⭐ 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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Church of Saint Nicholas at Lyttos (Xidas)

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The small church of Saint Nicholas is located between Lyttos and Kastamonitsa. It bears frescoes of a provincial painter dating back from the 14th century with vivid scenes from the Christological cycle. Frescoes that stand out are the Infanticide in southern wall, the sacrifice of Abraham, and Saint Zosimas.

Church of Saint George Xififoros in Apodoulou

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The church of Saint George (Agios Georgios) Sword holder (Xififoros) is located in a wooded area northwest of the village Apodoulou, province Amari. The church is one-room arched-roof temple with three blind arches on each long side, symmetrically positioned on the central transverse axis.

Church of Panagia Keragrammeni

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The church of Panagia (Our Lady) Keragrameni is located north of the village Stavros or Kapistri in the province of Ierapetra. The one-storey church is dedicated to the Birth of the Theotokos and is built near a spring that gives life to vineyards and orchards.

Early Christian basilica of Lendas

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Lendas is a remote seaside settlement located in the imposing Asterousia Mountains, 74km south of Heraklion. The settlement is built on the site of the ancient city of Levena, which flourished in the Greco-Roman years, as the seaport of Gortyn, which was then the most important city of Crete.

Church of Saint Isidore in Kakodiki

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The church of Saint Isidore (Agios Isidoros) is built on a small plateau atop a hill in the small settlement Tzinaliana in Kakodiki, province Selino. It belongs to the architectural type of the one-room arched-roofed temples. At the entrance we can see two parts of an ancient Doric architrave.

Church of Saint John the Baptist in Sembronas

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The church of Saint John the Baptist in Sembronas is located in the neighborhood Bomboliana. It is a small arched, one-storey church dedicated to Saint John's Head Cut (celebrates on August 29).

Michael Archangel church in Sarakina

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The temple of Michael Archangel is hidden amidst centuries-old olive groves a few meters out of the settlement Sarakina, province Selino, and very close to the village cemetery. The church is built on the site of the middle aisle of a three-aisled and wooden-roofed early Christian basilica, from which part of the arch of the sanctuary is preserved.

Church of Christ the Savior in Plemeniana

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The cemeterial temple of Christ the Savior is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior and is located in the village of Plemeniana in province Selino. It is built on the site of an Early Christian temple, as can be seen from the many marble architectural members that are embedded into the walls or are scattered around.

Asceticism

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