The  Monastery of  Preveli

The Monastery of Preveli is situated high up on the south coast of Crete, and dates from the 17th Century. 

It was long a source of Cretan resistance to the Turkish occupation, and this spirit of resistance continued during the German occupation from 1941 to 1945. The courage of the Abbot and the monks enabled many British and commonwealth soldiers to escape capture, whilst awaiting rescue by British warships. 

This act of heroism resulted in the Monastery being robbed of its treasures, the most important being the gold, jewelled cross donated in the 18th century by a former abbot, Ephraim Prevelis. This cross is reputed to contain a splinter of the cross of Jesus, and is believed to heal eye disorders, and is even said to have given the blind their sight.   

There are many tales concerning the powers of this miraculous cross; however none can be more extraordinary than the events following the looting of the Monastery in 1941 of its famous cross.  The Germans wanted to fly the cross to Germany, and placed it on an aircraft. However, the engines, which had previously been in perfect working order, failed.  Three times the Germans attempted this, but on each occasion the engines of the aircraft failed.  In the end, the Germans did not merely give up, they actually returned the cross to the Monastery of Preveli, where it belonged.

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