Panaghia in the village of Roustica

This two - aisled church dedicated to the Holy Virgin and Christ the Saviour is situated at the place of Livadi in the village of Roustica, 21 km from Rethymno. The belfry shows the inscription of the year 1627.

The monastery had become the centre of the rebels against the turks and this is why it was destroyed by them in 1821.

The contribution of the Holy Monastery of Prophitis Ilias to the cultural education of the people of Rethymno was immense. It is said that during the Ottoman rule an unofficial school operated in the monastery, in which the young pupils of the surrounding villages received the basic education. In 1808 the Monastery was praised by the Patriarchate for its great financial contribution for the schools of the region of Rethymno.

In the time of the egyptian rule the authorities allowed the foundation of many greek schools. An important contribution to the expenditures for the financing of the schools was made by the local monasteris, including the Monastery of Prophitis Ilias, as it is also concluded from a relevant document of 1836. In 1864 the Monastery paid a considerable amount of money for the building of a girls\' school in Rethymno.

Moreover, the Holy Monastery of Roustika helped many young men who loved learning to continue their studies and made them scholars, monks and abbots, many of whom also became brave fighters.