Lassithi Panagia Kera

Location: Kritsa

Just 1 kilometer from the mountainous village of Kritsa lies the old Byzantine church of Panagia Kera. This is one of the most important churches in Crete, located in a remarkable setting, high in the mountains of Dikte and overlooking a valley. The stone-built church, for which there is no reliable founding date, is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

The central aisle dedicated to the Virgin Mary contains the oldest paintings while the north aisle is dedicated to Agios Antonios and has several pictures representing Judgment Day. Many miracles were associated with the icon of Panagia Kera. According to tradition, during the Byzantine period of Iconoclasm, the icon of Panagia was transferred to Istanbul but it found its way back to the monastery.

In the year 1498, during the Venetian domination, the icon was stolen by a Greek trader and a few years later it was moved to the temple of Saint Alfonso on Esquiline Hill, Rome. In 1722, the monastery was fully renovated by the Managgaris family and it became a Holy Cross church. Today, the icon adorning the monastery is only a copy of the original, which was successfully painted in 1732 by an unknown artist and it is believed that it has the same miracle attributes.

The architecture of the monastery follows the Byzantine style with arrows and ceramic decoration. Its interior features stunning frescoes that cover almost every inch of its walls, ceiling and dome and date back to the 14th century. These well-preserved paintings depict scenes from the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, as well as various saints and martyrs. They are mostly highlighted in strikingly vivid colors emblematic of the art made during the Palaeologan Renaissance.