Holy Church of Saint Nicholas and the Life-Giving Spring (Skepasti)
Holy Church of Saint Nicholas and the Life-Giving Spring (Skepasti)
It is a two-aisled church, which is the central church of the village with a very long history, built in the 16th century by the hieromonk Nikodimos, after the return of the priest who was held captive by pirates for 28 years. The only information about the monastic past of the two-aisled church of the Theotokos in Skepasti, Mylopotamos is the inscription found on its south wall: 1592 MARCH 3’ THE HOLY CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS WAS BUILT BY THE EXIT OF NIKODIMOS IEPOMONA XOY TOY TAPMAPO FROM ‘KAME THE PRESBYTERIAN RISA OF THE SLAVE TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS AND CAME: AH EASTER CHRISTIAN From this we derive information about the legend associated with the church. There are also indications in it about the perhaps monastic past of the church (of Hieromonk Nicodemus) but it is also a living testimony to the activity of pirates in Venetian-occupied Crete and the trade or enslavement of Cretans who were preyed upon by the greedy and often bloodthirsty corsairs. However, it was common at that time for hieromonks who founded churches to live in them. It is possible that the behavior of Hieromonk Nicodemus was similar, after the kidnapping of his wife. Moreover, in the 16th century, political freedoms had been granted to the Cretans by the Venetians for mainly political reasons, while some areas, such as Mylopotamos, due to their strategic importance, were more favored and fortified, ensuring centers of defense against pirates and the Turks. The small monasteries served the Venetians' defensive strategy during this period. However, frequent looting destroyed the smaller monasteries and created the bases for the large monasteries of the region that were the result of mergers. The legend of the priestess (presbyter) who was kidnapped by pirates, enslaved and sold to a Turkish aga is impressive: St. Spanakis in “Cities and Villages” describes the kidnapping of the priestess in a short and vivid way: “Once the corsairs enslaved the beautiful priestess of the village along with other girls, and sold her to an aga in Smyrna. The priest, looking to find her by begging, went to Smyrna and knocked on the aga’s door. The priestess recognized him. He took a large loaf of bread, tore it open and filled it with coins. Between them he placed a note that read: Go to Skepasti, the covered one build a church as a witness for the one in hell. When the priest opened the bread and saw the writing and the coins, he understood and went back to the bey’s house. However, he did not manage to see the priestess again and left. The Bey, seeing the priestess sighing one day, asked her what was wrong. She replied: Today is the feast of the Cross, the feast of Saint Nikitas which is being held in my house at a great festival, The Turk replied to the priestess’s lament: May the Cross have glory and Saint Nikitas have grace may you find yourself in your home with whatever you carry in your hand. He was holding a golden basin and was leaning over it to wash. The priestess immediately disappeared from his sight. In reality, it seems that he released her and returned to Skepasti. ” (St. Spanaki, “Cities and Villages of Crete”, volume B’, pp. 719-720.)
