Icon stolen 27 years ago from Armenian Church returned to Lviv
On July 12, an icon from the mid-16th century, which 1.5 years ago was found in Switzerland, was brought to Ukraine. This icon of the Protection of the Virgin Mary was stolen from Lviv in 1984, said collector and philanthropist Ihor Voznyakov, who assisted in transporting and purchasing the icon from another collector. The official presentation of the icon will be on July 12, 2011, in the National Museum of History of Ukraine, said ZAXID.NET.
The philanthropist said that the estimated value of the icon is 350 thousand euros, while the price for which he was able to buy this sacred work, Voznyakov refused to name, saying that “sacred things cannot be measured in money.”
When asked why he decided to return to icon to the city, the philanthropist replied that every sacred thing has its place.
Director the A. Sheptytsky National Museum in Ukraine Ihor Kozhan noted that the icon was stolen from the cathedral on Virmenska Street: “After this event, the church was put under guard, and later iconography was released from the church and passed the Armenian community.”
Chairman of the State Service for Control over Transfer of Cultural Valuables across the State Border Yurii Savchuk said that during the theft 22 icons were stolen, 9 of which were quickly found and returned, while the fate of the rest was unknown. One of them was turned out to be the icon of the Protection of the Virgin Mary, and two are now in the possession of a patron from Moscow.
