Places
Agios Panteleimon (St. Pantaleon) (Bitzariano)
The Byzantine church of Agios Panteleimon, dating back to the 10th century, is a three-aisled basilica with two rows of colonnades. It is possible that, in antiquity, there was an Asclepeion at the site of the church. The aisles are dedicated to Saint Pantaleon, the Life-giving Font and Saint John. Few murals survive today, on […]
Agios Nikitas (St. Nicetas) (Achentrias)
The holy pilgrimage of Agios Nikitas, located on the eastern side of the Asteroussia mountain range, near a small palm forest, is a cavernous church dedicated to Saint Nicetas that dates back to the 17th century. Agios Nikitas, where few murals survive, was initially a hermitage for the monks of Koudoumas Monastery. Subsequently, from 1948 […]
Panagia Kera (Our Lady) or Zoodochos Pigi (Life-Giving Font) (Ini)
The Church of Panagia Kera is located next to the small dam of Kera, southeast of Ini. Beside the church, which is located in a verdant landscape, there is a small cave containing a spring that, according to tradition, is miraculous.
Church of Sotiras Christos (Christ the Redeemer) (Partira)
In the hamlet of Mikri Episkopi, approximately 1 km away from Partira, lie the ruins of the episcopal church of Sotiras Christos, dating back to the era of Venetian rule, when the settlement was the seat of the diocese of Arcadia. It is built in the cruciform domed style and parts of its walls, columns […]
Holy Metropolitan Church of Agios Andreas (St. Andrew) (Arkalochori)
The three-aisled Metropolitan Church in Arkalochori is dedicated to Saint Andrew of Crete, also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, the Archbishop of Crete, to Saint Matthias and to the Three Hierarchs. Its foundations were laid in 1978 by Archbishop Timotheos of Crete and it was inaugurated in 2009. The church contains the sacred remains of […]
Church of Michail Archangelos (Archangel Michael) (Arkalochori)
The Byzantine cross-vaulted church dedicated to the Archangel Michael is located in the cemetery of Arkalochori. The church contains 14th and 15th century murals from the Cretan school of hagiography.
Agia Marina (St. Marina) Convent (1901)
Agia Marina Convent was built in 1901 at the site of a small old chapel where, according to tradition, there was a miraculous spring. On the feast day of Saint Marina (July 17), an enormous celebration is held, with numerous worshippers arriving on foot from remote locations throughout Crete.
Church of Zoodochos Pigi (Life-Giving Font) (Agies Paraskies)
The village of Agies Paraskies contains the ruins of numerous Byzantine churches, five of which are dedicated to Saint Paraskevi, after whom the village was named. The 11th century Church of Agia Zoni also survives; its murals have been destroyed by whitewash coatings, but it contains certain old icons.
Holy Metropolis of Arkalochori, Kastelli and Viannos
The Metropolis was founded quite recently, in 2001, and covers that majority of Pediada province, essentially comprising various sections of the Metropolises of Petra, Arcadia and Gortyna. The Metropolis of Arkalochori, Kastelli and Viannos includes numerous important monasteries, such as those of Agia Marina in Voni and of Agios Antonios in Arvi. It is seated […]
Agiofaraggo of the Holy Monastery of Odegetria
The Agiofaraggo [Holy Gorge] is found within the boundaries, and belongs to, the Monastery of Odegetria. Within the surrounding area, which followed the apostolic tradition of the Church of the Gortynians, with the beneficial morphology of the land and a mild climate, the Agiofaraggo thrived as a place where Christian monasticism developed, particularly in its […]
