The UOC hierarch said the believers of the UOC in Ukraine, who form the majority, are being persecuted.

The head of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna diocese, rector of the Ascension Bancheny Monastery, Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) called on the Local Churches to stand up for the UOC.

The hierarch of the UOC said this in a sermon published on the YouTube channel of the Bancheny Monastery.

“I want to appeal to all the Orthodox Churches of the earth. Say that there are a lot of us in our state; that we are in the canonical Church. The one that was created 2-3 years ago (OCU – Ed.) is not a church. The Church of Christ has existed for 2,000 years, and no one has the right to go against our Church,” said Metropolitan Longin.

According to him, instead of uniting, people arrange inter-religious hostility and go against God.

Metropolitan Longin called to repentance all those who voted for the ban on the UOC.

“It sounds bizarre – ban the Church, ban God… Those who voted against our Church, repent, confess this terrible sin, and those who force you to vote like that, remember: the Lord will not forgive, this is a sin against the Holy Spirit, come to your senses. Atheists and communists brought so much evil to our Church and people, do you want to repeat it? It will be hard to fight with God, and it will be necessary to answer before God,” he added.

Source: www.spzh.news