New York fire department marshals are investigating whether the blaze that gutted a Serbian cathedral in Manhattan is connected to similar infernos at Orthodox churches in Australia and Russia, sources told The New York Post on Tuesday.
While the investigation is zeroing in on a caretaker who may have left candles burning under flammable furniture at St. Sava on West 25th Street, the sources said a coordinated attack against the Christian Orthodox religion hasn’t been ruled out.
“We want to see if there’s anything that’s related,” a source close to the investigation said, adding that officials were “trying to get the information firsthand” from the churches overseas.
“We’re seeing if there’s any other common denominators,” the source said. “The fires occurred on the same day and [the churches] are the same denomination. Candles are one heat source. The building also has heat and electricity, which also generate heat. Just because there were candles, we’re not going to say that’s the source at this time. That would be foolish of us.”
On Monday, members of the Serbian Orthodox community said they feared an international plot targeting their religion amid a dispute between Serbs and Croatian Catholics over the canonization process for Aloysius Cardinal Stepinac, who has been labeled a Nazi supporter while he was archbishop of Zagreb during World War II.
Many believed that the blazes at St. Sava and in Russia and Australia were set by Stepinac supporters who are upset with Pope Francis’ move last week to block the canonization.
The Cathedral of St. Sava burned down Sunday hours after 700 parishioners packed the church for Orthodox Easter.
FDNY officials believe that if the fire was an accident, it was likely sparked by candles being improperly doused by the caretaker.
Sources said the caretaker, Slobodan Ljubenko, 69, told cops that at around 3:30 p.m. he extinguished the candles and placed them in sand in a long metal box that was stashed in the same area where the fire started. Three hours later, 911 calls poured in.
The caretaker could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Mystery still surrounds the fires in Australia and Russia.
In Melbourne, where the 115-year-old Holy Church of Annunciation of Our Lady went up in flames, officials said Tuesday the fire was considered “suspicious,” according to News.com.au.
Causes of the blaze that gutted the Macedonian Orthodox Church of the Resurrection in Sydney and the one that destroyed the Valaam Monastary in northern Russia have not been established, either.