A pro-Russian metropolitan thanked singer Alina Grosu for having her child baptized in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The scandal-ridden Metropolitan Longin (Mykhailo Zhar) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Moscow Patriarchate publicly thanked singer Alina Grosu for choosing the “canonical Orthodox Church” to baptize her firstborn son, Mark. The clergyman wished the artist God’s blessing and urged her to “firmly hold fast to the true Orthodox faith” in the future.
Earlier, the singer found herself embroiled in a scandal after posting footage of her son’s baptism at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Chernivtsi. The ceremony was conducted by Metropolitan Meletios (Valentin Yegorenko), who is subject to sanctions and is a citizen of the Russian Federation.
Alina Grosu’s press service explained that the choice of the cathedral was based solely on family tradition, as the singer herself and her relatives were baptized there, and the artist was unaware of the details regarding the church’s jurisdiction or the priest’s background. It is noted that, by a decision of the parishioners’ assembly and a ruling of the Chernivtsi Regional Economic Court, this cathedral is to be transferred to the OCU for use. Metropolitan Longin himself is known for his pro-Russian statements and is under suspicion by the SBU for inciting religious hatred.
Source: Glavkom.
Earlier, we reported that pregnant singer Alina Grosu revealed the gender of her first child.
Ukrainian singer Alina Grosu became a mother for the first time in April—she gave birth to a son and shared the first moments with her newborn. To mark the birth of her first child, the artist also released a new song.
