Migrant Arrested for Repeatedly Vandalising Greek Cathedral

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Vladislav Zolotov / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Chris Tomlinson

Greek police have arrested a 38-year-old Algerian migrant after he caused damage to a cathedral twice in less than a week.

The migrant is said to have attacked the Metropolitan Church of Agios Minas, a cathedral in Heraklion, the largest city on the island of Crete, on Sunday. He threw rocks at and damaged the cathedral’s stained glass windows as well as damaging a window of a bookshop of the Archdiocese of Crete.

The migrant then returned to the cathedral on Tuesday morning armed with a hammer and began smashing a door, newspaper Proto Thema reports. Police examined video footage and were able to identify the Algerian national and place him into custody.

The incident is just the latest act of vandalism directed at a church or chapel in Greece by a migrant. Last month a pair of migrants were arrested on the island of Chios after they had looted an Orthodox Christian chapel for money and various sacred objects.

Just a month prior, police in the city of Thessaloniki arrested a 36-year-old migrant from Kazakhstan who is suspected of stealing goods from several churches in the area worth as much as €50,000 (£46,000/$56,000).

Greece is not the only country in Europe to see such anti-Christian attacks on churches and other places of worship. Vandalism and theft in churches across France have become common, with one report stating that the country sees as many as three attacks on Christian sites every day, including the desecration of cemeteries.

The most recent high-profile attack took place last month in the city of Nantes, with a Rwandan migrant suspected of being behind an arson attack that saw the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul set ablaze.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com

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