The temple of Palaiokipos is one of the most beautiful three-aisled basilicas of the lesvian type that adorn the communities of the island. It is alleged that there was an earlier church in the place where the current one is located, because otherwise the number of architectural members that have been built into the current church cannot be explained. Under the floor of the southern aisle there is an arched arch (catacomb), which in the past was a chapel named after St. John and later it was used as an ossuary, since the narthex of the church functioned as a burial place until the end of the 19th century.
The founding inscription does not refer to reconstruction or renovation, but it states that the church was built from the ground up in 1795, without this excluding the existence of an earlier church. The masonry of the building is very elaborate, especially the three arches of the sacred step and the narthex, which have been built with beautiful carved stones of a golden color according to the isodome system and the walls have been grouted according to the lesvian “Sardella” system. The floor of the temple is marbled from white and gray marble. The high priest’s throne and parathrone rest on fine marble pedestals. The three aisles of the church are separated by a series of tall columns, which are decorated with fine plaster capitals in the Corinthian style.
Although its wood-carved iconostasis does not come from the old era (17th & 18th centuries), it can be characterized as one of the most beautiful of its time. It preserves the old tradition of ecclesiastical craftsmanship and the structural arrangement and structure of the old icons. Its construction must be placed between the years 1832-1841, according to the dates found in relief images on it. In the same style as the iconostasis, other wood-carved vessels of incomparable beauty are kept in the temple, i.e. high-priestly throne, lanterns, pulpit, bread basket, epitaph canopy, as well as many images dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
The exterior of the church is also adorned by a very beautiful and imposing bell tower 17 meters high, built in 1900 by the well-known practical architect Petros Vecchio.
