The St. Mary's Church () is an

Albanian Orthodox The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania (), commonly known as the Albanian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Albania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It declared its autocephaly in 1922 through its Congress of 1922, a ...

church and monastery in

Elbasan Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. It became a

Cultural Monument of Albania In Albania, a cultural monument () is a construction or work of cultural, historical and artistic value that is built in a visible space, made in memory of important events or prominent people. Cultural monuments are usually under state protection ...

in 1963. 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.Kisha e Shën Marisë: ndërtimi dhe rindërtimi dibran 28 October2008
/ref> The church was frescoed by

Onufri Onufri (; ; ), Onouphrios of Neokastro or Onouphrios Argytes, was a 16th century Archpriest of Elbasan and the most important painter of Orthodox murals and icons in the early post-Byzantine era in Albania. He founded a school of painting in B ...

and restored by David Selenica. In the 18th century it was entirely burned by a fire, so it was rebuilt in the beginning of the 19th century. Some of the most famous preachers in the church have been

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian Americans, Albanian-American writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, bishop, and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albania ...

and

Visarion Xhuvani Metropolitan Visarion Xhuvani (14 December 1890 – 15 December 1965) was the primate of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania from 1929 to 1937. He was a main contributor to the autocephaly, and a close collaborator of Fan Noli. Life Vis ...

. In the 1990s the church became the seat of a split fraction of the

Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania (), commonly known as the Albanian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Albania, is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox church. It declared its autocephaly in ...

. In 2008 the

Albanian government Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, in which the president of Albania is the head of state and the prime minister of Albania is the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Go ...

financed reconstruction of the church.Kisha rebele e Elbasanit, rikthim në identitet 2008-10-19

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys Church, Elbasan Cultural Monuments of Albania Buildings and structures in Elbasan Churches in Albania Christian monasteries in Albania Christian monasteries established in the 16th century Churches completed in 1556 1556 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Tourist attractions in Elbasan County