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Agia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Monastery

Abandoned at present, the monastery was established before the 17th century and appears to have had a fortress-like design. Its catholicon stands at the centre of the courtyard and is a single-space arch-covered church. Between 1900 and 1911, it served as a glebe of Toplou Monastery.

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Panagia Faneromeni (Our Lady Revealed) Monastery

Built just inside Agioi Pantes (All Saints) Canyon on Cape Trachilas, the monastery has exquisite views of the sea. Particularly noteworthy are the caves that riddle the canyon and which were once used by the monastery’s hermits. The monastery was founded in the 13th century and was renovated in 1620. Between 1870 and 1901 it […]

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Holy Monastery of Toplou

The monastery of Toplou or the Akrotiriani [All-Holy Virgin of the Cape], as it is called due to its position in the eastern corner of Crete, is one of the most renowned and important monasteries of the island. Its establishment probably dates to the late 14th century, a period during which the original catholicon was […]

54

Anastassi (Resurrection) and Axion Esti (It Is Truly Meet) Convent

The Axion Esti Convent, founded in 1984 by the Metropolitan Philotheos II, is located near the city of Ierapetra. The catholicon is a three-aisled church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Annunciation and the Resurrection of the Lord. It is replete with murals, featuring work that is characteristic of the Cretan School, and its altar […]

55

Panagias (Mother Mary) Monastery at Gourni

The ruins of Panagia Monastery are located in the hard-to-reach area of Gourni. The catholicon, the only part of the monastery that has survived, is an arch-covered church dedicated to the Dormition of Mother Mary. Initially single-aisled, it was converted to two-aisled in the 16th century, with the new addition dedicated to the Ascension of […]