Troglodytic

Troglodytic: From Troglodyte or Cave Dweller (Oxford Online Dictionary) 

In our case this refers to a Church which is partly or wholly situated in a cave or dug out in rock.

There are differences between a Catacomb and a Troglodytic place of worship. Catacombs were purposely dug out to serve as Burial Places. The primary purpose of a 'Cave church' is exactly what its name implies. Hermit-monks, discovered caves where they could live, meditate and celebrate liturgy. At some time the people of the surrounding areas were invited to join in for worship. Walls were stuccoed and painted, protrusions trimmed down, ledges for sitting on were carved and also a lot of decorative carving in the limestone was done in some instances. As time went by, with the transition of Mass being celebrated in a regular chapel and the numbers of faithful increasing, there are also instances of Catacombs being adapted into chapels with some tombs on the sides being eliminated to make way for those attending. 

*** = No known dedication

BURMARRAD:

San Pawl Milqi (Welcoming of St Paul) - Evidence of a post-Muslim era church.

DINGLI:

St James - A troglodytic church of this dedication on the record of Dusina’s visit, was found without revenue, rector door or ornaments but since the neighbouring farmers used it, he ordered it should be installed with a door and its roof restored before any celebrations could continue.

FILFLA:

Assumption - A cave chapel on this tiny uninhabited rock existed from 1343 for the convenience of fishermen. In 1575 its benefices were transferred to the church of St Leo at Bubaqra, whose rector, Don Nicola Burlo', had been ordered to look after the needs of Ta' Filfla chapel, so that the people's devotion would not slacken. An icon of Our Lady it contained is still at the Pope Leo X chapel and was recently restored. The cave chapel itself was destroyed in an earthquake in 1865. 

GHARGHUR:

San Brinkaw (St.Brancatus).  Similar to the cave of St.Peter in Mosta which it a few hundred metres away. The dedication to this Saint comes from a cult which flourished in medieval Sicily before Arab times. The cave, left in its natural state, is reached through a gently sloping rock-cut ramp and a man-made doorway. Just inside the entrance, to the left, is an oval basin whose water that came from a natural spring and was credited with curative powers. The statues of St.Peter and St.Brancatus are nineteenth century additions.

*** - Nearby cave shows traces of being used as a church at one time.

MELLIEHA:

San Niklaw  (St.Nicholas) - Overlooking Ghadira Bay nestled above the fertile San Niklaw Valley there is a series of large, natural caves which served a prosperous cave dwelling community until the turn of the nineteenth century. The cave was largely left in its natural state, a section to the left of the entrance was screened off with a dry-stone wall, and used as a church. Its walls were stuccoed and painted with holy images in dark red frames. Dusina mentions it in his 1575 Pastoral visit and is part of the benefice mentioned in a 1436 document. On the left hand side of the church entrance there is a rectangular incision with a ledge. This might have been where the entrance door to the church was supported.

  Nativity of Our Lady - This Sanctuary in 1436 had already attained a parish church status. Its last parish priest was Don Giuseppe Ingomes mentioned during the second half of the 16th century. These neighbourhoods were then almost deserted being left incapable of withstanding sudden incursions from pirates. This troglodytic church enshrines the oldest painting of Our Lady executed in Malta directly on the solid rock. In 1575 Dusina refers to this church as an Annunciation church. In 1584 the Augustinian Friars founded a priory on this site. In 1587, Bishop Gargallo found two Augustinian friars living there. On this occasion, he ordered the restoration of the old painting of the Madonna. By 1608 the said Friars were no longer in charge of this shrine, which was then described as a Nativity of Our Lady church. On The 6th July 1614, Turkish pirates ransacked the whole area including the sanctuary itself, the Madonna suffering considerable damage. This holy painting was afterwards covered up with a silver coating leaving visible only the faces of the Madonna and the Child Jesus, while the ceiling of the grotto was painted to represent God the Father surrounded by Angels and a multitude of Bishops who, according to tradition, had consecrated this church during the 5th century. During the 1740s this sanctuary was enlarged and a courtyard surrounded by a series of arches added. The main altar in 1753 was covered with artistic marble decoration. Bishop Alpheran de Bussan consecrated the church and its altar on the 22nd May 1747. Mellieha was again given a parish status in 1841 and this church was enlarged still further. Bishop Pietro Pace solemnly crowned this venerated Madonna on the 24th September 1899 and in the 1950's a scientific restoration of this Madonna brought to light what still remains of the original painting. Pope John Paul II visited this sanctuary when he was in Malta declaring three Blesseds

MGARR:

***- Bingemma, near Rabat. - Re-cut from one of the tomb-caves in the Bingemma complex, it consists of a rectangular chamber with a wide doorway. There are lamp-holes in different parts of the chamber. The most significant feature is a finely finished arched niche. There is also a deeply engraved Latin cross, the only explicitly Christian element.

*** - Ghar Qasrana, L-Imselliet, limits of Zebbiegh.

An enlarged cave with tombs dug into its walls. It is quite possible that it was at some time an underground chapel because of a shallow roughly cut niche in the back wall probably occupied by an altarpiece. A roughly engraved Greek cross on a small pedestal might also be a dedication cross.

MOSTA:

Visitation - The 1575 Dusina report lists this church among the rural churches of Mellieha, and describes it as a circular chamber dug inside a cave overlooking the village of Mosta. It also records the tradition that some bishops who were shipwrecked on Malta at an unknown period had consecrated it.

Our Lady of Hope (tal-iSperanza) - The church, which was originally re-cut from a natural cave on the south part of the Mosta Valley, has been ruined by quarrying. The surviving section of the original cave has a rock pillar to support the roof, and a wellhead. A roughly cut shallow wall-niche may have contained a holy image. Pastoral visitation reports mention an icon of Virgin that was painted directly on the rock, but which was detached, around 1771, and removed to the overlying built-church where it was placed by the doorway. Tradition states that a group of foraging pirates had penetrated as far as Mosta. A girl sought refuge within this troglodytic church and escaped being captured and sold into slavery.

MSIDA:

Immaculate Conception - The older part on the right of the church is troglodytic and according to Mons.Dusina was originally dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help then had its dedication changed a few times during the next century. The front part was rebuilt in 1648 and a sacristy added in 1670. In 1835 Msida became a subsidiary parish of Birkirkara and in 1867 a parish in its own right, this church became the parish church till the present church of St.Joseph was finished in 1889.

NAXXAR:

St.Peter - (Gebel Pietru.) The church of a cave dwelling community that inhabited the desolate area. It has an oval shape with a shallow altar-recess and the remains of a rock-cut bench. The walls were smoothened and stuccoed and may have carried cult images. In 1575 Dusina reports the church fitted with wooden doors and having an altar. The feast of St. Peter was celebrated with two masses and the distribution of wine and loaves of bread among the poor. 

QORMI:

*** - Ghar tas-slaleb, at junction of Wied il-Kbir / Wied Hanzira. Medieval period, troglodytic chapel. The sides of the cave were transformed by vertical depressions to form rib-like columns. On these a number of crosses were carved, many of which are still visible today. 

*** - Ghar Hanzira. 

RABAT:

Nativity of the Our Lady - Abatija tad-dejr, attached to Tad-Dejr catacombs. Modest, rectangular in shape. Has an altar recess and a pillar carved out of rock supports its roof. Only remnants exist of the original stone benches on each side. It has a beautifully carved ceiling but this chapel was already abandoned in the 16th century. The carved apse has a mural, which is in a poor state of preservation. It depicts the Crucifixion flanked by the Virgin and the Angel Gabriel. This painting had been reproduced in the past and a copy can now be viewed at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

St.Leonard - Cave-church in Liemu valley near Dingli dating back to the beginning of the thirteenth century. On either side are chambers cut out of the rock. It has a semi-circular plan and like other cave-churches in the Rabat area shows evidence of mural paintings. The side walls of the cave have rock-cut benches, an architectural detail which was later reproduced in free-standing medieval churches.

St.Paul s Grotto - The Oratory is a re-cutting of burial chambers and bears resemblance to the Byzantine Sta.Lucia underground chapel of Siracusa. They both belong to between the 6th and 8th centuries. Reached from the catacombs, it has fluted Doric half-columns, four of which are grouped together. There is evidence of a tabernacle on four slender columns. Originally there was a medieval mural depicting St.Paul preaching. The church fell out of use in the later middle ages. 

St.Mary Magdalen - Re-cut from an earlier Catacomb, a few meters from St.Paul s grotto. Recently built entrance to an underground crypt-like chapel dating from the third century. Roughly circular inside with built-in rock bench all around it is the only survivor from a number of such chapels in the vicinity. It is stuccoed all around with a cement like mixture of pottery and lime. It also has a small dome like structure above ground built at a much later date.

St.Agatha - The crypt of St.Agatha is an underground basilica dedicated to this Saint who was from early ages venerated by the Maltese. At the time of St.Agatha's stay, the crypt was a small natural cave which later on, during the 4th or 5th century, was enlarged and embellished at the expense of space from the nearby Catacomb, which also took her name. It is rectangular in shape with recesses. Late in the 18th century an extension was made for the chapel of Our Lady of Grace. At the far end there is the main altar dedicated to St Agatha. Till 1647, this altar was still used for worship. In the acts of the pastoral visit by Mons.Pietro Duzina in 1575, there is recorded that there were many altars in the crypt, nowadays only two remain. On the walls of the crypt a good number of frescoes still exist. Some of them date back to the 12th century and are in Byzantine style. The others, which are in Greek style, date back to the 15th century (1480). There are 30 images of saints, out of which, 13 represent St.Agatha. The remainder represent bishop, virgin and martyr saints. The 15th century frescoes are attributed to the Sicilian painter Salvatore D'Antonio. These were donated to the crypt by various devotees, offered in thanksgiving. Other paintings are still visible in the ceiling at the entrance on the right hand side. Amazingly the 12th century frescos depicting St.Agatha are still in a remarkable state of preservation.

St.Mary's Grotto - The church was re-cut from burial-chambers at the entrance of a now inaccessible catacomb known as Ghar il-Kbir. In 1647 it had murals of saints but drastic changes have ruined the original plan and hid the original paintings under marble cladding. In the Fifteenth century it was entrusted to the care of the Dominican friars who built an above-ground church and convent, and made it the center of Marian cult.

St.Venera - Ghar Barca lost by the year 1911. Re-cut from an earlier Catacomb, it contained an altar with an icon of St.Venera carrying a flaming vase.

Our Lady of Hope - (Tal-iSperanza) - Mentioned in the 1575 Dusina Report to exist Close to St.Mary Magdalene’s, Mass was occasionally celebrated in it out of devotion. Access was down a flight of steps. It was deconsecrated in 1656 and its site marked by a columnar-cross in 1714.

St.Cataldus (San Katald) - Partially cut out of the entrance to an early Christian catacomb, this church was partly built above it with a stone slab roof on arches. It was in a state of ruin in 1575 when Mgr Dusina ordered its deconsecrating and the erection of a columnar-cross to mark its site. In 1739 - 1745 murals of Byzantine mitered bishops were discovered during the building of the present above-ground church but they disappeared soon afterwards.

St.Nicholas - Its exact location unknown, it was reported by Mons Dusina in 1575 to exist at Wied ir-Rum. Mass was celebrated there on St Nicholas' day.

*** - Another underground Church with painted murals was discovered in 1829 at Ghajn Qajjed, but was reburied by the annoyed owner of the field.

Our Lady of Virtue (Sta.Marija tal-Virtu) - Better preserved than tal-Ghar, its plan is like a Latin cross with three apsed recesses. All the stucco paintings are lost but the doorway is richly decorated with sculpture. This site including the above-ground church is in private hands and was restored recently.

SAN GWANN:

St.Leonard (Tal-Gebel) - Mensija, near Msierah, natural cave with plastering on walls for murals. The cave is elliptical in shape and several metres beneath ground level. In the early eighteenth century icons of saints John the Baptist, Athanasius, and Basil were painted on the rock, on either side of the altar. It still has a late medieval triptych of St.Leonard and the Annunciation. The church is first mentioned in 1586. It was deconsecrated in 1618, but the chance find of its triptych caused a renewal of interest in it, and it was reopened for worship in 1691.

SAN PAWL:

St.Martin's Grotto. In 1931 a statue of the Immaculate Conception (work of the sculptor Wigi Muscat) was erected in this Grotto. In 1939 Dun Dward Farrugia Bugeja erected an altar in it and on January 25, 1952 Chev.Sir Hannibal Scicluna obtained a permit from the Vatican for Mass to be celebrated in the Grotto. The Franciscan Conventuals run it.

SIGGIEWI:

St.George (Ta Gebel Ciantar) - In an area called ta' Zuta, this church is mentioned in the will of Paolo Pellegrino, of 15th September 1436. In its present state it consists of a carefully excavated chamber with a gently concave back wall and a ceiling shaped to resemble a flattened tunnel-vault. There was originally a built facade with a simple square doorway descending a couple of steps. Sadly the place was turned into a garage in recent times with the raising of the floor by a several centimeters, the covering of the walls with cement and the removal of the altar. The entrance has also been opened up and fitted with a garage door. Christian elements surviving include a deeply engraved Latin cross on the back wall, and, beneath it, an apparent chalice-like motive carved in very low profile. Daubs of paint suggest that the walls may at one time have carried images. In 1436, Paolo Pellegrino bound his heirs with several obligations including the observance of the feast of St.George with low mass, first vespers, and the intoning of a Salve Regina by two priests, as well as the distribution of nuts and wine to the congregation. In 1616 the furnishings included an old altar painting, and in 1744 there was a spring of fresh water at the foot of the altar. The built facade carried some sort of bell-cot and in 1818 it was decided to replace the bell by a larger one that could be heard over a larger distance. The existing chapel of the Annunciation was built above it later.

***- Ta' Giampula, limits of Rabat and Siggiewi. Located in private property and has still to be properly studied. First recorded between the villages of Zebbug and Siggiewi in 1772, it has four columns cut in the rock in its central area. It was suggested to be an Early Christian catacomb, which was re-cut as an oratory in the Middle Ages.

Zurrieq - FILFLA. 

Until the time of Mons. Dusina in 1575 there was a troglodytic church of Our Lady in a cave on the island of Filfla which island was then more than double today’s size. A triptych, depicted the Madonna ascending to heaven with folded hands on the middle panel. Saint Peter on one side and Saint Leonard on the other make up the other two panels. A few fishermen used to visit Filfla so we can deduce that in the triptych we see Our Lady star of the sea, St. Peter the Fisherman, and St. Leonard protector of fishermen from pirates. This triptych is now in the Sacristy of the Żurrieq church.

GOZO:

KERCHEM:

St.Catherine of Siena - A church, nowadays lost, which was built above ground on top of a probably troglodytic church, which was kept as a crypt. The whereabouts of this chapel are called Ta Santa Katerini – (in the plural) - indicating the previous existence of another church dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria in the area. 

VICTORIA: 

Annunciation. - Partly troglodytic. First built before 1347.

XLENDI: 

St.Domenica. - This cave church is documented in the 1637 visitation report when it was deconsecrated. Its furnishings included a polychrome stone statue of the Virgin saint, which survives in the Jesuit Retreat House of the Virgin of Manresa, in Rabat Gozo.

Kemmuna:

Troglodytic chapel marked on an old map from 1296 showing it existed even before the coming of the Knights of St John. Leslie Vella who explored the place, found crosses engraved in prominent parts of the cave and other signs that distinguish it from caves used as animal pens.