Malta and Its Connection with the Kingdom of Armenia
In recent years, a growing number of professionals from the newly independent Republic of Armenia have been settling in Malta. In 2009, a carved stone-cross (called a khatchkar in Armenian) was dedicated by the small but vibrant community in Valletta. During the ceremonies, mention was made of the “Armenian connection with Malta dating back to the construction of the Ta’Liesse Church, which was built by an Armenian” (emphasis added).
Based upon that statement, I have endeavoured to research what, if any, “Armenian connection” there may have been with this church. I wish to present these preliminary findings by way of some notes. I hasten to add that I have never visited Malta, and that all of the information has been gathered through online sources.
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I have been fortunate to meet people on two different occasions who had (modern) Armenian ties to Malta. One is a family now living in California, of Assyrian, Lebanese and Armenian descent who adored living on Malta and raising their son there. Last year, I was at a conference in Greece my husband attended of European Court Judges. The judge from Malta was married to an Armenian woman – the descendant of the sole family who came as genocide survivors. It must be a wonderful place – I hope to visit someday.
A very interesting piece of research. Thank you, Rev. Dr. Leylegian.
I will just add a few comments arising from printed sources that are readily at hand. Hannibal P. Scicluna in his “The Order of St. John of Jerusalem” (Malta, 1969) mentions the Church of Our Lady of Liesse as having been built by Fra Jacques de Chenu de Bellay, Bailiff of Armenia, in 1620. He also notes that the church was rebuilt in 1740 “at the expense of the Langue of France to which it belonged”. He says little of the bailiwicks, which I notice elsewhere tend to be referred to as ‘titular’, and I suppose it would be fair to assume that, while the langues would reflect the nations of the Knights themselves, at least some of the subdivisions might well be named in relation to the Knights’ view of their place in the universality of Christendom, their connection with Jerusalem, the Holy Sepulchre and so on. Indeed, among the members of the Order mentioned by Scicluna is a “Bailiff of the St. Sepulchre”.
As regards Zejtun (or Zeitun or Iz-Zeitun), Dunstan G. Bellanti in his “Why Malta? Why Ghawdex [Gozo]?” (Malta, 1934) does indeed ascribe the origin of the name to the town’s prominence in olive growing and the production of olive oil. Interestingly, the parish was one of the ten created in Malta in 1436 and, therefore, before the Knights’ arrival. J. Quentin Hughes in “The building of Malta during the period of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, 1530-1795” (London, 1967) notes that the (then) parish church was enlarged by the Knights. This is the Church of St. Gregory which, although superseded by the much larger and more central Church of St. Catherine in 1692, survives to this day with its rather austere, militaristic appearance. Before the Knights arrived, the churches of Malta were small, unassuming buildings, (a few of which remain). Many of the later churches are larger Baroque affairs. St. Gregory’s is unusual in being neither of these and, although not built by the Knights, it was altered by them. Whether this suggests any special significance in terms of the Knights I have no idea.
If you would like to see what St. Gregory’s looks like, try this link:
http://www.kappellimaltin.com/html/s_katerina_qadima.html
Should you want to see more Maltese examples, this is the general list on the site:
http://www.kappellimaltin.com/html/il-kappelli.html
The text is in Maltese but there dates of obvious significance in the middle of it and a reasonable selection of pictures!
Rev. Dr.George Leylegian is a remarkable man and I am honored to know him well and shared many great moments with him as an intern at LIM. It is quite clear in reading this article the vast knowledge he possesses pertaining to the Armenian culture, it’s struggle and it’s profoundly rich history. I am proud to call him a friend.
Good to see this article -I am a descendant of both the Lusignan lines that made it to Malta ( via my mother’s family : D’Armenia/Darmanin )
They are from the second Lusignan house – their original surname was de Poitier.
I’m a Darmanin, too. We traced our history to the Luiignan line.
Quote :
“The beginnings of what would become the Foundation’s website were conceived in August 2000 by co-founder Joe Edwards.
He saw the need for a reliable and comprehensive source of medieval genealogical data on the Internet.
So many genealogical websites exist but almost all are wholly uncontrolled and give few or no references for their statements of ‘fact’.
It thus becomes almost impossible to distinguish reliable scholarly studies from speculative and amateurish guesswork.
The proliferation of Internet access brings a great danger that flawed statements become accepted as historical fact. ”
Source URL : http://fmg.ac/about-us/origins
Yes, I totatly agree.
A very interesting and well-researched piece of research for which I m particularly grateful as someone whose name is Margaret d’Armenia and whose forebears came from Malta. I would be particularly grateful for any information on possible sources or references to the history of this family in Malta.
My maiden surname is Darmanin and my Father and his relatives were born in Malta. There isn’t many people with the Darmanin surname. I’m interested in learning where my ancestors originated from. I wonder if they were from Armenia or were connected in some way to the Barony of Baccari?
I forgot to mention that I found the article well written and very interesting! Rev. Dr. George Leylegian has found some fascinating information on the subject. Thank you for publishing your findings; I’ve really enjoyed reading it! 😺