On the night of August 28, 2012, on the eve of the Orthodox holiday of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the temple on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg was robbed. This is not the first theft that occurred in the temples of the city this year.
Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr, where the robbery occurred, is located between the Cadet Line and Tuchkov Lane. Surveillance cameras were not installed on the territory, and the watchman heard nothing during the incident. According to the police, the thieves quietly climbed over the fence and sneaked to the outhouse of the abbot, who was far from the gatehouse.
Intruders entered the temple through a window. Thieves broke into the ark where the relics of the saints were stored. The relics of Alexander Nevsky, Nicholas the Wonderworker, the holy martyr John the Archbishop of Riga, the Monk Anthony Dymsky, the noble princes Peter and Fevronius and other saints were stolen.
Robbers stole five silver crosses, a communion cup, gold jewelry, and two Gospel books. Experts estimate the cost of stolen church utensils at approximately 350 thousand rubles. The stolen items are of high spiritual value to Orthodox Christians.
A criminal case has been instituted on the fact of a robbery under the article “theft committed on a large scale” (article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for punishment of up to 6 years in prison). Workers who carried out church repairs on the eve of the crime are suspected of a 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 carried out a pectoral cross, donors, several censers, candlesticks and lamps. The police managed to detain the abductors.
In May 2012, the icons of the 18th-19th centuries: the Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Our Lady of Kazan, as well as the Resurrection icon were stolen from the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Tosno (Leningrad Region). The criminal got into the window, cutting the metal bars of the grate. A criminal case has been instituted on the fact of theft.
