Saint Savas Church at Ellinoperamata

The currently deserted monastery of Saint Savas (Agios Savvas) is located at a degraded location of Heraklion bay, next to the cement and fuel industries at Ellinoperamata , very close to the monastery of Pantanassa and not too far from the sea. The temple was built in the 10th century by Nicephorus Phocas and a prosperous monastery soon was established around it.

According to tradition it hosted 300 monks who were slaughtered by the Arabs on a raid and the monastery was then abandoned. The monks of Saint Savas who escaped the horrific massacre probably moved to a more protected area and founded the current monastery of Savvatiana .

The church was totally destroyed until 2002, when it was restored by the family Kefalogiannis . The interior of the temple hosts an old photograph showing the condition of the temple before its restoration and it is clear that it was for years without a roof and exposed to the weather conditions.

This was the reason why the original frescoes that adorned the temple were almost completely destroyed and only a few specimens survive. The stone-built church has undergone exemplary restoration and is now an ornament for the wider area.

Pines were planted in its yard and a wooden roof was installed. The church of Agios Savvas in Ellinoparamata celebrates on December 5.