A fire that broke out at Australia's second-oldest Greek Orthodox church a day after Easter celebrations is considered suspicious.
Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) spokesman Phil Buckley says the cause of Monday's fire at the 115-year-old Holy Church of Annunciation of Our Lady in East Melbourne has not been established but it is suspicious.
The blaze was mainly contained to the roof.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Belinda Batty said investigators were waiting for the results of chemical tests.
Church priest Kosmas Damianides said an historic icon of Mary that had been at the church since soon after its establishment in 1900 was probably destroyed.
Annunciation of Our Lady is the second Orthodox church in Australia to be affected by fire during the Easter period.
No one was inside at the time and firefighters brought it quickly under control.
The Macedonian Orthodox Church of the Resurrection in Sydney's south was gutted on Sunday night.
A historic Serbian Orthodox Church in New York was also gutted by fire on Monday morning Australian time.
In April three Victorian churches went up in flames within a week - St Johns Anglican Church in Deer Park, the St Mary's Macedonian Orthodox hall in Sydenham and the Geelong West Presbyterian Church. Those Victorian fires were all deemed suspicious.
