Connecticut Church Damaged by Early Morning Explosion

Sept. 10, 2004
A powerful blast leveled a decades-old Ukrainian church in this small eastern Connecticut town Friday morning, shaking nearby buildings and sending debris hundreds of feet from the scene.

COLCHESTER, Conn. (AP) -- A powerful blast leveled a decades-old Ukrainian church in this small eastern Connecticut town Friday morning, shaking nearby buildings and sending debris hundreds of feet from the scene.

Authorities said there were no injuries and all workers at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church have been accounted for, including its pastor Rev. Cyril Manolev and his family. Manolev, his pregnant wife, Susan, and their young son live in a home adjacent to the church and were evacuated safely.

``If it had to happen, we are happy it happened at the right time when no one is inside,'' Manolev said, while holding old pictures of the brick church.

Built in 1955, the church serves 55 families, according to diocese officials. Members had been preparing for an annual Ukrainian festival in Stamford this weekend. The explosion, which occurred just before 7 a.m., could be felt for several miles.

All that was left of the church Friday was some of its original a frame structure. Pieces of wood and glass shards were strewn about the area, and only a small intact statue of the Virgin Mary remained at the edge of the rubble.

``I'm ready to cry,'' said Maksym Kocur, a 70-year-old church volunteer who has been with St. Mary's since 1960. ``I'm so deeply involved with this church. I'm so depressed. I still don't believe it.''

State police spokesman, Sgt. J. Paul Vance, said the area had been cordoned off and the highway was shut down in both directions.

``Everyone is accounted for and there have been no injuries,'' Vance said. ``The state police canine unit came in and searched to make sure.''

Vance said there was no immediate indication of what caused the explosion although the church did have a propane tank inside for cooking.

The state fire marshal is investigating.

Colchester, a town of 4,500, is about 20 miles southeast of Hartford.

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