Sofia, February 4, 2026
Pat. Daniil embraces the persecuted Met. Longin. Photo: Facebook
A delegation of hierarchs from the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church visited the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and met with His Holiness Patriarch Daniil recently.
With the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, the delegation included vicar bishops of the Chernivtsi Diocese: Their Eminences Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny and Archbishop Siluan of Gertsa and His Grace Bishop Cleopa of Novoselitsia, the UOC’s Information and Education Department reports.
During the visit, the Ukrainian hierarchs spoke with His Holiness and asked for his prayers for peace in Ukraine and for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Bulgarian primate is known as a staunch defender of Orthodoxy and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including persecuted hierarchs such as Met. Longin.
“Bulgaria, treasure your Patriarch—he is sent from God,” Met. Longin said, quoted in a post on Bancheny Monastery’s social media page on February 2.
UOC delegation with Met. Gabriel of Lovech. Photo: uoc-news.church
The UOC hierarchs also participated in celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the episcopal election of His Eminence Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech, who is also a defender of Orthodoxy in Ukraine.
Met. Longin is among the most persecuted hierarchs of the UOC. He and Holy Ascension-Bancheny Monastery have operated an orphanage since 1992, when the hierarch, then known as Hieromonk Mikhail, adopted a six-month-old girl with AIDS. Over the decades, he has adopted hundreds of children, many with illnesses and disabilities, earning him formal recognition as a Hero of Ukraine.
The Metropolitan faces trumped-up charges of allegedly supporting Russian military aggression and inciting religious enmity—charges similar to those brought against several other hierarchs of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He is also in poor health and has suffered repeated health incidents from the stress of the state’s campaign against him, including strokes. He has undergone heart surgery and has even been physically assaulted.
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