A four-hour fire gutted a historic church in Manhattan, New York City on Sunday just hours after Orthodox Easter celebration was held.
About 170 firefighters responded before 7 p.m. to put out the fire that destroyed the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava. The church was formerly known as Trinity Chapel which first opened its doors as an Episcopal church in 1855, according to the Cathedral.
It has been declared a national landmark by the National Register of Historic Places, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
"For this to happen on such a holy day, I don't know what to say," Alex Velic, a 31-year-old churchgoer, told the New York Post. "To see it burning like that is such a shock. It's just so sad."
No major injuries were reported but three firefighters and a church caretaker were treated for smoke inhalation.
"Nobody is hurt, everyone is safe," said Father Djokan Majstorovic, dean of the cathedral.
There were 700 people in the church earlier in the day for the Orthodox Easter service, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
"It's a very sad day today. They had their mass at 10 a.m. and then a luncheon. The good news is that there was no one inside when the fire started and there are no injuries. One man is being checked out for smoke inhalation," he said.
Slobodan Ljubenko, 69, was checked for smoke inhalation after he went inside the church to assess the damage.
The fire department have yet to pinpoint the cause of the fire, but Velic said many candles were used in the Easter ceremony.
"I can only imagine there were thousands of people coming to this church lighting candles. The candles may have caused it," he said.
The cathedral was purchased from the Episcopal Diocese in New York in 1943 and consecrated in 1944, according to the church's website.
Trinity Chapel was sold to the Serbs as Serbian people had no church on the U.S. east coast and the project had the support of Yugoslav King Peter II.
