The catacombs are located near the village of Tripiti, in caves 150 meters above sea level.
In 2009 the Holy Synod declared Milos a sacred island, as the Catacombs are the oldest monument of Christianity. It was the first gathering place of the first Christians and the first community cemetery at the end of the 2nd AD. century. The Catacombs of Milos are unique in size throughout Greece and one of the most famous and remarkable Christian monuments in the world.
This labyrinthine complex consists of three large underground galleries (A, B, C) carved into the porous volcanic rock, five corridors and a rectangular funerary chamber in the shape of the cubicula of the Catacombs of Rome. Each catacomb has a different width and different height. Its total length is 185 meters and today 126 “arcosolia” (carved arched tombs) are preserved on the walls of the galleries.
The current form of the catacombs is due to some interventions of the 20th century. Today you can just visit gallery B, the Catacomb of the “Elders” as it is called and do it around on a wooden platform. On the right side of this catacomb is preserved the only two-storey tomb of the Catacombs and fragments of the most important inscription written in capital red letters in a rectangular frame. In the center is a rock, where one of the first bishops of the Christian community of Milos was probably buried and the first Christians used it as a Holy Table in their services.