IT was a holy day from hell for Orthodox churchgoers across the world after a spate of mystery blazes destroyed their places of worship in Sydney, Melbourne and New York. 
At the same time firefighters in Sydney were battling a fire at the Macedonian Orthodox Church in Rockdale, on Sunday at 10pm, a massive blaze ripped through the Serbian Orthodox church in Manhattan.
Then, 16 hours later, Victoria's oldest Greek Orthodox Church was extensively damaged by a fierce blaze that tore through the historic building.
The fires all started during Orthodox Easter celebrations.
In the Rockdale blaze, three firefighters were injured as dozens more fought to contain the damage and lead the evacuation of a neighbouring retirement home in Fredrick St.
Firefighters were lucky to escape serious injury when they were struck by falling bricks after a sudden wall collapse.
Investigators yesterday spent hours scouring the rubble to determine a cause of the blaze.
The fire at the Holy Annunciation of Our Lady church on Victoria Parade in Melbourne began about 2pm, when passing police saw smoke billowing from the church's windows.More than 170 firefighters were involved in the six-hour battle to save the 161-year-old Orthodox church in Manhattan at 10am (local time) on Sunday.