Public authorities in Minsk have sealed off the church of Sts. SImon and Helens, and ordered clerics to remove all parish property from the building, after a small fire damaged a section of the building.

Frustrated parish officials have been unable to obtain an explanation as to why the entire church has been closed, when only a small area was damaged. Nor have they been given any information about when repairs will be possible.

The closing of the 112-year-old church left retired Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz “crying from the hopelessness of the situation,” Forum 18 news service reported.