Église Saint-Nicolas de Myre, Protected religious monument in 6th arrondissement, Marseille, France.
The Église Saint-Nicolas de Myre is a church building located in the 6th arrondissement of Marseille, constructed in the early 19th century. The structure displays architectural features typical of religious construction from that period in this French port city.
Built from 1821 on the initiative of Maximos III Mazloum, Melkite archbishop of Myra, for Eastern refugees from Egypt and Syria, the church was inaugurated in 1822. It was the first Melkite Greek-Catholic church in the world and the first Eastern-rite church in Marseille. It was listed as a monument historique on 4 May 2016.
The church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, but its Melkite identity comes from the Levantine families who funded its four side chapels: Boulad, Sakakini, Abboud and Homsy. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in Arabic and French in the Byzantine rite. A carved Damascene cabinet holds a reliquary-calendar, and the iconostasis carries the twelve apostles above a pelican symbolising Christ.
The church stands at 19 Rue Edmond Rostand in Marseille's 6th arrondissement, near the junction with Rue du Dragon, its facade flush with the neighbouring buildings. The entrance is through the wrought-iron gate with fleur-de-lis panels, then the narthex. It is an active parish, so visits fit around the Byzantine-rite Divine Liturgy, celebrated in Arabic and French.
The church holds a reliquary-calendar cabinet in inlaid wood, made in 1905 by Girgi Bitar, a master cabinetmaker from Damascus; the matching inlaid pulpit dates from 1909. Both are classified works. The four side chapels were funded by Levantine families of Marseille: Boulad, Sakakini, Abboud and Homsy.
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