The Monasteries of Lasithi

Εcclesiastical monuments and buildings in eastern Crete are numerous and add up to an immense and quite significant religious legacy. Monuments of architecture and art, especially wood carving and religious imagery painting, monasteries are places intrinsically woven into local history and traditions.

Monastery of St.George Selinari 

An orthodox Monastery near Neapoli, on the thoroughfare between Herakleion and Agios Nicolaos. The Monastery of Agios Georgios, lies in the gorge of Selinari, and was built during the second Byzantine period. The katholikon is dedicated to Agios Georgios and the other two temples are dedicated to the Epiphany and the Resurrection. The monastery was built during the Second Byzantine period, between 961 – 1204.

It was destroyed in 1538 by pirates. According to tradition, a monk from Rhodes found an icon of Agios Georgios on this specific spot and vowed to build a small church. He spent the rest of his life in a rock he carved at the top of Anavlochos, on the east side of the gorge, where a large cross has now been placed. The icon of St. George is considered miraculous as it is said that during the Turkish occupation the Saint protected the monks. Three bullet holes can be seen, stuck in the holy image. Agios Georgios Selinaris is considered the protector of tavellers, and visitors will often stop here to pay their respects before continuing their journey to the east.


Holy Monastery of Kroustallenia

The Monastery is built on a small land elevation on the Havgas riverbed opposite the Lasithi Plateau village Ag. Konstantinos. It is 40.9 km away from Ag. Nikolaos. There are no records of when the Monastery was founded. Some testimonies mention the existence of the monastery in the 13th century, so its foundation can probably be placed in the Second Byzantine period. The Monastery played an important role during the period Crete was under Ottoman rule. It was the meeting place for the area’s captains and its abbots participated in crucial meetings and were members of delegations throughout Crete. During the revolution of 1821, the Monastery was looted and then set on fire by the Turkish-Egyptian troops in January 1823. During the Great Revolution of 1866-69, the Monastery played a leading role because during the Battle of Lasithi (20-30 May 1867) it constituted the seat of the Revolutionary Committee of the Eastern Provinces. This was where the ammunition and supplies depots were kept, as well as where the “firing plant” was located. During the period of the allied occupation of Crete (1897-98) a small detachment of French soldiers settled in Kroustallenia to maintain order on the Plateau. During the Cretan State, Kroustallenia, as the middle ground of the route Vionnos-Neapoli (back then Vionnos belonged to the prefecture of Lasithi) hosted the Viannites who went to the capital of the Prefecture to carry out their affairs. After the commitment of 2/5 of the property of the Monasteries for the strengthening of the reserve funds, the Monastery was going to be used for tourism, and in fact, the relevant plans had been prepared, but in the end they were not realized. During the period 1940-44, the Monastery became a center of national action again, while later in February 1943 it was turned into a concentration camp by the occupiers. Today the Monastery is trying to adapt to the new environment and situation, always within the framework of Orthodox monasticism. An important activity that developed successfully in the past in the Monastery was the regular operation of a school from the middle of the 19th century until 1926. Kroustallenia’s contribution to the religious, social and national sector was great. In this remote corner of the Cretan land in the inaccessible mountains of Lasithi, Kroustallenia kept alive the national consciousness, the concept of social solidarity and the flame of faith: the bases of the nation’s rebirth.

 

Vidiani Monastery 

Situated between the Lasithi Plateau villages Pinakiano and Kato Metochi, was founded after 1856 from monk Methodios Perrakis and was burnt from the Ottomans during the Battle of Lasithi, 1867. It was only in 1981, that the Monastery's renovation and revival was undertaken by the Lasithian Union of Herakleion, leading to the creation of the Museum of Natural History, hosting indigenous flora and fauna. Amidst a tranquil setting, the visitor has the chance to visit the museum and above all, admire the famous holy image of the Virgin Mary of Vidiani.

 

Other important Monasteries of the wider area are the Toplou Monastery, featuring two museums, the Kapsa Monastery perched on the steep mountainside on the southern edges of the Lasithi Prefecture, and many more Monasteries that attract religious tourism from every corner of the world.