Agios Minas is the patron saint of Heraklion. Agios Minas established patron saint of Heraklion during the Ottoman period.

The Turks due to the Christian religion of the Cretans constantly commit massacres against them. At Easter of 1826 the Turks were preparing to massacre the Christians who gathered in the temple on the day of Resurrection. A horseback old army officer appeared and prevented the Turks. The Christians attributed this actuation to a miracle of Saint Minas, who by then not only the residents of Heraklion considered him their patron, but also the Turks feared.

Even though later Agios Minas continued his miracles. During the second world war after bombing of the Germans, the bomb that fell in the temple did not explode. Today outside the church exposed the bomb.

The church of Agios Minas is one of the biggest in Greece and founded on 25 March 1862 at a location indicated by a monk after a vision of Saint Minas. The cathedral was interrupted during the revolution of 1866 and continued in 1883 while completed in 1895.

You can visit the church of Agios Minas through our tours Tour 1 and Tour 3, and discover one of the greatest monuments of the island.