By
Cleveland, Ohio, August 26, 2012
Mike Levy, The Plain DealerFather Michael Butler, shown inside St. Innocent Orthodox Church in 2002, hopes the church will soon see its five brass bells again. The bells disappeared from the front of the church Sunday afternoon.
The Rev. Michael Butler of St. Innocent Orthodox Church, said the bells, which were a gift donated in memory of a parishioner's husband, had been at the church when he locked up after morning services at 12:30 p.m. When the church's choir director stopped by the building at 7 p.m., they were gone.
"It was a memorial, it was a gift to the church, and the children would ring them for services," Butler said.
The brass bells, which weighed about 60 to 70 pounds each, were imported from Russia and cost a total of about $5,500 six years ago. Butler believes the value has doubled since then.
They were hanging from a wooden frame that sat on the ground, Butler said, and the frame had been cut. The church has no security cameras.
"Alas, we're a small church, and we don't have that," he said.
Police will probably look for the bells at scrap yards, Butler said, and they should be easy to spot.
"A set of bells with Slavonic inscriptions around them are noticeable," he said. "Even if they're cut up, they'd be hard to hide, I think. They'd be too distinctive."
The priest's reaction to their disappearance? Decidedly forgiving.
"If they come back, thanks be to God," he said. "If they don't, well, there's insurance to cover the cost, at least of the loss."
If you've seen the bells, please call Olmsted Township police at 440-235-3335.