Vandals ransack Transfiguration Chapel in Greece

The Chapel of the Transfiguration at a cemetery in Kalyvia after being vandalized. Photo: Orthodoxia News Agency

On August 7, 2026, unknown individuals ransacked the Chapel of the Transfiguration at a cemetery in Kalyvia in Greece’s Attica region, Orthodoxia News Agency reports.

The chapel was vandalized the day after the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Published photographs show that the perpetrators damaged icons inside the chapel, smashed windows, overturned chairs and scattered items throughout the building. Signs of vandalism were also found in the altar area.

Municipal authorities described the incident as the desecration of a place of special religious and memorial significance to local residents. “There are no words to express our outrage at the disrespect and pettiness of those who desecrated the Chapel of the Transfiguration of the Savior,” the statement said.

Local authorities said they had already contacted the relevant agencies to investigate the incident and identify those responsible for the vandalism. At the same time, the municipality plans to begin repair work shortly to address the damage.

The statement stressed that such acts “have no place” in the local community. Authorities pledged to fully restore the chapel, saying that residents’ reverence for the holy site would prove stronger than the act of vandalism committed against it.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a vandal armed with a hammer had destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary at a Catholic church in New York.

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