The small church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in the area of Nea Petra in Rodopi was targeted by unknown vandals for the fourth time. The church has been inflicted unprecedented vandalism and extensive damage, which is estimated to have taken place in the early hours of last Friday.
The priest of the church alerted the police, as reported by protothema.gr, when he found out that the sacrilegious had used a table to reach the courtyard-facing window, had ripped the guardrails off and had broken the glass to break in. Then, they threw the Crucified on the floor and tore it to pieces while causing damage to the Holy Table and the Artoforion (tabernacle).
However, they did not stop there, as they damaged the office, the donation box and other parts of the temple, looking for money and valuables. After the desecration of the church, the vandals left without anyone noticing them and the police department of Xylagani are conducting investigations to locate them.
