A Wellington church has locked its doors for the day after two "precious" items taken from its altar were not returned.
Clergy at St Peter's on Willis in Te Aro noticed two icons that sat on its high altar had gone missing on Tuesday last week, with no idea how they disappeared. The church said it planned to close its doors for a day as a way of mourning the loss and violation of hospitality.
In a Facebook post this morning, the church said its icons had not been returned and that it was closed for the day.
"We pause to express our sorrow," the post read. "The sadness and disappointment that someone has taken them from our sacred space, and the loss we feel that these aids to our prayer and reminders of God’s presence are no longer present with us.
"We pour out our souls to God… we pray for healing and peace.
"We will have the church closed today, to give space for our sadness… if you have our taonga, please return them… we will be very grateful."
The church shared a photo of its closed front doors, with a note reading: "We are closed today as we lament the disappearance of these two icons from our high altar."
It also said: "We pray for those who have taken the icons and request that you would return them... no questions asked."
One of the icons, called Mother of Mercy, depicts a mother and son and was created by the church's Reverend Jean Malcolm. The other is a copy of the Icon of Christ and Abbot Mena, a Coptic painting depicting Jesus with his arm around Abbot Saint Menas.
Reverend Malcolm told 1News that closing the church wasn't easy, but "we need time to mourn ourselves".
She said the level of support the church had received after the icons went missing had been "pretty amazing", with people "expressing their sadness and horror".
Congregation members and beyond had been keeping an eye out for the items, checking opshops and second-hand marketplaces.
Reverend Stephen King said the church aimed to be open whenever possible. He said this was the first time St Peter's had closed since the pandemic.
Today's closure was more of a "protest", and Reverend King assured the community the church would reopen tomorrow.
He said the loss of the icons was a "big deal", as nothing like it had happened in nine years.
"Our loss has obviously struck a chord," he told 1News.
After today, Reverend Malcolm said the church may lodge the missing icons with police, but only as a way to try and get them back.
"We don't want to chase people and criminalise them," she said.
Both Reverend Malcolm and Reverend King remained confident the icons would eventually find their way home, and hoped they could open a relationship with whoever took them.
"Faith is literally in my job description," Reverend King said.
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