This temple is the oldest one in Jerez, from the Visigothic period. Inside the building there is an inverted column where an inscription says “the ninth day of January, in the year 594 this church was dedicated to Santa María”. This date could indicate that the church was founded in de year 556. The inverted position of the column indicates the date of construction because this detail or oversight had not been tolerated in the Greek or Roman buildings.There are not more references to its construction although it is thought it was smaller and of modest proportions because there were a great number of Christians but they were dominated by the Visigoth people. The lords would never allowed that Catholic church were more magnificent that their on buildings. As time goes by, a diversity of extensions were made; the most important one occurred during the sixteenth century when the church got its actual shape.During the Muslim control the church could have been the mosque where Koran people prayed. It became also the main church when the village was dominated by the Templar Order which discovered that the temple was many years ago dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of the Order. The building was consecrated in the sixth century.
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