His Eminence Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny is known as one of the most stalwart hierarchs of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Therefore, he is also one of the prime targets of those who attack the Church.
During the night of January 22, 2024, an unknown assailant attacked the Metropolitan, striking him in the face. It was noted that due to the blow he lost consciousness, and a surgical intervention was performed on his eyelids.
“Someone knocked on the door three times, and when I opened it, I was struck and knocked unconscious… I feel good now! Everything is left to the mercy and judgment of God!,” added the hierarch.
Later Metropolitan Longin said: “To calm everyone down, I’ll say a few words so that no one worries. We are doing well; everything is going as it should go according to our Orthodox faith. We must endure, suffer, and pray. I feel ill a little now but I got what I deserved. So the Lord gives. Glory to You, God! But may God forgive and have mercy on everyone. I won’t say anything more,” the hierarch said.
“”Father, do not officiate tomorrow. It is very dangerous!” “Silence, silence!” “Elder, please! The situation has worsened. Every day bombs fall around us. We are afraid to leave the house. We are worried about you too.”
Unperturbed, Fr. Ieronymos listened to the people who in the last few days arrived anxiously at the Simonopetra Metochi of the Ascension in Byron, Attica. They wanted to protect him, but also to find refuge in his peaceful form. Shut up, shut up,” he told them and prayed secretly with the salutation of the Holy Cross and the Virgin Mary. He deeply believed in the power of Christ and therefore never lost his peace. 1943. Byron is at the center of the warring factions. English ships from Piraeus bomb the area. Fr. Ieronymus performs the Divine Liturgy. He was told to close the church for security reasons. He did not accept. He wanted to stay true to his duty.
Outside the Temple the shells and missiles are raining. At some point a terrible click is heard. Then another and another. The stones and plasters of the church begin to fall. The people are terrified and are looking for a way to escape and be saved. “Do not move!,” the voice of the revered Levite captivates them all. In the Beautiful Gate, his serene form is displayed. “I guarantee you that you will not even get dusty! In a little while it is time to commune. You will all come up and then you will return home quietly.” Indeed, on that day, everyone communed and, as an eyewitness confesses, “went to their homes without the slightest dust, despite the fact that there were piles of rubble around them that had been cluttered. And the damage done to the temple was repaired in just fifteen days. Like the beehives, many people cooperated, helped with money but also with personal work and the Temple became more beautiful than before!””
“Brothers and spiritual children, mainly I beg you to lay all your hope on God, hold on to the true faith above all.”
~ Saint Sava
“The truth does not exist outside the Orthodox Church. It is the only faithful guardian of all that was commanded by the Lord through the Holy Apostles, and therefore it is the true Apostolic Church. It exists and will remain, according to His promise, unto the end of the world.”
~ St. Theophan the Recluse
“Give up everything for Christ, but Christ for nothing.”
Saint Sava’s ideal (described by St. Justin Popovich)
A young man came to an elder and joyfully told him that the goal of his life had been fulfilled: he had passed the exam well and entered university. The elder asked: “Okay, you’ll graduate from university, but what’s next? – I will apply in the civil service – said the young man. – And then? – I’ll create a family. – And what’s next? – the elder continued to ask. – I will receive rewards and medals. – And next? – I’ll get old and retire. – And then what? – I’m going to die, said the young man, no longer in such an enthusiastic tone. – And what’s next? – the elder asked. – I didn’t think about that, – the young man said.”
As the time goes, crises in the world grow, conflicts and bloodshed multiply. There is an obvious danger of expanding of the existing wars. As Orthodox Christians, we must pray to God for peace, but with this we have to strive to obtain it first in our souls. To reconcile with God and our conscience, to overcome all quarrels and disagreements with our loved ones. If we contribute the peace of God in our surrounding then our prayer to God, the source of peace and every consolation, will be heard. And He, according to His philanthropy, will respond to the prayers and cries of the faithful, especially those who suffer innocently, with his mercy, and convince the warring parties to stop the bloodshed and make peace, to the joy and salvation of their people.
Nativity Epistle of MetropolitanJoanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral
– There is also a situation, Your Holiness, and that is very often even when we do something we like we do not rejoice as much as we should. Who steals our joy? We do not rejoice to the success of our work and that happens very often.
– The word of Christ must be accepted that greatness before God, before Christ, is measured by the greatness of service, nothing else. Certainly, a man can serve in every vocation he is interested in. A scientist can serve for the benefit of people. An artist can also do that. All those vocations can be directed in such way. If every one of them understood their work in such way, they would have bliss, not just happiness. Nobody could take that away from them. No matter how much other people talk bad about them or not recognize them, they will feel blissfulness in reaching the goal of their work. If we wait for the praise of this world, that is difficult.
You know, people often are not capable of praising others because of their envy and malice. There is the story of ancient Greeks about Aristides the Rightous. A man cannot be righteous and honourable especially on high position. Even if he does everything right, de facto, he will cause harm to someone. So they wanted to expel Aristides. The Council gathered in the theatre. Likurg came and sat among others. A simple man was sitting next to him. They shared pieces of tile to write whether they should expel him or not. This person not knowing Aristedes, being illiterate, asked Likurg to write down that he should be expelled. “Do you know Aristides? – I have never seen him. – Did he do some injustice to you? – No. But I am bored of listening ‘Aristides the Righteous, Aristides the Righteous’. Let him go together with his justice.” There are those kind of people…
During St. Hilarion’s time, probably many were saying, “Such tribulations! Where can we find the strength to have faith?” These were the times just after the Revolution—times of terrible trials. But in order to preserve their faith they may have said, “Give us a sign, if only to have something to grab onto.” But for all times and for all peoples, the Savior’s words have resounded about how when we ask for a sign, we become a part of that evil and adulterous generation. The tribulation itself and our overcoming it brings us the greatest fruit. The tribulation itself gives us a sign, wisdom, an understanding of God’s ways, and the strength of spirit to endure. Holy Hierarch Hilarion showed us to the fullest measure that acceptance of this sign. Time has to pass; trials and patience must have the quality of completion, the term must be completed. A woman must have nine months for a new life to be born. The human soul must also have a certain time period, and an overcoming of trials, so that an understanding of God’s will can be born.
Yes, people wanted it to come more quickly; they wanted the terrible yoke of godlessness to end right away. Many tried inwardly to speed up the process; but God-seers such as St. Hilarion knew that sooner or later that time would come, and they remained joyful and calm, as we can read in people’s reminiscences of him—especially of his concentration camp period. He was joyful and peaceful. Just like a new Jonah in the belly of the whale, experiencing fear, confusion, temptation and sorrows, he knew that God would nevertheless lead His people to the truth.
An ascetic of our very recent history, a man of holy life although not yet a canonized saint, Elder Paisius of Mt. Athos (who died in 1994) said, “What I see around me would drive me insane if I did not know that no matter what happens, God will have the last word.” Neither did St. Hilarion demand any signs. He knew, just as all of us should know, that sooner or later the time will come for tribulations. No one can pass by Golgotha if he wants to follow Christ and consider himself a disciple of Christ. When that time comes, do not ask, beg, or demand a sign, or that this cup would definitely pass you by. But say only, “May God’s will be done,” just as our Lord and Teacher Himself said. Then and only then, after having drunk that cup, we will begin to understand that no matter how bitter and sorrowful it might be, at the bottom is its fruit, which is the most precious thing there is in the world.
It is a great deal to realize that your faith is reduced. And it is indeed always reduced. St. Iakovos (Tsalikis) used to tell me, “Never be satisfied with your faith. Always ask for more faith. If possible at dawn, early in the morning.” If possible early in the morning, at dawn. As soon as you rise from your bed. “A new day, my Christ, good morning! Please give me more faith than the one you gave me yesterday.” This is what it means, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)…
If we break our leg, [we say] “My Virgin Mary, let my leg heal and I will light a big candle for you.” Hey, your heart is broken, your nous is disabled! Why don’t you ask [help] for your heart and nous?
What are you waiting for? You can’t love [anyone], you can’t forgive your mother, your father, your children… You will tell Him, “My Christ, I don’t know how to forgive. Help me! Enlighten me! Send the Holy Spirit!”
We’ve said how, here in Greece, not only do we not read but we don’t even know of the existence of the mystical Fathers who enlightened Orthodoxy. For the theologians, Orthodoxy has become a hollow word, since its mystical essence is unknown to them, as is its tradition. Our theologians receive the light from the West, because their theology has become a science, and their vainglory is flattered by this thing. Faith, for them, has no significance. You’ll tell me, “Theology without faith? Can you do that?” I ask you, too, equally puzzled, “Can you have theology without faith?” Nevertheless, in the Western lands and in America, many people have turned towards Orthodoxy, out of thirst for the truth. In Greece, only a few people and some Old Calendarists read the books of the Fathers, besides Basil and Chrysostom, whom the theologians take for orators and philologists of the Ancient Greek language. The books of the mystical Fathers are no longer reprinted and have become rare. The official Church prints some rough drafts of various modernist theologians, without any essence, which only reveal the incredible nakedness of their authors. Only just recently have the Apostolic Ministry Publications started to print Migne’s Patrology.
One time, when I was reading the Gospel, I read the phrase: “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). I said, “What is this way?” Then I was taken in a spiritual manner to a place where there was a very narrow path, like a tube, and I had to go into it. I wondered, “How could a person fit through there? They would be squeezed.” Then I tried to go forward with unbearable difficulty, pulling myself forward with my hands and feet until I made it through that fearsome path. Only my elder and I were able to pass through this way.
Another time I found myself before a giant abyss, a bottomless chasm. Across this abyss there was a golden-white bridge that was no wider than a finger and I had to pass over this bridge to the other side. I made my way onto the bridge, walking very slowly and carefully, because if I fell into that chasm I surely would be lost. It was truly a struggle to do this; and then, suddenly, the golden bridge started to swing dangerously and to shake, putting me in danger of falling. I turned to see who was rocking the bridge, and what did I see? I saw the faces of some of the other fathers of the monastery rocking the bridge, and I asked them, “Fathers, why are you shaking the bridge? Don’t you see that if I fall into this abyss I will die?” In any case, I had passed over the great length of the bridge and had a only little bit left to get to the other side.
