Milopotamos

One of the many churches that are devoted to Saint John, but remains unknown is located on the road connecting the villages Episkopi and Kefali. Agios Ioannis (Saint John) stands right on the edge of the road and at first glance seems to have the appearance of a modern church.

The double church of the Transfiguration of Christ and Saint Anne is located in the cemetery of the village Ancient Eleftherna. The original church of the 10th century bears frescoes of the 12th century, has a dome and was built on the ruins of an older temple of the 6th century.

One of the most interesting religious monuments is found just north of the village Damavolou in Mylopotamos province. It is the church of Saints Constantine and Helen, which is built with the same architecture Cretans used to build the vaulted tombs and the mitata. The church is quite new, but it is worth mentioning due to its exceptional architecture.

In the center of the small village Erfi in Mylopotamos province we meet the church of Saint John. The temple bears frescoes in good condition, dating back from the 14th century.

The Church of St. John the Theologian in Margarites is located at the southwest side of the village. It is a single-room vaulted temple and its interior bears traces of frescoes and an impressive stone iconostasis (icon shrine). On each side of the temple there are three blind arches.

Near the primary school of the village Skouloufia there is the ruined church of Panagia (Virgin Mary). The roof of the temple has collapsed and the church dates back from 1410. There are no frescoes surviving, but a very beautiful window survives.

Inside Margaritsano gorge we meet the Byzantine church of Agia Paraskevi, which can be accessed from Pigouniana via a dirt track. This is a small single-nave barrel-vaulted temple with its interior adorned by frescoes of the Venetian era.

The imposing church of Agios Georgios in Kalamas, province Mylopotamos, dates back to the 12th century and is one of the most impressive churches in the prefecture of Rethymnon. It has a special architecture, as it is cross-shaped with two narthexes in front and a dome at the center of the cross, reminding of a three-aisled church.