St. Mina Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. Mina in Heraklion is one of the largest cathedrals in Greece. The original temple was built in 1735 and has survived to the present day (it is located to the left of the main entrance).

The history of the majestic cathedral takes us back to 1826, when a crowd of Muslim Turks who ruled the island headed for the church to defeat it, but a sudden officer appeared to disperse the crowd of conspirators. The Greeks who witnessed this scene regarded it as a miraculous intervention of Saint Mina. Soon after these events, the holy Great Martyr was declared the patron saint of the city, and he was venerated by both Christians and Muslims.

On March 25, 1862, the construction of a large three-nave cathedral began, which lasted for 33 years. Before the construction began, coins of different states were laid in the foundation of the temple, under the future altar. The walls and vaults are made in the traditional Greek-Byzantine style and painted with magnificent Byzantine frescoes. The cathedral was dedicated to Saint Mina and consecrated in 1895. Surprisingly, despite the Turkish occupation, the celebrations on the occasion of the consecration of the cathedral did not stop for three days.

One of the last miracles perceived by believers as the patronage of St. Mina is the salvation of the temple from air raid and bombing in May 1941. That day, a bomb fell on the dome of the cathedral, but did not explode.