The church was founded in the second Byzantine period, and was a centre of intellectual and artistic activity from the 15^th to the 17^th century.

St. Catherine''s now serves as an exhibition venue owned by the Archdiocese of Crete. It houses works representative of the Cretan Renaissance, the most outstanding of which are portable icons by Michail Damaskinos

The displays also include collections of altar furnishings, books, vestments and detached murals.