Panagia Church at Agios Ioannis
At the mountainous forested village of Agios Ioannis, Sfakia district, we meet the small church of Panagia that celebrates the day of the Dormition of Theotokos, on August 15. It is located on the outskirts of the large forest of Agios Ioannis and is directly opposite the church of Saint John, which gives its name to the village.
Both temples are built in the Venetian Era but that of Panagia, although it is smaller, it is more impressive because there are several frescoes surviving in good condition. The temple, like most Venetian temples of Sfakia, belongs to the type of single-nave arched. Around the chapel we see tombs and a separate arcosolium (burial monument), very well maintained. Inside the church, there is a white mantel lifted above the edges of the floor, a beautiful modern wooden iconostasis (not the initial one). The frescoes depict scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. There is also a supportive pillar that comes from an ancient temple.
