Mrkonjić, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 13, 2020
Photo: nezavisne.com
The church where St. Basil of Ostrog, one of the most venerated saints in the Serbian Orthodox Church and throughout the Balkans, has been repeatedly robbed in recent times.
According to the parish council chairman, Rade Boskovi, the robbery that occurred over the weekend at St. Nicholas Church in Mrkonjić, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was the seventh at the holy site recently, reports Nezavisna Novine.
Traces of a break-in and robbery were found on Saturday morning, October 10, when parishioners arrived to clean the church for a memorial service that day.
Police have launched an investigation and the extent of the damage is being assessed. Boskovi noted that the criminals broke two locks and the door worth $1,175, though he was not sure what else might be missing.
“Next to the church here is the grave of Anna Jovanovi, the mother of St. Basil. This unknown thief must have passed by it, not ashamed by the holiness of this place and the church, not even thinking about what he was doing,” Boskovi said, adding that he would have preferred if thieves broke into his own home rather than the holy church.
