Vinnitsa, Ukraine, February 7, 2020
news.church.ua
The Holy Cross Church of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Vinnitsa had great cause for celebration recently, as relics of St. Nicholas that had been stolen from the church on January 31 were returned.
“We express our gratitude to the National Police of the Vinnitsa Province for their prompt response to the crime and for the return of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to the church. Metropolitan Barsanuphius and the rector of the church Archpriest Nikolai Davidovsky met the relics and installed them in their rightful place—in the church,” reads a statement from the press service of the Vinnitsa Diocese on February 4.
The relics were stolen in the afternoon of January 31. The church’s surveillance camera recorded the thief. The next day, investigators detained a 37-year-old man who was released from prison in May of last year after serving 14 years for murder. He now faces up to 6 years in prison for theft.
The stolen relics were recovered from another man to whom the detainee had gifted them.
