⭐ Travel Guide for Island Crete ⛵, Greece❗

The arrival of Saint John the Hermit in Crete of the Early Christian Times was the beginning of a great ascetic tradition that continues to the present day. Hundreds of hermits secluded in the most remote parts of the island, forming ascetic communities that later evolved to thriving monasteries. Hundreds of countryside monasteries, most of which don't operate today, are dispersed throughout the island.

A special sample of hermitage is the Monastery Katholiko at Akrotiri Cape in the caves of which hermits lived their monastic life away, from worldly pleasures. Equally important were the religious sites of the secluded peninsulas Gramvousa and Rodopos, where several small monasteries developed.

The greatest hermitage of all was the naturally isolated, and impassable range of Asterousia in southern Heraklion. Hundreds of caves from Saint Nikitas to Cape Lithino still host hermits. Relations between them were so limited that in Agiofarago and Martsalo they gathered only once a year, in cave Goumenospilio and counted how many of them survived each year.

In eastern Crete, the north province of Mirabello is the largest field of asceticism with dozens of small monastic establishments. Here hermits built small monasteries, where they usually lived alone.

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Paliani Monastery near Venerato

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The nunnery of Paliani is located at an altitude of 280m, next to the village Venerato, 20km southwest of Heraklion at the exit of Venerato Gorge. The monastery is dedicated to the Assumption and celebrates on August 15.

Attali Monastery at Bali

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The Monastery Attali or Bai is built over the hill of Agia Ypakoi, west of Bali, with panoramic sea views to the sea and close to the main road connecting Rethymnon to Heraklion. The region was isolated till 1970, when the highway was constructed, and thus monasticism and asceticism flourished till then.

Chrysopigi Monastery

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Chrysopigi monastery is located 3km south of Chania city. Its temple belongs to the architecture Mount Athos triconch with dome and is dedicated to the Panagia Zoodochos Pigi (Live Giving Virgin Mary) (celebr. on Friday after Easter). Thousands of believers arrive here to honor the miraculous icon of Virgin Mary.

Faneromeni Monastery near Gournia

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The Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni (i.e. Revealed Holy Mary) or Virgin Mary of Gournia is located northwest of Pachia Ammos, 24km south of Agios Nikolaos. It is a male monastery built on a steep slope at an altitude of 540 meters with stunning sea views. The monastery church is built inside a cave.

Saint John the Hermit Cave at Marathokefala

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At the area Marathokefala at Spilia, 25 km west of Chania and just 3 km from Kolymbari, lies the famous historical cave of St. John the Hermit. Inside the cave there is temple of the 15th century and the foundations of old cells that date back in the 17th-18th century.

Vidiani Monastery in Lassithi Plateau

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The monastery of Vidiani is located at the foot of the mountain Louloudaki, near the village of Kato Metohi in Lassithi Plateau. Access is very easy, as the peripheral road of the plateau runs just next to it.

Avvakospilio Cave at Koudoumas

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West of Koudoumas Monastery lies Avvakospilio, a cavernous church where, according to tradition, Ossios Kosmas lived as an ascetic during the 7th century and where his remains were buried.

Agarathos Monastery

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The fortified monastery of Agarathos is located 23km east of Heraklion in a wooded location at an altitude of 538m near Episkopi. The monastery, especially during the Venetian Era, was one of the richest in Crete owning several other monasteries in Heraklion and Lassithi prefectures. It is considered the first in the hierarchy of the monasteries of the island.

Asceticism

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