Cross and Money Stolen from Monastery

Today, on October 25, an act of desecration occurred in the Lori Province. Around 09:00, operational information was received at the Lori Regional Department of the Police of the Republic of Armenia and the Tumanyan Division that the Akhtala "St. Astvatsatsin" Monastery had been robbed.

According to Shamshyan.com, before the police arrived at the scene, a call was made to the Tumanyan division of the Police by a 36-year-old resident of Yerevan, Gor T., who reported that an unknown person or persons had entered his office and the church by breaking open the door of the Akhtala "St. Astvatsatsin" Monastery and stolen a donation box.

Gor T. is identified as the abbot of the mentioned monastery. It was noted that the lock on the entrance door of the monastery was opened by damaging it with a technical device, and the robbers entered the premises, stealing two donation boxes. They also broke the padlocks and stole collected donation money, subsequently opening a window in the candle shop with a metal tool and stealing around 26,000 drams and coins worth 25,000 drams.

After that, they opened the door to the priest's office and stole the Lanjakhach (cross) and the Holy Crown cross.

Auroranews contacted the spokesperson of the Investigative Committee, Gor Abrahamyan, who stated that investigators are conducting necessary preliminary actions at the scene, and measures are being taken to discover the stolen property and identify the perpetrators of the crime. A criminal case has been initiated regarding the incident.