Arsani Monastery is near Sfakaki. 11 Kilometers east of Rethymnon in a location with panoramic views to the Cretan archipelago. The church of the monastery is dedicated to Saint George and its architecture is a cruciform basilica with a dome. At the monastery there is a museum and a conference center.
History
The name of the monastery is likely due to a monk named Arsenius. According to another point of view the name comes from a woman called Arsinoe who spent all her fortune to build the monastery or from the Cape Arsinoo.
During the last years of Turskish occupation, the Turks imprisoned there the abbot of the Arsani Monastery, Gabriel Klados. In 1897 the said abbot was killed in a battle against the Turks, who decapitate him and used his head as a target. The monastery was used by the resistance during the German occupation. Today the monastery’s museum displays numerous books, vestments and religious items.