Church of Saint Titus

Byzantine-Venetian-Ottoman church housing the skull of Saint Titus, first Bishop of Crete

The church of Saint Titus on 25 Avgoustou Street has been everything: a Byzantine cathedral, a Venetian church dedicated to the same saint, a mosque under the Ottomans (it was converted after 1669), and finally a Greek Orthodox church again after Crete's union with Greece in 1913. The building retains its high Venetian dome and some details from each period of its life.

The church sits on one of the main pedestrian streets connecting Lions Square to the harbour, making it easy to visit in passing. The interior is simple by Byzantine standards — austere after centuries of conflicting religious use — but the reliquary of Saint Titus and the carved screen are worth a stop. Opening hours are generous; the church is usually open from morning until early evening.

things to do sight
A story
Saint Titus was a companion of Saint Paul who became the first Bishop of Crete in the 1st century AD. His skull — returned to Iraklion from Venice in 1966 after being taken as a trophy when the Venetians fled the Ottoman conquest in 1669 — is now housed in a reliquary in the church. The relic's return was a significant moment in Greek-Italian relations and remains a point of civic pride.