The Cretan Tradition of

Asceticism

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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Saint Nicholas Church at Kandanos

The church of Agios Nikolaos in Kandanos (Selino province) is located in the center of the village. Its exterior reminds of a modern church, just like many Byzantine temples of Selino, but its interior bears traces of very old frescoes. The frescoes are hidden beneath the plastered walls, some parts of which have been revealed by the Archaeological Service.

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Saint Panteleimon Early Christian Basilica in Sougia

The present-day settlement of Sougia is built on the site of ancient Syia, which flourished mainly in the late Roman times. Underneath the surviving cemeterial temple of Saint Panteleimon there are the remains of a three-aisled basilica with a 20.80m x 12.40m narthex, which has been excavated by A. Orlandos.

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Church of Saint Kyriaki in Argyroupoli

The church of Saint Kyriaki (Agia Kiriaki) is located on the banks of the river Mouselas, fed by the rich springs of Argyroupolis. It is the result of the conversion of a late Roman bath to a church in the 9th century.

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Church of Saint Barbara in Latziana

The small neighborhood Latziana in the village Voulgaro, province Kissamos, was the seat of a patriarchal monastery dedicated to Saint Barbara (Agia Varvara). The temple of the monastery is preserved in ruins near the newer church of Saint Barbara.

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Panagia Church at Lissos

At the site of the ancient seaside town of Lissos, west of Sougia, there are the remains of two 6th-century triple-aisle wooden-roof basilicas with a slightly protruding transverse aisle, which were discovered in 1955 by archaeologist N. Padouvas.

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Saint George church at Ano Viannos

The church of Agios Georgios is located in the plane of Ano Viannos, on the road that leads to the Monastery of Agia Moni. It is a small vaulted and single-aisled church with its interior bearing frescoes of Ioannis Mousouros, dating back to the beginning of the 15th century (there is the date 1401). The temple was built at the expense of Georgios Damoro.

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Saint Photine Church at Preveli

The church of Saint Photine (Agia Fotini) is located east of the Preveli Monastery and very close to the imposing Kourtaliotis gorge and the beach of Preveli. It is a small single-nave with a simple exterior, with only one decorative element; a cross with four pinakia (ornamental round ceramic plates) above the entrance.

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Church of Panagia Barotsiani in Argyroupoli

In the Barotsiana district of village Argyroupolis there is the church of Our Lady (Panagia) Barotsiani, a single-storey 13th-century church, to which a chapel of Saint Anthony was added later. The name comes from the Venetian family Barozzi, who owned the area of Argiroupolis.

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