[Book review] Carmelite Priories and their Churches in Malta

Abstract

In Christian iconography, the vine is a powerful image. In the Greek Orthodox he ampelos icon, Christ sits at the centre of the vine. Out of this vine, several other branches sprout bearing images of the apostles. It is an icon which reminds us of the Church; with Christ as the “true vine” and the Father as “the gardener” who prunes the branches to bear more fruit (see John 15).

In “Vinea Carmeli: Carmelite Priories and their Churches in Malta,” Rev. Glen Attard, Rev. Charlo Camilleri and Rita Vella Brincat give us a glimpse of this branch of Christ’s vine – the etymological meaning of “Carmel” is “the Lord’s vineyard” – as it manifests itself in the Maltese islands. The book profiles each of the seven existing Carmelite communities in Malta, and the former community in Birgu.