Places
All – Holy Virgin the Vrefokratousa at Agios Nikolaos
The particularly elongated church of the All-Holy Virgin in the old centre of the city of Agios Nikolaos is the result of two successive expansions to the west of the original barrel-vaulted, single-nave church. The original church and the first expansion have two layers of mural paintings of which the oldest, dating to the first […]
Church of Agios Ioannis (St. John) (Liliano)
The Byzantine church of Agios Ioannis is a three-aisled basilica, with ogival arcs supported by columns bearing capitals of the Ionic order. The church, which dates back to the 12th – 13th century in its entirety, was erected using older structures, possible older churches, as building materials.
Agia Ekaterini (St. Catherine)
In the historic centre of Heraklion, next to the Metropolitan Church of Agios Minas, only the catholicon of the Old Sinaitic Monastery of Saint Catherine remains. Until 1669, when Crete was sacked by the Ottomans, Agia Ekaterini Monastery was one of the premier religious and intellectual foundations of Orthodoxy. A major monastic centre, it contributed […]
Vossakos Monastery
Vossakos Monastery is located between the peaks of Koutsotrouli, Sofiani and Koufotos of Mount Kouloukonas. It belongs to the citadel style of architecture, being surrounded by walls, and is dedicated to the True Cross. Its catholicon is a small, single-space structured built in the late 19th century, but its first catholicon, according to the inscription […]
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 […]
Agia Anna (St. Anne) (Nefs Amari)
This church has the oldest dated Byzantine murals on Crete; they were made in 1225, and the donor’s inscription of the church bears the year 1196. It is a one-aisled church with arches.
Agios Ioannis o Theologos (St. John the Divine) (Gerakari)
A little outside Gerakari, at ‘Photis’ location, there is a Church of St. John; it is one-aisled and tile-roofed and was built in the 12th or the13th century. A narthex with a cupola was added to the only aisle. The murals are well-preserved and they date back to the 13th century.
Agios Georgios & Christos (St. George & Christ) (Kournas)
The Church of St. George was built at the end of the 12th century, initially as a three-aisled basilica with a wooden roof, a narthex and adobe brick arches. In 1230 Christ’s roof-covered aisle was added. In the 19th century, the interior of the main church was unified and the narthex demolished, while a bell-tower […]
Panagia Zerviotissa (Mother Mary of the Left Hand) (Stylos)
Just outside Stylos, within its citrus orchards, stands the 12th century church of Panagia Zerviotissa, also known as ‘Monastira’. This is a cruciform church with an eight-sided cupola and its floor plan echoes of a three-aisled basilica. Although hardly anything of the mural decorations have survived, the church is truly impressive.
Agios Ioannis Theologos (St. John the Divine) (Stylos)
This 12th century two-aisled church is dedicated to St. John the Divine (Theologos) and St. Nicholas. Initially there was only one aisle, and an arched roof, but later a second aisle was added. There are murals dating back to the 13th century, and the one that stands out is the depiction of St. John the […]
