Church of Our Lady of Damascus, Valletta
| Church of Our Lady of Damascus | |
|---|---|
Malta | |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | George Mifsud Montanaro |
| Deacon(s) | Martin Zammit Dennis Mifsud |
The Church of Our Lady of Damascus is a
Byzantine rite
. It is also called Id-Damaxxena.
Original Church
The original church was built upon the request of Giovanni Calamia to house the icon of Our Lady of Damascus brought over from Rhodes by the Knights of St John when they were expelled from the island by the Ottoman Empire. By 1580 the church was finished. In 1587 the Icon of Our Lady of Damascus was solemnly transferred from Vittoriosa to the new church.[1]
Present Church
On March 24, 1942, during one of the bombings of
Italo-Albanian Papàs Gjergji Schirò from Piana degli Albanesi, that the Church was rebuilt and reconsecrated on August 15, 1951 by Archbishop Georgios Halavazis.[2]
Present use
The church is mainly used by the Catholic community of the "Greek rite" of Malta for
Ukrainian Orthodox and Belarusian Orthodox.[3]
See also
- Culture of Malta
- History of Malta
- List of Churches in Malta
- Religion in Malta
References
- ^ "Valletta", malta-canada.com, Malta. Retrieved on 08 June 2014.
- ^ "71 years ago: The Destruction of the Greek-Catholic Church in Valletta.", http://greekcatholicmalta[permanent dead link]. Retrieved on 08 June 2014.
- Archdiocese of Malta, Malta. Retrieved on 01 June 2014.
External links
- Official website
- Official Facebook page
- The ancient Marian icons of the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of Damascus in Valletta, Malta
