Year in year out, the annual programme of the festivities in honour of St George in Victoria, Gozo carries the usual titles of “protoparrokkjali” (protoparish), “Arcimatrici” (archmatrix) and “Omm il-Parrocci tal-Gzira” (mother of the parishes of the Island of Gozo) regarding St George’s Basilica which have been amply proved to be false.

It is known to all that in a diocese only the Cathedral Church has the right to carry the title of ‘mother of all churches’. In Malta, not even St John’s Co-Cathedral has any right to this title as this is vested only in the Cathedral Church of Mdina.

Some years ago, the late Bishop Cauchi of Gozo had issued a press release in which he declared that in Gozo there is only one Cathedral and therefore all other pretensions are spurious and worthless.

The historical titles of protoporrocc and arcimatrici for St George’s Church have been proved to be false.

Regarding the first title, all medieval documents show that with regard to precedence, St George’s church is always put in the fourth place. So it is not and has never been the first parish church of Gozo. In fact, this title had been coined by a history dilettante who had misinterpreted a falsified Latin inscription.

As for the second title, no Ecclesiastical decree or Papal bull ever mentions that a new parish has been dismembered from the limits of St George’s Parish. Moreover, no parish in Gozo recognises St George’s Parish as its Matrix or Mother Church. Another dilettante created the title of “Arci-Matrici” recently by deducing an illogical conclusion from false premises.

Originally, St George’s was the third filial parish of the Matrice Church of Sancta Maria in the Citadel (the old town of Gozo), and this could be proved by its lack of a baptismal font which made it depend on the Mother Church of the Assumption as was the custom with regard to parishes dismembered prior to the Council of Trent (1545-1563). The absence of a Baptismal Font with regard to mediaeval parishes proves the ancient dominion of the Matrice over its filial parishes.

St George’s partisans know this very well, but nonetheless they persist in their perfidious obsession of keeping on contradicting the known truth by making use of these false titles. What a shame!

Anton F. Attard

VICTORIA