Metropolitan Longin Says He Wanted to Go to the War

The abbot of the Bancheny Monastery, Metropolitan Longin (Zhar), stated that he had the desire to go to the front, not to participate in combat operations, but to carry out humanitarian tasks and be “where the people and their children are.” His words were published on the “Ukraine Orthodox” channel.

“I am not against my state; I myself wanted to go to the war if I had such a will. I would tell the brethren of the monastery: ‘I want to be where my people are, where my children are,’” the metropolitan said. However, as a clergyman, he has no right to take up arms, shoot, or kill. The archpastor stressed that priests called up for military service will no longer be able to conduct worship: “Today they are taking our priests to the war. They have no right to do this because we have no right to then raise our hands to God — they will be in blood.”

The metropolitan also criticized cases of clergy mobilization, noting that even if only one priest remains in a village or city, he can still be taken away, “imprisoned, and abused.” According to him, such actions are “a disgrace not for the state of Ukraine, but for those who commit such lawlessness.”

Earlier, it was reported that Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny made a statement in support of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy, emphasizing his unwavering spiritual authority for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to the hierarch, in the current difficult situation for the Church and the country, it is precisely the humility, prayer, and love of the Primate that preserve spiritual balance and true pastoral unity.