Greek monastery damaged in tank mishap

A monastery in the foothills of Mount Olympus, central Greece, has been damaged by a tank round fired from a neighbouring military range, the Greek army said.

"It was a routine target exercise," an army spokesman told AFP of the accident on Monday evening.

"One of the shells hit a tree and ricocheted towards the monastery," the officer said, declining to identify the number or type of tanks involved.

The monastery, which is dedicated to Saint Dionysius, is built in a forested area neighbouring an army firing range.

Television footage showed the monastery's front gate pierced by the shrapnel. A number of visitors' cars parked in its front yard were also damaged, the Athens News Agency reported.

"I feel that Saint Dionysius was watching over us yesterday," a resident monk told reporters on Tuesday. "If that had not happened, three people would certainly have been killed."

The army will investigate the incident, the officer said. The monks have asked authorities to remove the firing range.
(From Yahoo News)

I normally have little patience for those who rely on the military’s protection, but are unwilling to have anything to do with the military themselves. In this particular case, however, the monks may have a point. A hole in the front gate? Just how close is that firing range? Yeesh!

I remember at my former parish, a company was clearing cedar from the adjoining property on the other side of the hill. One of their machines broke, and a rapidly-spinning hunk of steel (several pounds, as I recall) flew boomerang-fashion around the side of the church, came through a window, took out part of a candle stand, and imbedded itself in the far wall. By grace of God, no one was there. If that had occurred during communion, everyone at the altar rail would have been participants in a mass decapitation not seen since the French revolution.

God is indeed merciful.