To form a comprehensive picture of Venizelos' relations with the church, we must begin our investigation of the subject in his birthplace, Crete, for his view of the church was shaped by his personal experience of the stance and activities of the Orthodox Church in Crete. The Church of Crete naturally played its part in the crisis in relations between Venizelos and Prince George, high commissioner of Crete, and in the division that followed - a reflection in miniature of the future breach between Venizelos and King Constantine.

In Crete, the demographic situation was clearer than in other regions of the Ottoman Empire. The more numerous Christians (about 202,000) and the minority Muslim community (about 72,000 according to the 1891 census) became involved in armed clashes during the nineteenth century, a phenomenon rare in other parts of the Ottoman Empire. After the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1669, the cultural identity of the Orthodox population had been preserved by the Church of Crete, acting under the jurisdiction of the patriarchate of Constantinople. It is no exaggeration to claim that the Church of Crete played a role of decisive importance in the shaping of events in Crete under Ottoman rule.

It was against this historical and geographical background that Venizelos defined his relationship with the church and clarified his attitude to it through his collaboration with members of the hierarchy. The church's activity in Crete was to define for Venizelos a policy to which he later steadfastly adhered. The Venizelist faction that emerged in the bosom of the church included eminent prelates with whom Venizelos had closely collaborated.