Primate of Bulgarian Church meets with Archbishop Longin (Zhar)

Archbishop Longin (Zhar) of Bancheny greets Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria. Photo: Site of the Bulgarian Patriarchate

On May 27, 2019, the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Neophyte, met with the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the hero of Ukraine, Archbishop Longin (Zhar) of Bancheny, the official website of the Bulgarian Patriarchate reported.

The meeting was held in the building of the Metropolitanate of Sofia and was attended by Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovcha (Dinev), who initiated the arrival of the miraculous Boyany icon of the Mother of God to the Lovcha Eparchy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Archbishop Longin conveyed to those present a greeting from the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine and shared his joy about the traditionally good relations between the Orthodox Churches of Bulgaria and Ukraine. He told how the miraculous icon of the Mother of God performs many miracles through prayers to Her and helps all those in need.

Recall, on May 25, 2019, the miraculous Boyany icon of the Most Holy Theotokos arrived at the Lovcha Eparchy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church at the initiative of its ruling bishop.

In 1991, the Boyany icon was painted for the iconostasis of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in the Boyany Nunnery based in Chernovtsy Eparchy of the UOC. In this church, the work was underway to renovate the iconostasis after the desolation period.

On December 18, 1993, on the eve of the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, during the divine service, it was Archbishop Longin (Zhar) of Bancheny, a regular priest then, who saw that the image of the Mother of God was being filled with tears.

The news of the miracle quickly spread among the believers, who began to resort to the prayer help of the Most Holy Theotokos and receive healing from Her miraculous icon. The first boy healed was Georgy from Khmelnitsky region, who was diagnosed a malignant brain tumor of the 4th stage. After a fervent prayer at the icon of the Mother of God, the child was completely healed and the tumor disappeared, which was medically confirmed by the doctors.

Read also

In Ukraine, Trump’s 'spiritual advisor' reassured of religious freedom

Pastor Mark Burns stated that Ukraine, despite the war, is a "beacon of religious freedom."