Church of Our Lady of Damascus, Valletta

The Church of Our Lady of Damascus is a Greek Catholic Church in Valletta, in Malta, observing the Byzantine rite. It is also called Id-Damaxxena.

Church of Our Lady of Damascus
Church of Our Lady of Damascus is located in Malta
Church of Our Lady of Damascus
Church of Our Lady of Damascus
35°53′55.9″N 14°30′52.7″E / 35.898861°N 14.514639°E / 35.898861; 14.514639
LocationValletta
CountryMalta
DenominationGreek Catholic Church
History
StatusParish church
Founded1580
DedicationOur Lady of Damascus
Consecrated15 August 1951
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeChurch
StyleNeo-Byzantine architecture
Specifications
Number of domes1
Administration
ArchdioceseMalta
Clergy
RectorGeorge Mifsud Montanaro
Deacon(s)Martin Zammit
Dennis Mifsud

Original Church

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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

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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 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

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The church is mainly used by the Catholic community of the "Greek rite" of Malta for Divine Liturgy. The church is also used by the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, and now the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, by Armenian Orthodox Church, by Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox and Belarusian Orthodox.[3]

See also

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References

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  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[permanent dead link]. Retrieved on 08 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Orthodox Churches in Malta" Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Archdiocese of Malta, Malta. Retrieved on 01 June 2014.
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