Yesterday afternoon, security forces, accompanied by dozens of armed servicemen, sealed off the territory of the Banchensky Monastery of the UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church) in the Chernivtsi region. This information comes from spzh.news. The abbot of the monastery, Metropolitan Banchensky Longin, confronted them.

It is reported that the security forces demanded access to the monastery to "check the documents of the monastery and identify the people present there." In defense of the monastery, the children of Metropolitan Longin, clergy, and parishioners of the monastery came forward. The faithful pushed the security forces into the monastery, shouting, "Shame!"

Metropolitan Banchensky Longin called the incident an attack. In a video address to the believers, he emphasized that the monastery and the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church need global assistance.

"Our state does not need us. It wants to destroy us. We served this state with honor and will continue to serve. But since it cannot protect us as citizens, we appeal for worldwide help. Let the whole world know how we suffer, how hard it is for us to live in this land, in this state. Because we have no rights: the Constitution does not protect us, the law does not protect us, and look – this people, what have they done wrong? Why do we not have the right to live in this state? It is ours," said Metropolitan Longin.