⭐ 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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Panagia Church at Ini

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Next to the small dam of Kera in the village Ini we meet the picturesque church of Panagia Kera dedicated to Panagia Zoodochos Pigi (Life Giving Spring). The temple bears no frescoes inside. Next to the temple there is a small cave with a spring of water, which is considered holy.

Lord Christ church at Kassani

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A few meters southwest to the village Kassani of Pediada province and near the old village fountain there is the single-nave arched church of the Savior Christ dedicated to the Birth of Jesus. It was built on the site of an older temple, as evidenced by the shape of the arch of the sanctuary.

Panagia Kardiotissa church at Amariano

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At position Kardaki near the village Amariano there is the Byzantine church of the Panagia Kardiotissa, which is dedicated to the Birth of the Theotokos (8th September).

Panagia Church at Houmeri

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The church of Panagia in Choumeri, province Monofatsi is dedicated to Panagia (Virgin Mary) and has been restored. During restoration works, part of the 15th-century frescoes was destroeyd. Specifically, the original single-nave church was extended to the west by the addition of an aisle to the south.

Early Christian Basilica at Ini

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The Early Christian Basilica of Ini is located among olive groves on the site Ellinika, southeast of Kefala hill. It is a three-aisled basilica dating back to the 6th century and because of its large size (32m x 18m) it is believed to have been the seat of the Diocese of Arcadia./p>

Panagia church at Kastamonitsa

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The church of the Panagia (Virgin Mary) in Kastamonitsa is located inside the cemetery of the village and is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin (feast 15 August). The folklorist Georgios Stamatakis considers that it was probably a Catholic monastery, since it is not recorded in any census of temples during the Venetian Era (the monasteries were not listed).

Church of Panagia Panokastriani in Kastri

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The church of Panagia Panokastriani is located above Kastri, province Mylopotamos, where the ruined fortress of Pano Kasteli was built. Kastri was the seat and base of the strongest Christian family during the Venetian occupation, Kallergis, whose coats of arms are located in the arch of the sanctuary.

Zoodochos Pigi Monastery at Kapetaniana

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In the wild Asterousia Mountains and on the dirt road that leads from Kapetaniana to Tripiti we meet the old chapel of Panagia Zoodochos Pigi (Life-Giving Spring). The church was the central temple of a small monastery of the 13th century that developed very close to a small water source.

Asceticism

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