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'Everything is gone' | Historic Norwich church goes up in flames

Fire officials are still investigating the cause of Saturday evening's fire.

NORWICH, Conn. — For more than 100 years, "The Green Church" has been a landmark in the Taftville neighborhood of Norwich.

Saturday night, the historic church went up in flames.

"The first thing that came to my mind is where are we going to pray? What are we going to do?" said Fr. Tomas Kalta, of St. Mary and St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church.

Kalta said he was at the church until almost 9 p.m. on Saturday. Shortly after he got home, he received the call.

"A gentleman who lives across the street, he called me and said, 'Father sorry to tell you the building is on fire,'" Kalta said. "I couldn’t drive. I had to call someone to drive me. I couldn’t," he said.

Days later, the damage is still painful for him and Jack Shackles, former pastor of 15 years, to look at.

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"It’s sad, I mean it’s quite sad. I’ve been here a couple of days now just to sort of process it," said Shackles, retired United Church of Christ minister.

Firefighters were able to stop the flames from engulfing the entire building but most of the fire damage was to the sanctuary area. The water damage and debris extend to other parts of the church.

"Everything is gone. Everything is gone. And because of the water, you can feel that there is a buckling and the settling of the hardwood floor," Kalta said.

Though the future is now uncertain, the community has rallied by already raising some funds for the church and offering their support.

"What gives me hope is the support of the people. You know, the love," Kalta said.

Also, they're leaning on their faith to get through this difficult time.

"We may not know how to fix it or where the money might come from but certainly god is here and here with people and I think it will work out," Shackles said.

It’s still unclear how the fire started; the cause is under investigation. The Norwich Police Dept. is asking anyone with information to give them a call.

The St. Mary and St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church had recently moved in earlier this year. Before that, the church was known as the Taftville Congregational Church.

Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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