The Arkadi Monastery is located in the Rethymno regional unit, 25 km southeast of Rethymno.
The Monastery is situated on a rectangular plateau on the northwest side of Mount Ida (Crete), at an altitude of 500 m.
The Arkadian region is fertile and has vineyards, olive groves and pine, oak and cypress forests. The plateau on which the monastery rests is surrounded by hills.
The west side of the plateau stops abruptly and falls off into gorges. The gorges start at Tabakaria and lead to Stavromenos, to the east of Rethymno. The Arkadian gorges have a rich diversity of plants and native wildflowers.
Even though the Sacred Monastery of Arkadi has its geographic coordinates in Crete, it does not belong to Crete alone.
It belongs to the whole Greece, Europe, the five continents – it belongs to the whole world.
It is one of the Orthodox monasteries that accentuate the catholic and ecumenical character of the Church.
Each year the monastery welcomes and hosts visitors and pilgrims coming here from various countries and faraway civilizations. I
t is the point where a variety of languages, cultures, and traditions come together, a meeting point for history and diversity.
Nothing diminishes the unity of faith, the catholic character of the Orthodox spirit, the Ecumenical nature of ecclesiastic testimony.
A worth visiting during your next holiday in lovely Crete!
PS. image by Yiannis Pagkalos (many thanks)
