Over the weekend, police confirmed that thieves broke into St. Andrew’s Church in Little Steeping and stole a copy of the Ten Commandments. While the exact value of the artwork is unknown, police are looking for the thieves. Churchgoers reacted with dismay over the theft but promised to remain open to the public despite the crime.
“They probably wanted to learn a bit more about the commandment ‘Thou shalt not steal,’” said churchwarden Basil Harwood, 80. “They clearly didn’t read it when they stole it. And if they did, they obviously didn’t understand it.” He said the crime was “crazy,” and disturbing how “someone can come in and take something of a sacred nature.”
However, he wants the church to remain open. “Obviously, it doesn’t make you feel good that some items have been stolen.” Police have published photos of the artwork. “If you know where they might be, or have seen them for sale or offered in another way on social media sites such as Facebook Marketplace, please get in touch with the details you have,” a spokesman added.
“We would like to find the person responsible and locate the paintings to return them to the church and the congregation,” they concluded. Unfortunately, church thefts are all too common. We reported on how a heartless criminal broke into St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania, smashing through a priceless stained glass window and stealing a historic golden crown.
According to church leaders, the crown was worth tens of thousands of dollars and is irreplaceable. The jewelry was stored on a statue of the Virgin Mary, which was the only piece of art to survive a fire that ravaged the church in the late 19th century. Police are hunting for the suspect whose crime was captured on surveillance footage.
In the footage, he can be seen exiting a Mitsubishi SUV and jumping a fence that surrounds the church property. The burglar then smashed a priceless stained glass window to enter the building. According to one of the priests at St. John’s, “That person knew exactly what he was doing. The video shows he was in and out in about 10 minutes.”
“He came in over here in a fairly narrow window behind the baptismal font, went up, he grabbed a chair, moved the chair over, climbed up on the chair, climbed up on that side altar, and was able to dislodge the crown,” says the priest. The materials to create the crown were donated by parishioners after a fire destroyed the church in 1899.
Father Thomas Betts was interviewed by local media after the crime. He says the church has been overwhelmed by public support. Father Betts added, “I really have to commend the Philadelphia Police. They’re trying very hard to find our crown, and I can sense that they really care about this particular crime.” The priest understands that ” people are angry, they’re sad…” and he hopes that someone will be able to come forward with additional information. He concluded, “It’s hard to see the crown gone. The fact that it’s not there and that we don’t know whether it’s coming back makes me sad to see it.”