A newly constructed church at Kalapatti near Coimbatore was vandalised by a group of men, police said on Sunday.
The incident took place last night when the accused, allegedly belonging to Hindu outfits trespassed into Church of South India (CSI) after pushing away the policemen guarding the place of worship and damaged its main door, furniture and altar, police intelligence wing officials said.
A case has been registered in connection with the incident, they said.
Meanwhile, a group of representatives of CSI today submitted a memorandum to the district collector seeking protection to places of worship of Christian community, in the wake of the attack.
They alleged that the church was attacked by members of some Hindu outfits as it was situated close to a temple.
They claimed that the church was constructed with the permission of authorities on a piece of land where a smaller church existed since 1948.
The church authorities were granted permission by the Madras High Court to go ahead with the construction and the police were directed to provide protection to the place, the memorandum added.