⭐ 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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Christ Church at Meskla

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The church of Lord Christ the Savior is a single-aisled with two arches and exquisite frescoes dedicated to the Transformation of Christ. An inscription of 1303 indicates that the painters were Theodoros Daniel and Michael Veneris. The narthex frescoes date back from the 15th century.

Saint Anne Church at Anissaraki

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The church of St Anna at settlement Anisaraki by Kandanos is one of the most important Byzantine churches of Crete, adorned with very important frescoes dating back from 1457-1462. The iconostasis was painted and bears wooden screen.

Church of Saint Anne at Opsigias

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The church of St. Anne by Opsigias is a double-aisled church (originally sibgle-aisled with an extra aisled attached later). The north wall collapsed in the 13th century and was rebuilt with West influences. The church was restored in 1960.

Saint Anthony Monastery in Karydi

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The Monastery of St. Anthony is located at an altitude of 536m, north of the village Karydi near Neapolis, on a steep rocky slope. The small monastery today is uninhabited and a program of restoration of its ruined buildings has started.

Saint Panteleimon church at Bitzariano

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Agios Panteleimonas is a Byzantine church that must be one of the oldest in Crete. It is about 3 Km away from Kasteli. On the outer walls of the church, there are marble crosses and inscriptions that must belong to an older Roman or Byzantine building.

Saint Anthony Sfougaras at Selles

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The monastery of Saint Anthony Sfougaras is located at the village Selles and its temple was built in a cave by the sea. Next to the cave temple there are other caves with built walls that probably were used as monk cells. The paved garden hosts a water tank.

Onythes Early Christian basilica

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At position Onythe we meet the ruins of an ancient settlement that has been identified as the ancient town Fallanes or Osmida. At this location there are traces of an early Christian basilica, which was excavated by N. Platon in 1947 and has dimensions 31mx15m.

Cathedral of Saint Thomas at Agios Thomas

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The area of St. Thomas at Monofatsi province can easily be described as a religious park, as it hosted 38 churches in the past. The most spectacular of all still stands still in the center of the village. It is the Byzantine church dedicated to St. Thomas, an aisled basilica with a narthex in front.

Asceticism

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