Church of St. Catherine

The Greek temple of St. Catherine is located on the island of Crete, in its capital - the city of Heraklion.

The Church of St. Catherine is located on the square of the same name, which is named after the temple. The temple was built in 1555 in honor of St. Catherine of Sinai. The temple is an example of a mixture of Byzantine and Venetian architecture. The monks organized an Orthodox school at the monastery, where El Greco was educated.

In 1669, when Heraklion was occupied by the Turks, the church of St. Catherine was turned into a Muslim mosque, it was located here until the 20th century.

Now there is a museum in the temple. The museum exhibits represent the history of Greek Orthodoxy. In addition to books, icons, church utensils, frescoes, the museum houses six unique works by Mikhail Damascene (one of the best representatives of the Cretan icon painting school).