Orthodox Cemetery Vandalized in Libya

The Alexandrian Orthodox Church in Libya is reporting that the Greek Cemetery in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, has been vandalized. The damage to the cemetery was discovered when Metropolitan Theophylact (Tzoumerkas) of Tripoli visited it to serve an annual memorial commemorating Greeks who died fighting in Libya during World War II. More here.

Romanov Memorial Cross Vandalized

The memorial cross at the site of the discovery of the remains of the last Russian imperial family near Yekaterinburg has been vandalized. It is unknown whether the vandalism was a random act or an indirect attack on the Russian Orthodox Church. More here.

Unalaska Cathedral Vandalized

It is being reported that Unalaska's historic Cathedral of the Ascension has been desecrated by vandals who spray-painted "Dutch" and "Duncha" on the outside of the Alaskan Orthodox house of worship. Local Alaskan authorities have pledged to catch the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime, which is both a federal offense (as the cathedral is a historic landmark) and possibly a hate crime. More here.

LA Parish Vandalized, Desecrated

St. Andrew's Church in Los Angeles, a parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, has been vandalized by an intruder. The intruder, whose identity is as of yet unknown, trashed the church's sanctuary, tore the altar out and dragged it into the nave, and scattered the reserved Body of the Lord and the sacred vessels on the sanctuary's floor.

Despite the desecration the parish proceeded with the celebration of the Lord's Transfiguration following the visit of area police to the church. More here.

Arsonists Attack Ancient Circassian Church

Arsonists have attempted to burn the ancient Church of St. George near the village of Kosta Khetagurovo in Karachayevo-Cherkessia in southern Russia. Fortunately there was no significant structural damage to the stone church, a remnant of an era in the region's past when it was largely Orthodox Christian (prior to the area's conversion to Islam). More here.

Prizren Cathedral Vandalized

It has been discovered that the Ljeviska Cathedral of the Theotokos in Prizren, Kosovo, has been vandalized by thieves who badly damaged its roof while stealing its lead. The cathedral had just been restored following its 2004 looting and serves as the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo. More here.

Church Vandalized in Bishkek

Apparently crimes against churches are becoming more common as Kyrgyzstan becomes increasingly destabilized. St. Vladimir's Church in the country's capital, Bishkek, was vandalized this past weekend. Other Orthodox churches in the country as well as a cemetery have been vandalized, in most cases in the process of being searched for money and valuables. Interfax's story on the Bishkek robbery can be found here.

Graves Vandalized in Turkey

Apparently on 28 October seventy-eight Orthodox Christian graves were vandalized on the island of Imbros. Imbros and its neighboring island, Tenedos, was 99% Orthodox Christian and Greek-speaking. After the islands' inclusion into Turkey at the end of World War I, however, the Turkish government forced and pressured the islands' Greek population into immigrating until only two or three hundred remain today as a minority in their homeland. Among others, the current Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and the recently reposed Archbishop Iakovos of New York were natives of Imbros. More here.