Relics of Saint George Stolen From Church in East of Ukraine - Police

KIEV (Sputnik) - The relics of Saint George, a Christian saint, have been stolen from a church in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk Region, the press service of the regional directorate of the Ukrainian National Police said in a statement on Wednesday.

"A rector of a local church has informed the alert unit of the police office in Dobropolie that an unidentified person has stolen a box with Saint George's relics from the church. Within several hours law enforcement agents have identified the offender," the statement read.

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A 28-year-old local man is suspected of committing the theft. The suspect said that he had heard about the relics' miraculous power, and had therefore decided to steal them.

According to the statement, "the relics, obtained by criminal means, have been confiscated as material proof."

A criminal case has been opened against the man under article 'Desecration of the grave, another burial site, or a dead person's body', the document added. 

Saint George was a Roman soldier of Greek origin who was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce Christianity. He is usually portrayed riding a white horse and often slaying a dragon. He is highly venerated both in the Western and Eastern Christian churches.