The Roman Catholic Church of St.
James and St. Christopher, situated on the eastern side of Municipal Square –
in the Old Town of Corfu, is one of the finest examples of baroque architecture
in Greece.
The church was built in 1588
following a licence given by Archibishop Martino to the Roman Catholic
community of the island. More than a century before, in 1466, the Pope gave his
permission to the Catholic fraternity of St. James and St. Christopher to build
a church and a place where the members of the fraternity, returning from
Jerusalem, could be hosted. In 1633 the holy relics of St. Arsenios were moved
to the cathedral while in 1659, Archibishop Lavia added six little chapels. In
1709, the cathedral was renovated; however, in 1943 it was heavily damaged by
the Nazi bombings. The building was restored by the 1970s but St. James’ holy
relics had been moved to the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Theodora.
Corfu has a significant number of
Roman Catholics, who live permanently on the Greek island. The church of St.
James and St. Christopher is also a popular classical music venue due to its
excellent acoustics.
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