Changes

As the city prospered and grew, the [[Monastery]] of St. Zachary, the first ducal palace, and a [[basilica]] to St. Mark were built. As the strength of Venice increased and Byzantine power waned, an anti-Byzantine character emerged that led to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence of Venice as a city-state. In 828, the prestige of the city was increased by [[theft ]] of the [[relics]] of St. [[Apostle Mark|Mark the Evangelist]] from Alexandria, Egypt (except the head of the saint, which remains till this day in Alexandria, Egypt—the story is that the Venetian smugglers told the [[Islam|Muslims]] that they were just taking pickled pork out of the country). The relics were placed in the new Byzantine-styled basilica. Considerable Byzantine plunder from Constantinople was then brought back to Venice, including the Winged Lion of St. Mark, which became the symbol of Venice. In 1968, the [[Roman Catholic|Catholic Church]] returned part of the relics of St. Mark back to the Coptic Church in Egypt.^{[http://www.zeitun-eg.net/stcyril6/stcyril6_v18.zip video #1], [http://www.zeitun-eg.net/stcyril6/stcyril6_v19.zip video #2]}

TodayOn [[November 5]], there is small 1991, the Ecumenical Patriarchate established an [[Archdiocese of Italy and Malta]] with its [[cathedra]] in the Cathedral of St. George of the Greeks (San Giorgio dei Greci) in Venice. This Greek presence in Venice, including includes a church <!--(details?)--> and a Byzantine museum, which contains many 15-17th century [[icon]]s, [[vestment]]s, and other artifacts.