Post-Byzantine Church of Saint Basil

The post-Byzantine church of Agios Vasileios dominates the center of the ruined old village of Agios Efstratios and is among the island’s oldest surviving monuments, listed as a historic building since 2000. It was built in 1727 with local stone, as stated by the embedded inscription on the west façade. It is a contracted cross-in-square church with a dome, without an apse at the sanctuary, with a double-pitched slate roof and a dome covered with tiles. It has two entrances, west and south, and inside it is single-aisled with an inner narthex. Its carved wooden iconostasis, simple yet important, dates to its construction and hosts notable icons, including of the Theotokos, Christ and St Basil. Excavations uncovered ceramics and liturgical vessels, bronze coins and water jars embedded in the walls for acoustic enhancement. The finds date from the 18th to the 20th century, illuminating the monument’s history and use.