Archdiocese of Naxos, Tinos, Andros and Mykonos

Originally erected as the Diocese of Naxos in the 13th century, the Latin bishopric was promoted to the rank of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Naxos in 1522, after the fall of Rhodes (Ottoman conquest), when the Archiepiscopal see for its Knights Hospitallers' crusader state was in fact moved from there. In 1538, Naxos (along with the islands of Andros, Paros, and Santorini) fell to the Ottoman naval commander Hayreddin Barbarossa. In response, Pope Paul III assembled a ’’Holy League’’, comprising the Papacy, Spain, the Republic of Genoa, the Republic of Venice and the Knights of Malta, to confront Barbarossa but were defeated at the Battle of Preveza. On June 3, 1919, the Archdiocese of Naxos was united with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tinos and Mykonos (which in 1824 had absorbed the suppressed Roman Catholic Diocese of Andros, without adopting its title) to form the present Archdiocese of Naxos, Tinos, Andros and Mykonos, whose new name also includes Andros. In 1964, the parish charitable funds and the various Catholic associations and brotherhoods of the diocese were brought together in a single organisation, as an attempt to unify the efforts. This organisation had the name To spíti tou ftochoú (Το σπίτι του φτωχού; "The Poor Man's House") and helped families through donations and loans, promoting education, and supporting the disabled, widows, and orphans. It was renamed Caritas Naxos-Tinos (Κάριτας Νάξου – Τήνου) in the 1980s and expanded its goals, and became a member of Caritas Hellas in 1981. In 1994, it was registered as an NGO. Caritas Naxos-Tinos is the official social arm of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naxos, Tinos, Andros and Mykonos. == Province ==