Saint Constantine church at Avdou

The small church of Saints Constantine and Helen (Agios Konstantinos and Agia Eleni) is located west of the village Avdou , on the boundaries with the dam of Aposelemis . It is a single aisled vaulted church with its interior adorned with frescoes by the brothers Emmanuel and Ioannis Fokas , very important representatives of the Constantinople art in Crete.

The dedicatory inscription refers to the year 1445 and to the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaeologus (1425-1448), although the Cretans had already experienced two centuries of Venetian occupation. The dome of the apse is decorated with a representation of Christ Pantocrator , while below it we see the Hierarchs Basil and John Chrysostom .

The main arch hosts the Hospitality of Abraham , flanked by the composition of the Annunciation (Virgin - Archangel Gabriel). The arch of the sanctuary is covered by the Ascension , Pentecost and the Presentation .

In the vault of the nave we see some evangelical scenes ( Candlemas , Descent into Hades , Crucifixion , Transfiguration , Healing of the Blind ) and some scenes of Saint Constantine . The side walls depict Saints (full body).

On the west wall we see the Dormition by Ioannis Fokas , and scenes from the Last Judgment . In front of the niche of the sanctuary, Saint Phanourios is represented as a deacon, just like the monastery of Agios Nikolaos in Zaros .