On the night of August 28, 2012, on the eve of the Orthodox feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a church on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg was robbed. This is not the first theft to occur in the city's temples this year.
The Church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, where the robbery took place, is located between the Kadetskaya Line and Tuchkov Lane. No surveillance cameras were installed on the territory, and the watchman heard nothing during the incident. According to the police, the thieves quietly climbed over the fence and crept to the abbot's outbuilding, which was located at a distance from the gatehouse.
The intruders entered the temple through the window. Thieves broke into the ark where the relics of the saints were kept. The relics of Alexander Nevsky, Nicholas the Wonderworker, the holy Martyr John Archbishop of Riga, the Monk Anthony of Dymsky, the noble princes Peter and Fevronius and other saints were stolen.
The robbers stole five silver crosses, a sacrament bowl, gold jewelry and two books of the Gospel. Experts estimate the cost of the stolen church utensils at about 350 thousand rubles. The stolen items are of high spiritual value for Orthodox Christians.
A criminal case was initiated into the robbery under the article “theft committed on a large scale” (Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for a punishment of up to 6 years in prison). The workers who carried out the repair of the church the day before are suspected of the crime.
Earlier on March 5, 2012, two citizens of Uzbekistan knocked out the window of the Church of St. John the Theologian on Mechnikov Avenue (Kalininsky District) and brought out a pectoral cross, tabernacles, several censes, candlesticks and lamps. The police managed to detain the kidnappers.
In May 2012, icons of the 18th-19th centuries were stolen from the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Tosno (Leningrad Region): the Holy Trinity, Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Kazan Mother of God, as well as the icon of the Resurrection. The offender climbed into the window, cutting through the metal bars of the bars. A criminal case was initiated on the fact of theft.
