The small church of Agii (St.)Anargιri in the old town of Chania, was built from the time of the Venetian rule, as mentioned in a document of 1583. After the conquest of Crete by the Ottomans in the 17th century, this church was the only Christian Orthodox church in Chania and the central cathedral of the Diocese of Kydonia. It is no coincidence that most of the activities of the Christians were gathered around the church of Agii Anargiri at that time, such as schools, institutions, the episcopal residence, etc.
The church consists of three rooms, of which the south is a recent extension to the area of the Venetian mansion, in which the church was originally incorporated, most likely as a private chapel.The restoration work showed that the smaller, eastern part was built first while a similar extension to the west was made later. Then a larger one-room aisle was added on the north side and was dedicated to Agios (St.) Savvas. Later, another extension was made to the house on the south side and the new aisle was dedicated to Agios Charalambos.
The decoration of the church dates back, between 1837 and 1841. The icons were painted around 1625 by the native monk Ambrosios Emporos, the first of a series of painters from western Crete who was strongly influenced by the Flemish copperplates. The Venetian official and the locals dedicated the icons to the new local Saint John the Hermit, on whom they had based their hopes for protection from the Ottoman threat.
photo: cretanbeaches.com
