My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 9th of November Our Holy Orthodox Church
commemorates Saint NEKTARIOS THE WONDERWORKER,
Metropolitan of Pentapolis.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. First Tone
THE offspring of Selyvria and the guardian of Aegina, the true friend
of virtue who didst appear in the last years, O Nektarios, we faithful
honor thee as a godly servant of Christ, for thou poorest forth healings
of every kind for those who piously cry out: Glory to Christ Who hath
glorified thee, Glory to Him Who hath made thee wondrous. Glory to
Him Who worketh healings for all through thee.
Kontakion Hymn of Saint Nektarios. Plagal of Fourth Tone
COME, let us all laud Orthodoxy’s newly-shining star and the divine
and newly-builded bulwark of the Church; and in joyfulness of heart,
let us sing his praises. By the working of the Spirit was he glorified,
and doth pour forth the abundant grace of wondrous cures upon
them that cry: Rejoice, O Father Nektarios.
SAINT NEKTARIOS was born in Selyvria of Thrace, Greece, on October 1, 1846. After putting himself through school in Constantinople with much hand labor, he became a monk on the island of Chios in 1876, receiving the Monastic name of Lazaros, because of his virtue, a year later he was ordained Deacon, receiving the new name of Nektarios. Under the personage of Patriarch Sophronios of Alexandria, Nektarios went to Athens to study in 1882, completing his theological studies in 1885, he went to Alexandria, where Patriarch Sophronios ordained him Priest on March 23, 1886, in the Cathedral of Saint Savvas, and in August of the same year, in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo, made him Archimandrite. Archimandrite Nektarios showed much zeal both for preaching the word of God and for the beauty of God’s house. He greatly beautified the Chuch of Saint Nicholas in Cairo, and years later when Nektarios was in Athens, Saint Nicholas appeared to him in a dream, embracing him and telling him he was going to exalt him very high.
On January 15, 1889, in the same church of Saint Nicholas, Nektarios was CONSECRATED METROPOLITAN of the Pentapolis in Eastern Libya, which was under the jurisdiction of Alexandria. Although Nektarios’ swift ascent through the degrees of Ecclesiastical Office did not affect his modesty and childlike innocence, it aroused the envy of lesser men, who convinced the elderly Sophronios that Nektarios had it in his heart to become Patriarch. Since the people loved Nektarios, the Patriarch was troubled by the slanders. On May 3, 1890, Sophronios relieved Metropolitan Nektarios of his duties; in July of the same year, he commanded Nektarios to leave Egypt.
Without seeking to avenge or even to defend himself, the innocent Metropolitan left for Athens, where he found that accusations of immorality had arrived before him. Because his good name had been soiled, he was unable to find a position worthy of a bishop, and in February of 1891 accepted the position of Provincial Pteachere in Evoia: then, in 1894, he was appointed Dean of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School in Athens. Through his eloquent sermons, his unwearying labors to educate fitting men for the Priesthood, his generous almsdeeds despite his own poverty, and in the holiness, meekness, and fatherly love that were manifest in him, he became a shining light and a spiritual guide to many. At the request of certain pious women, in 1904 he began the building of his Women’s Monastery (Convent) of the Holy Trinity on the island of Aegina while yet Dean of Rizarios School; finding later that his presence there was needed, he took up his residence on Aegina in 1908, where he spent the last years of his life, devoting himself to the direction of his Monastery and to very intense prayer; he was sometimes seen lifted above the ground while rapt in prayer. He became the protector of all Aegina, through his prayers delivering the island from drought, healing the sick, and casting out demons. Here also he endured wicked slanders with singular patience, forgiving his false accusers and not seeking to avenge himself. Although he had already worked wonders (miracles) in life, an innumerable multitude of miracles have been wrought after his repose in 1920 through his holy relics, which for many years REMAINED INCORRUPT. There is hardly a malady that was not cured through his prayers, but Saint Nektarios is especially renowned for his healing OF CANCER for sufferers in all parts of the world. [Source: The Great Horologion]
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 