Attempt to Steal $1-Million Icon Fails
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NEW YORK — A man who broke through the roof of a Greek Orthodox Church failed in an attempt to steal a $1-million gold statue of the patron saint of peace.
Police said the would-be thief broke through a hatch on the church roof, shinned down a rope and smashed a glass case behind the altar. The case surrounds jewelry and the 3-foot-tall statue. He fled empty-handed after he triggered an alarm.
“It’s very sad,” Bishop Vikentios said of the break-in.
The statue, the Weeping Icon of St. Irene of Chrysovalantou, is believed to have shed tears during a service for peace after the start of the Persian Gulf War, according to a bishop at the church, in the borough of Queens.
Irene, a 7th century Greek princess, was declared a saint in 1919 after a Greek monk awoke from a dream, searched for her in history books and found she was associated with miracles.
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