It was one of the most important monuments of Albanian culture, both in terms of architectural and artistic values, but also from a historical point of view. The exact period of its construction is unknown, but it is thought to have been built in the XII-XIII centuries. At the time when Deja was owned by the Zahariajs, at the end of the 14th century, the church had already been built.
Designed and built in the Roman-Gothic style, it was among the rare buildings in Albania with this architectural style. Some historians assert that Gjergj Kastrioti and Donika Arianiti, the Albanian royal couple in the 15th century, celebrated the wedding in that church and also in this church have made peace the greatest leaders of Albania at the time, Gjergj Kastrioti and Lekë Dukagjin.
Due to its beauty, historical and cultural values, the inhabitants did their best to save it from destruction during the Ottoman occupation period, even paying a high monetary price to the Turks for not destroying it, and it survived the 500-year Turkish occupation.
In the 60s, when the construction of the Vau i Dejës hydropower plant began, the church, although abandoned and turned into a dormitory for the hydropower plant workers, was the only church of its period in all of Albania that was still complete, and even had the frescoes well preserved on the walls. In 1969, the church that had survived for almost 800 years countless invasions, earthquakes and time, although it was also declared a cultural monument by the communist state, couldn’t escape the communist fury and on May 30, 1969 it will be blown up with dynamite. This act constitutes one of the most serious crimes against the national culture, not only on the material level (the loss of an object of special value) but also morally for the strong spiritual connection that the community of the area had with the church of Saint Mary. Currently, a new church similar to the first one has been built near it. Only the foundations and a few walls up to one meter high remain from the old church. For the importance of this church and its values, the church is printed on the 1 000 lek banknote, minted in 2011.
