cruciform church
Agia Varvara (St. Barbara) (Rethymno)
The church of Agia Varvara is built in the architectural style of free cross with dome. It was erected in 1885 at the site of an older church dating back to 1663, which was also dedicated to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of Rethymno. During the Ottoman era, the church was converted into a bathhouse […]
Antifonitria (She Who Retorts) Monastery
The Church of Panagia ton Myriokefalon in the village of Myriokefala served as the catholicon of the Monastery of Panagia Antifonitria, dating back to the 11th century, which has not survived. The Monastery was built by Ossios Ioannis Xenos and remained in operation until the early 20th century. Apart from the catholicon, the remaining buildings […]
Arsaniou Monastery
An old men’s monastery, located 12km east of Rethymno, in the Pangalochori community, possibly founded during the 2nd Byzantine period (961-1204). It was founded by a monk named Arsenios, after whom it was named. According to the most likely version of events, it was deserted at one point due to pirates causing problems to coastal […]
Panagias (Mother Mary) Church (Lambini)
This is a simple four-pillar, cruciform church with a cupola. It dates from the end of the 12th century. Mural decorations are to a great extent preserved despite physical deterioration and the fact that the church had been set on fire. The murals were painted in three different periods between the 12th and the 15th […]
Asomaton (Gathering of the Angels) Monastery
The Monastery of Asomatoi is dedicated to the Gathering of the Angels. It was built in the 2nd Byzantine period in the style of a fortress. At the end of the 18th century it was the seat of the Bishop of Lambi. Initially the catholicon (main church) was a one-aisled, arch-roofed church; however, in the […]
Zoodochos Pigi (Life-giving Font) (Alikianos)
The church of Zoodochos Pigi (Life-giving Font) is also known as Ai kyr-Yiannis, from the name of its donor, Ioannis Xenos. It was built in 1030 and it is a cross-in-square church with a cupola. The internal decoration is in two layers. The first one dates back to the 11th century and was recently revealed […]
The church of Saint Barbara (Agia Varvara) (Boulgaro)
In the village of Boulgaro there is the ruined church of Saint Barbara, which probably used to be the Catholicon church of a monastery. It is a cruciform, ‘cross-in-a-square’ church with a cupola and a narthex that was added at a later age, which underwent various architectural changes during the period of Venetian. The church […]
