300-year-old Athonite icons stolen from Ukrainian Church

The Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Klynove in the Kirovograd Province in western Ukraine was broken into and robbed overnight from Monday to Tuesday. Two ancient Athonite icons were stolen, and holy items in the altar were desecrated, reports the Kirovograd Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The thieves broke the door to enter the church and stole the parish’s icons of the “It is Truly Meet” Mother of God and of the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon. The two icons, nearly 300 years old, are highly valued in the village, having been brought to them from holy Mt. Athos.

Unfortunately the criminals did not limit themselves to stealing the icons, but they also entered the altar and threw the Eucharistic chalice to the floor and moved the altar Gospel.

The police were called to the scene after the robbery was discovered in the morning. They conducted an investigation along with the rector and several parishioners.

Unfortunately, as the diocesan site notes, none of the 19 robberies in churches of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 2019 were solved, and such crimes only continue.

Source: OrthoChristian.com