⭐ Travel Guide for Island Crete ⛵, Greece❗ - Chapel of Saint Paisios in Lefkogia

Chapel of Saint Paisios in Lefkogia

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The Chapel of Saint Paisios was built by the Mastrantonakis family from Lefkogia in fulfilment of a vow. According to local accounts, the family had asked Saint Paisios for help during a difficult time. The building materials were carried by hand up the steep slope to the top of the hill.

The stonework blends into the bare rock of the hill. Though built relatively recently, the chapel has already become a popular pilgrimage site in the area. Visitors come throughout the year, including organised groups of pilgrims. Inside are carved wooden icons and votive offerings left by the faithful.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos was born Arsenios Eznepidis in 1924 in Farasa, Cappadocia. He grew up in Konitsa, where his family settled after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. He lived as a monk on Mount Athos and at the Monastery of Stomio near Konitsa, and spent two years in Sinai. In 1964 he returned to Mount Athos, where many people came to seek his advice. He died on 12 July 1994 and was buried at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti, near Thessaloniki. The Ecumenical Patriarchate canonised him on 13 January 2015. His feast day is 12 July.

On the road from Lefkogia to Megalo Ammoudi, a turn-off before the beach leads towards the chapel. From the Ammoudaki side, near the eastern end of Damnoni Beach, the walk uphill is short but steep.