Priceless relics found at Yonkers seminary misidentified as drugs
YONKERS, New York (WABC) -- When a worker at a seminary in Yonkers found what he thought were drugs, responding police officers quickly realized the mysterious items were way more valuable than any street drug.
Nearly half a dozen drug dogs are something you don't normally see at a theological seminary.
"The people that found them didn't know what they were," said Father Michael Nasser of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. "They weren't in a typical container."
K-9 units and the Yonkers Police Department ended up at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary last week, after a big mix up.
"One of our officers who was actually out here at one of these construction sites and doing some traffic, and he was approached by a member of the seminary who thought they recovered some kind of drugs or some type of illegal substances," said Det. Lt. Frank Didomizio of the Yonkers Police Department.
But what was found was way more valuable than any street drug imaginable. They were priceless, first-degree relics of St. Rafael of Brooklyn.
"He's actually a saint that served in the New York area," Father Nasser said. "He founded St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn. It's a spiritual connection for us, maintaining our connection to that person. He lived in the 20th century."
The relics were being photographed and cataloged, when they fell out of a hole in a plastic bag, found by a student and then turned over to the police.
The seminary, within 10 to 15 minutes, put two and two together, calling the police to have them returned.
"We got to meet the K-9 units who came out here for a special prayer and blessing and allowed us to thank them for all they do for us at the seminary and the whole community," Father Nasser said.
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