Moscow, August 31, 2012
The church in Ilzeskalns.
On the night ahead of the feast, August 28, unidentified offenders robbed the Church of the Intercession in the village of Jaunsloboda, which had been robbed before. On the night following the feast the Church of the Icon of the Virgin of "Joy of all who Sorrow" in Ilzeskalns came under attack.
Criminal cases were launched and investigations started.
A message of the Synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church says that the church in Ilzeskalns is one of the oldest and most cherished churches in Latgale. On July 29 it was dedicated after complete restoration that had been conducted for the bicentennial of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War. On August 2, a special church service was conducted on the 200th anniversary of the death of war hero Maj. Gen Yakov Kulnev, who is buried in the church.
"Neither bars on the windows, nor intricate locks, nor alarm systems can protect against cynical and brazen robbers today, but nobody who enters a church to rob it will succeed in escaping God's judgment. And God's judgment will inevitably reach any blasphemer encroaching on a sacred place. Church robberies show that forces of evil are not stopping their struggle against the Church of Christ, they are inciting people to commit blasphemous offenses, desecrate the houses of God with their crimes," the statement says.
The synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church urged believers to pray "for God to save our churches from criminal encroachments and for the stolen relics to be returned to the churches."