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Man Charged With Arson in Fire That Destroyed OCA Church
A 28-year-old Meadow Lake resident faces an arson charge after All Saints Orthodox Church burned to the ground Oct. 1. Police said there is no indication the fire was ideologically motivated.
MEADOW LAKE, SASKATCHEWAN — A 28-year-old man has been charged with arson in connection with a fire that destroyed All Saints Orthodox Church in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, last month.
Gavin Burnouf appeared in Meadow Lake Provincial Court on Nov. 5, charged with one count of arson. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said there is “no indication the fire was ideologically motivated.”
The investigation remains ongoing, involving Meadow Lake RCMP, the Saskatchewan RCMP’s North Battleford Serious Crimes Unit and fire investigators with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the church shortly after 2 a.m. on Oct. 1 following reports of smoke and flames coming from the building. The church was destroyed, but no injuries were reported.
All Saints is a parish of the Orthodox Church in America’s (OCA) Archdiocese of Canada. Parishioner Kent Vidal said the congregation had recently seen growing interest in Orthodox Christianity.
“We’re starting to see a bit of an uptick in people interested in Orthodoxy and coming to attend the church and appreciate the beauty of the services,” Vidal said. “So, it’s a real shame that this happened at this time.”
Previously, the UOJ reported that a relic of St. Nicholas of Myra was stolen and destroyed at the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port in northeastern France
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