My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND SHALL ALWAYS BE.
THE CONTINUED PERSECUTION OF SAINT NEKTARIOS
BY HIS UNGODLY PEERS
The meek, guileless, and humble holy father, without murmuring or speaking any word of reproof against his persecutors, much rather prayed for them. When he came out of Egypt, he was penniless, since whatever money he had sent either to the poor or toward his expenditures for printing religious writings. Indeed, many were making the following remark: "With regard to the Metropolitan of Pentapolis and money, they are opposites." Though he lacked even pocket change to buy bread, he asked n one for assistance and hoped only for Divine intervention.
Saint Nektarios arrived in Athens in 1889 with the intention of going on to Mount Athos soas to lead the Monastic life, although many were pressing him to stay in Greece, especially the ever-memorable Bishop of Patras, for he knew the righteous man’s holy life and his divinely inspired preaching.
Although the Saint had no money for his daily bread, he would not ask for charity, but continued his evangelic life, living on little and in poverty. For one year he sought work, but he found no understanding or assistance. This also was to prove the Saint’s mentle, so that he might shine forth more radiantly before God, for in all his afflictions, the holy man knew how to be humbled and to hunger and to suffer want, having been fully initiated in how both to abound and to lack, for he could do all things in Christ, the One Who empowered him (Philippians 4:12-13). In the meantime, his rent was overdue, and he often went without food. His widowed landlady, Mrs. Andromache, discerned this and would often feed him and not press him for the rent, for which the hierarch was grateful. The holy man kept visiting every politician, parliamentarian, and anyone else who might have had influence to secure a position. Archbishop Germanos allowed him to serve some Liturgies, but the position was not permanent.
Saint Nektarios after an entire year without a position and work became a preacher in Evia on the 15th of February, 1891, that is, after the appointment had been approved by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. The good and faithful steward Nektarios began his expert cultivation in the vineyard of Christ, on the island of Evia. However, the slander spread against him reached the island and when he began to preach, hecklers began jeering, and someone shouted, "Down with you, two-faced one! Down with you, O Pharisee!" He retired to the sanctuary and then went to his apartment and kept weeping. The holy Nektarios was the victim of false witnesses, word spread quickly in Evia that the clerics of the Alexandrian Patriarchate were responsible for the abominable treatment of the holy man. This news circulated so speedily that, by that third Sunday, the Cathedral was packed to capacity. The faithful listened quietly to every word. Finally, the crowd erupted in applause and shouts of ovation. "Axios!" He is worthy!" In the meantime, many people were coming to him with their problems. He took the time to resolve their problems and comfort them, as a father and brothers, to one and all alike.
On the 19th of August, he was transferred to the Prefecture of Phtiotis and Phokis, where he preached until 1894. Then, in the spring, he received news that he had been appointed Dean of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School, established in 1844, for the training of men for the Priesthood. When he was met by the ten-member governing committee, they beheld a man entering his 48th year, of average height, with a serene and pleasant countenance, bright blue eyes, and a beard beginning to turn grey. In the assembly hall, when he first was introduced to his students, he expressed his joy at being with them. He said,
"My children, in each one of you exists a future priest, an important element of the history and future life of our suffering country. Be proud to wear your cassocks. The vocation is not merely a joy, but also a mission which begins on earth and continues into heaven. Be proud of your Orthodox Faith. Orthodoxy is our treasure, our priceless pearl, if you will. Orthodoxy is also our light that guides us. If we were ever to lose this treasure, then we would be scattered to the ends of the earth like dust, ceasing to exist as a people and as a nation… Let us create a blessed brotherhood. I promise that I will always stand by your side as a spiritual father… Also, I noticed that most of you are beardless. Be not swayed by the Europeans. We Greek Orthodox have our own traditions, dating back to the Holy Apostles and early Christian Fathers. I ask that you follow their examples. Do it for the struggles and hardships they endured."
When the holy man first entered the school, it was no easy task. The school was in turmoil regarding its direction, curriculum, and discipline. Furthermore, there were different attitudes, because some of the trustees wished to promote reforming the school to accommodate the modern world. The Saint, being a man of God with the kind of character that he possessed, put things in order with his peaceful and loving manner. In time the students developed a deep respect for him, and a profound honor and love grew in them for their ascetical Dean, whom they revered as a loving father.
It happened once the custodians were fighting in the schoolyard, so that it came to a fistfight. The Saint went out to them in the cold weather and asked in a calm voice what was the matter. The senior custodian said that he woke up at night and found the lavatories uncleaned. "Why is it that neither of you has taken up this duty? It is ;your duty after all. Well, never mind. I shall personally take on the cleaning of the toilets. What else is there to do? Shall I stand by and see you fired?" "What" cried the janitors. "I will undertake the work myself," repeated the holy man. "Your Eminence, what are you saying?" "I have preached," continued the holy Nektarios, "that no task is beneath a person. The more lowly the job, the more exalted does he become in the eyes of the Lord. If you please, reconcile with one another. I ask that the younger apologize to the older. As a result of this incident, the young janitor daily worked at leaving the toilets spotless.
Some young women approached the Saint, and one of them, Chyrsanthe, was blind. The Saint was most impressed with her guilelessness and gifts of the Spirit. It was the women’s desire to become nuns. He prayed for them and begged God to help him found a Women’s Monastery near Athens. The young women found a place on the island of Aegina not far from the Port of Piraeus by ferry boat. There already was an old deserted Monastery in ruin, dedicated to the Life-Giving Spring. A certain medical doctor, one Peppas, offered to assist the young women and donated the land. He was also the governor of the island and long had the pious desire to see the Monastery flourish again.
In the meantime, some felt that the Saint was spending too much time with these young women. The holy man wondered if his providing for them and protecting them might be taken out of context. The old monastery, on the northern part of a hill, used to belong under the jurisdiction of the holy Archbishop Dionysios of Zakynthos. In the meantime, his health was deteriorating. Saint Nektarios first visited Aegina in the summer of 1904. The whole island was moved to meet him. The priest also went to greet him. Saint Nektarios healed a young boy while at the island who was possessed by a demon. Saint Nektarios spent the night at an inn. As he prepared to leave for Xantos, a woman who had been hemorrhaging for six years knelt to kiss his rason. Saint Nektarios blessed her, and she sensed that her flow of blood had been stopped. She then gave glory to the Virgin Theotokos. All the people were astonished. When he viewed the aspect of the future Monastery, he was well pleased. However, at 58 years of age, he was concerned about the welfare and guidance of these young women who put their trust in him. {Resources: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]
(To be continued)
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 