Agia Kyriaki monastery at Varypetro
The monastery of Agia Kyriaki is located 12km south of Chania, near Varypetro. In 1992 the monastery was a set of ruins, but has since then it has been restored and now it is a scenic monastery of Crete.
The monastery is a dependency of the female monastery of Chrysopigi near Chania and is located in a wonderful area with a beautiful protected grove, a small canyon with a river and several cavernous churches accessible through stone paved trails.
The church of the monastery is dedicated to the Transfiguration (celebr. 6 August), but it also celebrates on Agia Kyriaki fest (7 July). The temple is located in the center of the monastic enclosure and is surrounded by nuns' cells and other buildings. Around the monastery there are the cavernous chapels of St. Anthony (17 January), the Holy Seven Children (4 August), Saint Silouan the Athonite (24 September) and the Martyrs of Crete (23 June).
The monastery houses the Center of Orthodoxy and Ecology managed by the monastery Chrysopigi, where educational environmental programs take place. Moreover, it is worth seeing the restored olive mill of the 16th century, which now operates as the dining room of the nuns.
During the Turkish occupation, the monastery was a refuge for rebels. In 1866 the first Pancretian Meeting in which representatives of all provinces edited a memorandum for the Sultan and the Great Powers (Russia, Britain, France). Later a similar meeting was housed here, where the Union of Crete with Greece was requested.
Timeline
- 17th century: The monastery is founded.
- 1637: The Monastery of Agia Kyriaki becomes a dependency of the monastery Chrysopigi.
- 19th Century: The monastery is a refuge for the rebels of the region.
- May 14, 1866: The first Pancretian Meeting in which representatives of all provinces edited a memorandum for the Sultan and the Great Powers (Russia, Britain, France), with no response.
- 1993-96: The monastery Chrysopigi out extensive restoration program of the buildings of Agia Kiriaki
