A teenage ‘Satanist’ has been detained after he ‘confessed’ to destroying one of Russia’s most historic churches in an arson attack.

The wooden Dormition orthodox church on the shore of Lake Onega was erected in 1774 by Catherine the Great – and burned down in a raging inferno last week.

Now a 15 year old schoolboy named as Ignat Sharapov – whose social media is full of satanist signs and images – has admitted he set fire to the structure by using five litres of petrol to ignite its dry timber, police said.

An expert said it will cost £1 million to reconstruct the 138 ft church – as tall as a 12 storey building – at Kondopoga in Karelia republic in northern Russia.

‘He classifies himself as a Satanist,’ a law enforcement source said.

‘Allegedly he just did not like the church.’

A witness said: ‘He was a Satanist, dressed in black.

‘And when he was detained by police, he laughed.’

Earlier, he ate breakfast and told his relatives he was going to destroy the church which had stood beside Lake Onega for 244 years.

They thought he was joking.

Next he asked his grandmother to wrap up some homemade biscuits for him to give to his friend.

He met his friend, then read something on his tablet computer.

‘His expression changed – he got up and said: ‘I’m going to burn down the church,’ his friend said.

He doused the church in petrol then set fire to it.