Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny (UOC) Hospitalized
The Bancheny Monastery asks for prayers for the persecuted bishop and father of hundreds of Ukrainian orphans.
On the evening of April 23, 2025, it was reported that Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny had been hospitalized. The Bancheny Monastery shared the news through its social media channels, writing, “We ask for your holy prayers.”
The cause of the Metropolitan's hospitalization has not yet been specified.
A video posted on the monastery’s YouTube channel shows a Divine Liturgy and sermon delivered by Metropolitan Longin on April 22 at the Boyan Monastery. In the footage, the Metropolitan is seen wearing an orthopedic neck brace.
As previously reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists, attorney Robert Amsterdam posted a photo of Metropolitan Longin in an intensive care hospital bed on the platform X. In his post, Amsterdam stated that the Metropolitan had suffered a heart attack during court proceedings.
Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) is known as a staunch defender of Orthodoxy and is beloved by the faithful of Ukraine.
He has also fathered hundreds of orphans. In November 2024, five hundred of the Metropolitan's adopted children sent an appeal to Ukraine's First Lady, Elena Zelenskaya, to bring an end to his persecution and suffering:
"For each of us, our dad shared a piece of his heart, health, a piece of life. He has gone through countless difficult trials, he has undergone dozens of surgeries and we are afraid to be left without him."
Just days ago, the monastery posted a photo of Met. Longin at the grave of one of his sons who was killed last December defending his homeland.
The UOJ in Ukraine (SPZh) reported on the passing of the Metropolitan's adopted son, Dmitry Dyakonovich, along with archival footage of the young soldier asking Ukrainian law enforcement to stop persecuting his adopted father.
