Myriokefala is a local community of the Rethymno Municipality in the Rethymno (regional unit) of the region of Crete established by Kallikratis reform. Previously, it was part of municipality of Lappa. Capital of the new municipality is Rethymno.
Geography, origin of name, history
It is located 33 kilometers southwest of Rethymno, on the northwestern outskirts of the Kryoneritis mountain (height 1228 m) in an altitude of 500 meters [2] with great view to the valley of Asi Gonia. Its name is due to the myriad (many) heads, i.e. hills, on which the village was built. Myriokefala is being occupied since the Venetian period.[3]
Church affiliation
The church of the village is dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos, also called "Our Lady of Myriokephalos". Ecclesiastically, it belongs to the 5th Hierarchical Region of the Holy Metropolis of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, of the Church of Crete.
Attractions: Monuments, Temples, Important Buildings
The Holy Church of Panagia of Myriokefali located in the village is one of the oldest churches in the prefecture of Rethymno. This is the katholikon of the former - not preserved today - monastery of Myriokephalos, which was built at the beginning of the 11th century by 'Holy John the Stranger', who in fact equipped the Monastery with icons, utensils and other ecclesiastical objects that he himself brought from Constantinople. The monastery that functioned throughout the Venetian rule and the Turkish rule faded from the beginning of the 20th century. It became an important pilgrimage both because of the sanctity of the place and because of the Christians' devotion to the miraculous icon of Panagia Antiphonatria. It is celebrated on September 8 and there is a big festival. The church has the shape of a free cross with a dome. The iconography of Christ the Bearer inside the church is wonderful
