Orthodox Church Stolen Brick by Brick

Yeah, this comes under the heading of ONLY IN RUSSIA! I have heard of people stealing things FROM church buildings but the buildings themselves?! This is a new indicator of the extent of the global financial crisis and the global moral crisis.

YahooNews: Orthodox officials in a central Russian region say an abandoned church building that was to be put back into use has been stolen by local villagers.

Orthodox priest Vitaly of the Ivanovo-Voskresenskaya diocese says officials last saw the two-story Church of Resurrection intact in late July. Sometime in early October, however, people from the nearby village of Komarovo, northeast of Moscow, dismantled the building, he said. Villagers apparently sold it to a local businessman, one ruble (about 4 cents) per brick, Vitaly said.

"Of course, this is blasphemy," he told The Associated Press. "These people have to realize they committed a grave sin."