Byzantine Cross Stolen In Brussels

AP —BYZANTINE CROSS STOLEN IN BRUSSELS

AVV 2-23 #729987

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (AP) — Thieves have stolen a 1,000-year-old gold and gem-encrusted Byzantine cross from the cathedral in the Belgian city of Tournai, authorities said February 19.

The robbers attacked church attendants and a few tourists February 18 before crashing through protective glass to take the cross and several other Seventeenth Century artifacts, city officials said.

The cross is said to contain a relic from the original cross of Jerusalem. So valuable, it is insured for $37 million when removed for services or celebrations and is so well known that it would be virtually impossible for the thieves to sell.

The cross was housed at Tournai’s Romanesque cathedral. Tournai is about 55 miles southwest of Brussels.