Ukrainian top cleric Longinus “thanks” Russian Patriarch for “blessing” the war

Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church separated from the Moscow Patriarchate, Longinus, has “thanked” Russian Patriarch Kirill for the “blessed war.”

“Thank you for your blessing, to  make people die and shed blood. To bomb our churches and monasteries. To make our monks and priests die. ‘Thank you’, Your Holiness, for your ‘great and important’ blessing of bloodshed,” said the cleric.

Relations between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and the Russian Patriarchate are becoming increasingly strained after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The church has already announced its secession from the Moscow Patriarchate and has refused to cooperate with them.