Rockdale church destroyed by fire, four people taken to hospital [My Title: At least four Orthodox Christian churches torched on Easter Sunday worldwide]

[mountaineer]

Two in Australia, one Serbian, one Greek:

Rockdale church destroyed by fire, four people taken to hospital
Several firefighters were injured by falling bricks and two retirement home residents were taken to hospital as a fire destroyed a church at Rockdale, in Sydney's south.

Key points:

    Macedonian Orthodox Church, Rockdale, destroyed by fire
    Four people, including two firefighters, taken to hospital with minor injuries
    Sixty firefighters fought the fire for several hours

Witnesses said flames began billowing out of the Macedonian Orthodox Church's steeple before emergency services arrived just before 10:00pm on Sunday.

About 60 firefighters from 15 stations were called to battle the blaze, which took several hours to contain.

Three firefighters were injured and two were taken to hospital for treatment after bricks from the collapsing church struck them.  ...

More

Australia's second oldest Greek Orthodox church has been saved after a fire broke out in Melbourne, a day after Orthodox Easter celebrations.

The cause of the fire at the 115-year-old Holy Church of Annunciation of Our Lady in East Melbourne on Monday afternoon is still under investigation.

No one was inside at the time of the fire at 1.30pm, which was mainly contained to the roof.

Dejected church priest Kosmas Damianides said a historic icon of Mary that had been at the church since soon after its establishment in 1900 was probably destroyed.  ...

More

New York City's historic Serbian Orthodox church, Cathedral of St. Sava

A monastery in Russia also torched: Valaam Monastery, northern Russia

[mountaineer]

 A massive fire ravaged a Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Manhattan that left the building in ruins -- on the same day its Serbian Orthodox parishioners had celebrated Easter.

The New York Fire Department said the fire broke out on the first floor of the Cathedral shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday. There were no reported injuries or evacuations at the time the fire broke out. Roughly 170 firefighters mobilized to combat the blaze.

Parishioners and onlookers were left in shock as they watched the flames completely engulfed the historic landmark. ...

ABC News

[mountaineer]

Not a coincidence. Islam's next target?

[The_Reader_David]

Next?  Orthodox Christians have been on the front line against Islam since the jihad boiled out of Arabia in the 7th century.  Westerners like to remember Charles Martel, the heroes of the Reconquista, the Holy League that triumphed at Lepanto, and Jan Sobeiski riding to the relief of Vienna but were it not for the centuries of resistance to the advance of Islam by the Orthodox Christian Roman Empire in countless engagements, by the Serbs, including the sacrifice of the army under St. Lazar the Tsar-Martyr on the field of Kosovo, and the resistance of Vlad Tepes even after the Fall of Constantinople, Vienna could have been in Muslim hands in the 10th century.

[mountaineer]

 May 2, 2016, 9:07 AM
CBS News (excerpted; click on link for full story)

Fires around Orthodox Easter torch 3 churches in 3 cities
nvestigators in three cities are looking into large fires at Orthodox churches that occurred around the religion's Easter celebrations and caused widespread damage.

The blazes in New York City, as well as Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, caused only minor injuries, according to multiple reports.

The New York City conflagration on Sunday at the Trinity Chapel Complex that was host to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Manhattan produced dramatic images of flames shooting through windows that filled social media. ...

   
FDNY investigators haven't given any indication yet what started the blaze, reports CBS New York. Only the church caretaker was injured when he rushed in to try and put the fire out, which began shortly after parishioners had wrapped up Easter celebrations at the cathedral. ...


A church priest, Father Djokan Majstorovic, says he felt like he was "in a nightmare" as he tried to get to the fire scene that was blocked off by firefighters.

The church was built in the early 1850s and was designated a city landmark in 1968.

In Sydney, a large blaze destroyed the Macedonian Orthodox Church in the Rockdale neighborhood on Monday, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Three firefighters were injured battling the blaze when bricks fell on them as parts of the building separated.

The Guardian reports the Sydney church was around 126 years old. ...

In Melbourne, the 115-year-old Holy Church of Annunciation, a Greek Orthodox church, was heavily damaged by a fire that was ultimately contained to the roof, reports The Guardian. ...

While officials have not linked any of the fires, Orthodox religious ceremonies frequently involve lots of candles, leading an Australian worshiper to speculate to the Sydney Morning Herald the causes may be innocent.

"[It's] Orthodox Easter at the moment, and who knows, maybe candles left? Never know," the church member said.

[SZonian]

May 2, 2016, 9:07 AM
CBS News (excerpted; click on link for full story)

"[It's] Orthodox Easter at the moment, and who knows, maybe candles left? Never know," the church member said.

Right, because worshippers place candles on or near the roof when worshipping [the one where the fire was contained to the roof]...smh.

[mountaineer]

Yeah, just a coinkydink that worshipers left candles burning in all those churches and they just happpened to set the places on fire. What are the chances this wasn't a concerted Islamoterrorist plot?

[mountaineer]

In a story about the NYC city orthodox church that was destroyed by fire:

... Also on Sunday, a Macedonian Orthodox church burned to the ground in Sydney, Australia. Four persons, including two firefighters, suffered light injuries. Local fire department officials said that "candles or wiring" are among the possible causes.

 Media reports are speculating that the fire might have been the work of arsonists,who wished to steal the Easter donations left at the temple.

 A 115-year-old Greek Orthodox Church in Melbourne was damaged in a blaze on Easter Sunday. Nobody was injured during this incident, while the cause remains unknown at this time.

 Fire also spread on Sunday in a hotel in a 19th century building on the premises of the Orthodox Monastery of Valaam, northern Russia, RT reported. The building was a national heritage site belonging to the monastery.

Also: Orthodox "fear coordinated attack on their religion"