St. Mary's Church, Elbasan
15th-century church in Albania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The St. Mary's Church (Albanian: Kisha e Shën Mërisë) is an Orthodox church and monastery in Elbasan, Albania. Built during Ottoman times in the Vlach neighbourhood,[1] it became a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1963.[2] In the 1990s, the church became the seat of a split faction of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania under At Nikolle Marku, which criticizes the Greek influence over the Orthodox in Albania.[3]
The church's building started in 1483 in the Vlach neighborhood, but it ended almost a century later: the church had its first religious services only in 1556. It was built entirely in stone in a completely particular way, with stones carved in the shape of a cross, which can still be seen today.[1] The church was frescoed by Onufri and restored by David Selenica. In the 18th century, it was entirely burned by a fire, so it was rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century. Some of the most famous preachers in the church have been Fan Noli and Visarion Xhuvani.[1] In 2008 the Albanian government again financed the reconstruction of the church.[4]