CANDIA (CRETE)
Greek island which, despite its many ancient Hellenic memories, also preserves many Christian historical records dating back to the time of the Apostle St. Paul and his disciple St. Titus. It indeed had numerous bishoprics that were first subject to the metropolitans of Gortyna. After the Arab domination (824-916), upon the return of Byzantine rule, Candia (Herakleion) became the capital city and an ecclesiastical metropolis. The Greek bishoprics remained even under Venetian rule (c. 1210-1269), although their bishops had to reside outside the island; at the same time, a Latin hierarchy was temporarily established with various bishoprics, which however did not gain many indigenous followers. Even the Council of Florence was unsuccessful in Crete. With the fall of Venetian rule in 1669, after the magnificent resistance of Francesco Morosini, the Catholics left the island, as indeed they had begun to do earlier during the long war with the Turks. Only in 1874 was the episcopal see of Crete re-established, with residence in Canea, which today has 3 parishes and 210 Catholics.