A 1,000-year-old skull fragment believed to belong to Vladimir the Great was stolen and recovered in Edmonton over the weekend.
The one-inch-square piece of skull, on loan from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kyiv, was on a two-day stop in Edmonton when it was stolen in the middle of the night from a west-end home.
Vladimir is venerated by Eastern Orthodox Christians after he converted to the faith in AD 988 and baptized the lands under his rule, including parts of modern Ukraine and Russia.
Igumen Alexander Pihach, an Edmonton priest accompanying the relic on a cross-country tour, woke early Friday to find his house had been broken into and the relic -- housed in an ornate blue-and-gold box -- was missing.
A thief had apparently removed a screen and broken in through the kitchen window. Alexander feared the worst: a targeted theft of a priceless object.
"We were concerned it was maybe an international burglary," said Pihach, reached via cellphone halfway between Moose Jaw and Regina.
It appears, however, the thief might not have been aware what the stolen object was, said Pihach, possibly grabbing the shiny container without understanding what it held.
Other missing items included a wallet, some money and car keys, which the thief then used to steal Pihach's car.
Police were called. A satellite security system in the car was remotely activated, and within a few hours, officers discovered the undamaged, abandoned car less than two kilometres away, at Stony Plain Road and 156th Street. The box holding the relic was inside the car.
"It was a spiritual gift that had been given to us," said Pihach. "The loss would have been colossal."
Police questioned a number of individuals, but have not made any arrests.
Most of Vladimir's remains were lost over a millennium of wars and invasions, particularly during Mongol attacks in the 14th century. By 1943, all that remained was his skull, which was blown up when a Ukrainian monastery was shelled during the Second World War. Only a couple of skull fragments, which had been given to a monastery in Rostov, Russia, survived the blast. One fragment was returned to Kyiv about 12 years ago, where it only emerges once a year during the Feast of St. Herman. Devout followers line up, sometimes for many hours, for the chance to see the remains of the man who brought Orthodoxy to the nation.
The Canadian itinerary, which includes stops in Moose Jaw and Yorkton, is a historic and spiritually important event for Orthodox faithful across the country. After a mid-month stop at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary in New York, where thousands are expected at weekend vigils, the relic will return to Ukraine.
"It's a great spiritual blessing and gift that's been given to the church because of the ancestral connection of so many of the Orthodox in Canada to the land of Rus," said Pihach, referring to an ancient name for parts of modern Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Having made it through those troubling few hours, Pihach is quick to thank the Eighth Squadron of the Edmonton police for a "super job."
On Saturday, Pihach presented officers with an icon of St. Vladimir at a thanksgiving service held with the grateful parishioners of St. Herman of Alaska Sobor.
The officers chose St. Vladimir as their protector, said Pihach. "That was a really powerful experience."
