrainian government “cursed” and “satanic.” With the outset of hostilities in Donbas, as early as 2014, this person hampered mobilization efforts in the region and denied Ukrainian defenders church rites, Glavcom journalists recall. He blamed “damned Europe” and the USA for the war.
At the same time, the bishop with the UOC MP, as noted in numerous reports, holds Romanian citizenship.
As the Spiritual Front of Ukraine reported, Russian narratives about the “persecution of the UOC (MP) and national minorities” began to spread in the Romanian media recently. They were launched into the Romanian media space by the former Romanian lawmaker with the Liberal Democratic Party, Vișan Gelu, who, on live Romania TV, directly accused President Zelensky of “persecuting the UOC”, “destroying churches” and “banning Romanians in Ukraine from speaking Romanian.” Visan Gelu stated during a live broadcast that the vicar of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Diocese, UOC (MP), Metropolitan Longin was “poisoned by the Ukrainian security services” and demanded that the Romanian authorities stop funding Ukraine.
On December 4, 2022, Longin called on the faithful not to pay attention to the actions of the authorities and the SBU, but simply to “pray, love your neighbors and serve the Lord.” For some reason, the hierarch believes that exposing collaborators is acting against the Church. He stated that the UOC in unity the Moscow Patriarchate has a thousand-year history, while the newly created “churches” are those of the Antichrist.
