Aug 8, 2008 1:21 pm US/Eastern
Bone From Apostle Stolen From Lowell Church
LOWELL (WBZ) ―
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A photo of the missing box that contains a bone fragment from St. Andrew.
WBZ
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The Rev. Demetrios Costarakis points to where the box was placed before it was stolen.
WBZ
A religious relic, believed to be a 2000 year old bone fragment of St Andrew the Apostle, has been stolen from a local church. The pastor of Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell noticed the relic missing from the church chapel Monday afternoon.
"To anyone of faith this is priceless," said Father Demetri Costarakis.
The relic was kept in an ornate silver box, in a beautifully carved wooden wall case. The thief also took a gold pedestal dish called a paten. Police believe the thief walked in off the street and stole the items for the metals.
"It was a great loss for the community," said longtime parishioner John Gkolias. He said he and his wife cried at the news, "we'll never find it back again."
But Father Demetri has hope... and faith, that the thief will realize the true value of what he stole, and have a change of heart.
"If they hear how holy and sacred it is," he said, "they will bring it back and no questions asked."
In the meantime, the church has installed locks on the chapel doors, something it never had before. People will still be able to go into the chapel to pray, but they'll have to be let in by the secretary.
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