The Cathedral of Saint Titus () also known as Hagios Titos, is an

Orthodox church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

in the city of

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, dedicated to

Saint Titus Titus ( ; , ''Títos'') was an early Christian missionary and church leader, a companion and disciple of Paul the Apostle, mentioned in several of the Pauline epistles including the Epistle to Titus. He is believed to be a Gentile converted to Ch ...

. The current church was built in 1869 as the Yeni Cami ("New Mosque") after the previous building was destroyed by the earthquake of 1856. In 1925 it was converted to Christian worship. The church was declared a cathedral of the archdiocese of Crete in 2013. The church is an

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact t ...

square temple with a dome. The exterior of the temple is dominated by vertical elements, while at the top there is a stone-carved apse.

History

After the reconquest of Crete by the Byzantines in 961, the episcopal seat of Crete was moved from

Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna (, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gortyn was the Roman c ...

to Chandax (later Candia, modern

), which became the capital of the island. A new metropolitan church was built in Chandax, dedicated to the apostle

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

, the first bishop of Crete. That church was a single-aisled building. Various relics were brought to the church, among which the Holy Head of Titus and the icon of

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Mesopanditissa. In 1210, Crete came under the control of the Venetians and a Roman Catholic archbishop was installed in the church. It underwent some modifications, such as the opening of a circular skylight and the construction of a bell tower. This first building was destroyed before the middle of the 15th century. The church was then rebuilt in the style of a three-aisled basilica and was inaugurated by the archbishop of Crete, Fantino Dandolo, on January 3, 1446. It was slightly damaged by the earthquake of 1508, and was destroyed by a fire on April 3, 1544, although the relics of the church were saved. The church was rebuilt in the same style in 1557. After the fall of Candia to the Ottoman Turks in 1669, the relics were moved to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and the church was converted into a Muslim mosque, dedicated to

Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha (, ; ; 1635 – 3 November 1676) was an Ottoman nobleman and statesman, who belonged to the renowned Köprülü family of Albanian origin, which produced six grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire. Life He ...

, the conqueror of Crete and Candia. The mosque was also known as the Vizier Mosque. That building was destroyed by the earthquake of 1856. The current building began to be constructed in 1869 according to a plan by Athanasios Moussis, who also designed, among others, the metropolitan church of

Saint Menas Menas of Egypt (also Mina, Minas, Mena, Meena; ; ; 285 – c. 309), a martyr and wonder-worker, is one of the most well-known Coptic saints in the East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his intercession and prayers. ...

. This new mosque building became known as the Yeni Mosque, or ''New Mosque'', although it retained its old name. After the integration of Crete into Greece and the exchange of Balkan Muslim populations for Anatolian Christian ones, the building was repaired by the Church of Crete and dedicated to Orthodox Christian worship on May 3, 1925. The minaret of the mosque was demolished. On May 15, 1966, the head of Saint Titus was returned to the church by the city of Venice. From 1974 to 1988, work was carried out to fix and restore the church. In 2013, the church of Saint Titus was made cathedral of the Archdiocese of Crete by Archbishop .

References

External links

* {{Churches in Greece 1869 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Ottoman mosques in Crete Former mosques in Greece Greek Orthodox cathedrals in Greece Eastern Orthodoxy in Crete Buildings and structures in Heraklion Churches in Crete Tourist attractions in Crete Church buildings with domes Churches completed in 1925 20th-century churches in Greece Churches converted from mosques Mosques completed in the 1860s Mosques converted from churches in Ottoman Greece Religious buildings and structures completed in 1869 Saint Titus

History

See also

References

External links