Church of Our Lady of Damascus, Valletta

Church of Our Lady of Damascus
Il-Knisja tal-Madonna ta' Damasku
Church of Our Lady of Damascus
35°53′55.9″N 14°30′52.7″E / 35.898861°N 14.514639°E
Location Valletta
Country Malta
Denomination Greek Catholic
Website Website of the Church
History
Founded 1580
Dedication Our Lady of Damascus
Consecrated 15 August 1951
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Architectural type Church
Style Byzantine architecture
Specifications
Number of domes 1
Administration
Archdiocese Malta
Clergy
Rector George Mifsud Montanaro

The Church of Our Lady of Damascus is a Greek Catholic church in Valletta, Malta. It is the only Greek catholic church in the country.

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 Valletta, the Church of Our Lady of Damascus was hit and completely destroyed. Many icons were lost under the debris of the church. It was because of the initiative of Papas George Schiro‘ that the Church was rebuilt and reconsecrated on August 15, 1951 by Archbishop Georgios Halavazis.[2]

Present use

The church is used by the Greek catholic community of Malta for Divine Service. The church is also used by Armenian Orthodox Church, by Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox and Belarusian Orthodox.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Valletta", malta-canada.com, Malta. Retrieved on 08 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "71 years ago: The Destruction of the Greek-Catholic Church in Valletta.", http://greekcatholicmalta''. Retrieved on 08 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Orthodox Churches in Malta", Archdiocese of Malta, Malta. Retrieved on 01 June 2014.