ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΑ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΑ Ι.Μ.Ι.Σ. ENG

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The monastery, which celebrates on the Dormition of the Theotokos, is located on
the north side of Mount Stavros, a steep elevation west of the archaeological area
of Gournies. Its foundation date is unknown even though non-extant sources mention it
already at the end of the 13th century, connecting it with the revolution of the Kallergi
against the Venetians in 1299.
The monastery is structured incrementally on two main levels.
On the lower level, around an elongated courtyard with entrance
from the west, are relatively simple two-and three-storey
buildings which received a radical restoration in the second half
of the 19th century. The cavernous church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos
and the Zoodochos Pigi [the Life-giving Spring] is located on the second, highest level.
The church, which is the oldest surviving part of the monastery, dates to the period of
the late Venetian occupation. It consists of the narthex, the main church, roofed with a
pointed vault, as well as the area of the
agiasma [holy water]. Despite the
interpolations received by the complex
during the 20th century, its fortified and
defensive character, which was structured
in the 18th and 19th centuries, is evident
not only from the solid ordering of the
HOLY MONASTERY OF
FANEROMENI
AT IERAPETRA
buildings but also from the very small windows and the three semi-circular watchtowers
which are located on the north side. The monastery, built in a particularly advantageous
location that offers a panoramic view of the bay of Merambellou, is one of the most
important pilgrimage sites of eastern Crete with hundreds of pilgrims arriving and
spending the fifteen days of the fast there prior to the celebration of the feast of the
Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15.
The church of St. George was the catholicon of a monastic complex, a dependency
of the Monastery of the All-Holy Virgin Faneromeni [‘She who is Revealed’] to its
south east and at a distance of around four kilometres. The complete absence of written
sources does not allow the reconstruction of the early history of the monastery, which
was already abandoned by the end of the 19th century, and its buildings had been
SAINT
GEORGE
AT ASSARI
converted into homes for the farmers of the area. The single-nave,
restored, small church is dated on the basis of its wall painting decoration
to the 14th century. In its iconographic programme, apart from the
scenes from the Gospel cycle, of which the large representation of the
Birth stands out, the scene of the Sacrifice of Abraham on the north
wall of the sanctuary as well as six scenes from the cycle of St. George, are included. The
representation of the Dormition of St. Ephraim the Syrian on the south part of the barrelvault
is of particular interest, a theme which is repeated in Crete only in the church of St.
John at Kapetaniana, on the south coasts of the province of Heraklion. 49
The Dormition of St. Ephraim the Syrian.