In Heraklion, the church of Agia Ekaterini (Saint Catherine) of Sinaites: The church of Agia Ekaterini (Saint Catherine) of Sinaites situated in the middle of Heraklion town, next to the Cathedral of Saint Minas, and has given its name to Saint Catherine Square. This square is now a distinct portion of town, with cafeterias, children’s playgrounds, and a swarm of pigeons. This stone Venetian church, surrounded by contemporary structures and apartment units, appears to be out of place.
This church was previously a dependent of the Sinaites Monastery. The Saint Ekaterini Monastery was founded in the 10th century, although the church was most likely erected during the Venetian period in the 16th century.
The Monastery of Saint Ekaterini of Sinaites served as a university from the mid-16th to the mid-17th centuries, and many significant members of the local community studied there. Among the graduates are well-known Cretan writers such as Vitsentzos Cornaros, as well as philosophers, theologians, and painters. Even the famed painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos, well known as El Greco, is reported to have studied there.
After the Turks conquered Heraklion in 1669, the church was turned into a Muslim mosque until Crete gained independence in the early twentieth century. Today, Saint Catherine is home to the Heraklion Clerical Museum, which has a collection of rare icons by Michael Damaskinos, a member of the Cretan School of Icon Painting, as well as ecclesiastical vestments, manuscripts, and paintings. It is available to tourists every weekday in the morning, however service is performed just once a year on November 25th, Saint Catherine’s feast day.
