Tbilisi, August 12, 2013
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According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the investigation has found that the accused late at night broke down the window and penetrated the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov, situated in the village of Samreklo of the Dedoplis Tskaro region, and stole a sum of money from the donation box. As a result of operational search and investigative actions carried out by officers of law-enforcement bodies, Akaky P. was detained on the second day after commitment of the crime.
A criminal case has been initiated regarding the robbery. The investigation is being conducted according to the second part of the section 177 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The section's punitive sanction stipulates imprisonment for a term of 3-5 years.
The Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Samreklo was in a sad state for many years. The covering and walls were partially or entirely destroyed, and the dome collapsed. According to a source, its full and expensive restoration was carried out by local residents with financing of the "Kartu" foundation.
On December 24, 1988, on the orders of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia the Church became active again, and with support of the local charitable foundation of businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili it was restored (according to the report by Blagovest.info on August 1, 2012).
This Church which is the only Church in Georgia dedicated to St. Seraphim of Sarov was used since 1902. The Cathedral was built on donations of count Sechenov and appeared in the list of Georgian historical monuments of the late 19th century.
