November 9/22 we rememberSaint Nectarios Aeginsky, a modern ascetic and miracle worker. His life is amazing: the Lord showed care for His saint in a visible and tangible way.
Saint Nektarios (in the world Anastasios Kefalas) was born into a poor, large family in the village of Silivria in Thrace, not far from Constantinople. During his lifetime, he endured many sorrows, he had to face envy, hatred, slander, and to know that truly everywhere and at all times "those who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
The saint acquired the gifts of the Holy Spirit: unceasing prayer and spiritual reasoning, healing, insight and prophecy. When he served the Divine Liturgy, being in a state of prayer, his face radiated a light that was visible to those around him.
Saint Nektarios of Aegina was a man of exceptional kindness and gave away everything he had. When he did not have money to distribute alms, he gave his clothes and shoes to those in need. Once, during the service of the Liturgy in one of the Athenian temples, some poor priest entered the altar. His cassock was shabby, all in patches. The saint gave him his only cassock.
Every time the saint gave away everything he had, and his purse became empty, he went to the temple and, holding out before the icon of the Savior or Mother of God hand, said: “You see, Christ God, there is no money ... But You know ...” And the Lord sent him His blessing.
When St. Nektarios was director of a theological school in the center of Athens, the school janitor suddenly fell seriously ill. He was very afraid of losing his job. Still not fully recovered from his illness, the janitor went to school as soon as possible and found her in perfect order. Deciding that another person had already been taken in his place, the poor man was terribly upset. His wife, also very upset, advised him to go to work early in the morning and try to talk to the new manager. The janitor came to the school at 5 o'clock in the morning and saw his "deputy": it turned out to be the saint himself. He swept the restroom, while saying: "Sweep, Nectarius, this is the only thing you are worthy to do." The saint said to the patient: “Do not be afraid, I am not encroaching on your place, on the contrary, I am doing everything to keep it for you until your final recovery ... But be careful: while I live in this world, no one should know that you've seen".
In the monastery he founded on Aegina, Saint Nektarios was engaged in physical labor, sometimes very hard. He himself dug the beds and looked after the garden, carried water for irrigation, dragged huge stones to build cells, and even repaired and made shoes.
The glory of Orthodoxy is the saints of God, like new stars flashing in the sky of Christ's Church. Russia has shone in recent times with thousands of new martyrs and confessors, and more and more our believers know the names of these righteous men of God who stood for the Truth.
However, we must not forget that we believe in the Universal Church, that there are no national differences in Christ, and that saints appear in other countries as well. Glorifying God the Marvelous in His saints, I would like to tell about the holy saint who shone in Greece and recently became famous in our Fatherland. This is St. Nektarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis of Aegina wonderworker.
Saint Nektarios of Aegina, a saint glorified by the Greek Church, lived at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Several of his biographies have been published in Russia, but you cannot call him widely known. In Greece, he is revered everywhere as a famous miracle worker. Many temples and chapels are dedicated to him. Through the prayers of the saint, people receive help and healing, and in particular he helps those suffering from oncological diseases.
Rejoice, young eagle, having clever prayers!
The future saint was born into a family of pious parents in 1846 in Thracian Selivria, not far from Constantinople, in Baptism he was named Anastasius. As a true chosen one of God, the boy from childhood fell in love with the temple, the Holy Scriptures, and learned to pray. The poverty of his parents did not allow him to study at home, and at the age of 14 he left for Constantinople to go to work and pay for his studies.
Life in the big city was not easy. The boy got a job at a tobacco factory, but there were not enough funds, and one day, in despair, realizing that there was no one to wait for help, Anastasy decided to ask the One whom he loved so much and whose help he relied on all his life. He wrote a letter to the Lord: “My Christ, I have no apron, no shoes. I ask You to send them to me, You know how much I love You.” On the envelope he wrote the address: “To the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven” and asked him to take the letter to the post office of his neighbor merchant. He, surprised by the unusual signature on the envelope, opened the letter and, seeing such a request and the power of faith, sent money to the boy on behalf of God. So providentially the Lord did not leave his chosen one.
Years passed, but the temptations of the big city did not touch the young boy. As before, he devoted all his free time to prayer and the study of the holy fathers. His dream was to preach the word of God. Of this time, one case is remarkable. One day the future saint went home for a feast. The ship he was on was caught in a storm. All the passengers in horror began to grumble at God. Anastassy, grasping the sagging sails, cried out from the bottom of his heart: “My God, save me. I will teach theology to silence those who blaspheme Your Holy Name.” Suddenly the storm stopped and the ship made it safely to shore.
Rejoice, good soldier of Jesus Christ...
At the age of 22, Anastasy moved to about. Chios began to work as a school teacher, here he not only teaches, but also preaches. Morality in the village and school was at its lowest level at the beginning of his teaching and gradually rose to the proper level thanks to the work of Anastasia the teacher.
His influence on his students was such that they, and through them all the adults, were soon imbued with love and deep respect for him. He created an excellent choir from his students and sang with them in the village church, but his soul was drawn to monasticism. Anastasios visited Athos and talked with the elders, and eventually went to the monastery, where he received the tonsure and the rank of deacon with the name Nectarios, which is now known in many countries.
With all his heart disposed towards monastic life, the young man often visits the monastery of Neo Moni. In it, he takes monastic vows with the name Lazarus, and after three years spent there, he is honored with tonsure in the mantle and ordination to the deacon with the new name Nectarios. Nectarios means immortal. This name suited him perfectly, for truly the Nectar of Life flowed in his soul, and from him, like a stream, a fragrant stream flowed, filling everyone and everything with joy.
Having received the opportunity to continue his education, Nectarios graduated from the theological faculty in Athens, and at the same time he was brought closer to himself by Patriarch Saphrony of Alexandria. At the age of forty, the Patriarch ordained Nectarios to the priesthood. With zeal and selflessness, he accepted a new obedience and appointment to St. Nicholas Church in Cairo. A few years later, in this church, he was consecrated Bishop of Pentapolis. The episcopal dignity did not change the way of life and behavior of Nectarios in any way. He still sought only to acquire humility. “Sign does not exalt its owner, only virtue has the power of exaltation,” he wrote during these years.
In one of the letters of that time, the Saint tells about a remarkable dream in which Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker appeared to him. It should be added that at that time Nectarios was restoring a temple in Cairo in honor of this great saint. In a dream, Nectarios saw the tomb of Nicholas the Wonderworker, and in it the Pleasant of God himself, alive, as if sleeping. Then Nicholas the Wonderworker got up from the shrine and, smiling affectionately, asked Nektarios to decorate his throne in the temple with gold, and then hugged him and kissed him. This kiss of the great Bishop Nicholas, apparently, had the meaning of a special favor to St. Nektarios and, perhaps, symbolized the succession of the gift and the kinship of souls in Christ.
Rejoice, persecuted for the sake of truth ...
The rapid rise, the love of the Patriarch and the people, and the even more virtuous and pure life of the saint aroused envy and hatred in many. As the saint himself said about this: “A virtuous person is subject to temptations and trials in this world,” but in the depths of his heart he rejoices, for his conscience is calm. The world hates and despises virtuous people, at the same time, however, envying them, for our ancestors said: the enemy himself also admires virtue.
It can be added to what has been said that he not only admires, but also takes revenge. Influential people of the patriarchal court feared that universal love for the saint would lead him to the number of contenders for the position of His Holiness Patriarch of Alexandria, since Saphrony was already in advanced years. They slandered the saint, accusing him not only of encroaching on the patriarchate, but also of immoral life. The Metropolitan of Pentapolis was dismissed and had to leave the Egyptian land. He didn't try to justify or defend himself. “A good conscience is the greatest of all blessings. It is the price of peace of mind and peace of mind,” the saint said in his sermons, leaving his pulpit forever. A hostile mood followed him like a shadow in Athens, where he moved. In vain he went to the authorities, they did not want to accept him anywhere. By the grace of God, the bishop, dragging out a miserable existence, was deprived not only of consolation, but sometimes of his daily bread. But the Lord rewarded him for his patience.
Once, having once again accepted a refusal from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the saint descended the ministerial stairs with tears in his eyes. Seeing him in this state, the mayor of the city spoke to him. Having learned about the plight in which Nectarios was, the mayor secured a position for him as a preacher. The glorious Metropolitan of Pentapolis took the place of a simple preacher in the province of Euboea, but even here he was met with hostility, believing slanderous rumors. Every Sunday, Vladyka Nektary ascended to the pulpit to preach the Word of God, to comfort and admonish, meeting distrust and silent condemnation of those who listened. Desperate to reach their hearts, he decided, “One last time, I will rise to preach, and if they don’t hear me, I will leave.” And again the Lord, out of His love, performed a miracle. In one week, the news spread around the city that what the townspeople had previously believed about the saint was false. The next Sunday his sermon was received with enthusiasm.
The love of the people accompanied Nectarios. But until the end of his life, he had to bear the cross of exile and the name of the disgraced metropolitan, who did not belong to any autocephalous Church. For some time, he had the hope of changing this situation, when the throne in Alexandria was taken by the new Patriarch Photius. The saint addressed him with a letter about reconsidering the case and recognizing his bishopric. But hopes were in vain. The new Patriarch did not even answer his request. Until the end of his days, the Metropolitan of Pentapolis was forced to be in an incomprehensible canonical position, signing all his papers as a “traveling bishop.”
Rejoice, for thou hast become a prisoner of the love of God. Rejoice, for thou hast captivated thy children with love...
Gradually, the darkness of slander receded from the name of the disgraced saint. People, seeing his pure and virtuous life, listening to inspired sermons, aspired to him. The glory of the Metropolitan of Pentapolis from the province soon reached the capital and the Greek royal palace. Queen Olga, having met him, soon became his spiritual daughter. Thanks to her, he is appointed director of the Rizari theological school in Athens. It trained clergy and secular church personnel. During the reign of the saint, the school experienced years of growth. With inexhaustible love and patience, Nectarius treated his wards. There are cases when, for the fault of his students, he imposed a strict fast on himself.
By this time, his spiritual children began to gather around Nectarios, many go to him for advice and blessings. At the same time, the Gifts of God's grace begin to appear in the elder-priest: clairvoyance, the gift of healing. When he served the Divine Liturgy, being in a state of prayer, his face radiated a light that was visible to those around him. But as before, his main ornament was true humility. When another bishop came to the school church to concelebrate with him, he never occupied the main seat, even if it was his by right of seniority. He always stood to the right of the throne, dressed only in a small omophorion, and instead of a miter, he wore a black monastic hood.
One day, a cleaning worker at the school fell ill and was very worried that he would be fired from his job. A few weeks later, when he returned, he found that someone had been doing his job all this time. Very surprised, he decided to find out who this merciful benefactor was. Arriving at school early in the morning, he was amazed to see his “substitute.” It was the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, director of the theological school, Vladyka Nektary. When he finished sweeping the restroom, he said, “Don't be surprised, I'm not going to take your place, I just want to help you keep this job. While you are sick, I will work for you. Just don't talk about it at school."
Rejoice, innocent shepherd of innocent sheep, rejoice, wise collector of virgin pearls!
Among the numerous spiritual children, several girls gathered near Vladyka, who wanted to devote themselves to monastic life, but did not dare to go to any monastery, so as not to lose the spiritual guidance of their mentor.
As a good shepherd, taking care of them, Nectarios began to look for a suitable place and stops his search on Fr. Aegina. Having found the ruins of an ancient monastery here, he buys this land at his own expense. Here come the first inhabitants.
In his monastery, the Saint, by the revelation of God, introduced the institution of deaconesses, which had long disappeared from the practice of the Orthodox Church. But, we repeat, it was done by him by revelation.
Towards the end of his life, another blow fell upon the Saint. 18-year-old Maria Kuda came to the monastery, having run away from the despotic candle-mother. Saint Nektarios accepted her into the monastery. Then the girl's mother filed a complaint against the saint, accusing him of seducing the girls and killing the babies they supposedly give birth to. The investigator, who arrived at the monastery, called the saint a centaur and dragged the elder by the beard, and he humbly answered him and himself prepared food for the offender, forbidding the nuns to cry and grumble. The girl was examined by a doctor and confirmed her cleanliness; “Killed” babies, too, of course, were not found. After that, the girl's mother went crazy, and the investigator fell seriously ill and came to ask for forgiveness from the saint.
The saint predicted to his novices that their monastery would be rich if they worked hard (what kind of wealth did the saint speak about? Probably, first of all, about the spiritual, although now the monastery is not poor financially either).
Once, while walking with a novice in nature, the Saint asked her: “Do you want to see your Guardian Angel?” The novice, of course, expressed a great desire. “Here he is in front of you,” the saint replied. And then the girl fell unconscious, unable to bear what she saw. The saint later regretted what had happened, saying that the girl was not yet ready.
On another occasion, the sisters of the monastery asked the Saint to explain to them how to understand the words “every breath praises the Lord,” and how nature glorifies the Creator. The saint did not answer this, only the next evening he said to the sisters: “Have you asked me about how nature glorifies the Lord? Here, listen for yourself.” Through the prayers of the Saint, the sisters heard something that cannot be explained to us.
The whole life of the new monastery passed under the guidance of St. Nektarios, with whom the sisters kept in constant correspondence. What paternal love, care and tenderness are filled with his letters. For some time the saint simultaneously supervised the school, staying in Athens, and his newly built monastery, but the Lord ordered that Vladyka retire from the school and permanently move to Aegina. He spent the last twelve years of his life with his nuns, raising them for the Kingdom of Heaven. They had to endure many sorrows and temptations, but these were also years of grace. During this time, the monastery was put in order, the economy was adjusted. Every day St. Nektarios held classes with the sisters on dogmatics, ethics, asceticism, and in the evenings they gathered around and listened to stories about the inscrutable mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Nobody noticed how time passed. “It’s already late,” the saint sometimes said. “Let’s go to the temple for prayer.” And after the end of the service, he added: “What if you read a few prayers to the Mother of God?” Time continued to run, and the morning crowing of the roosters found the entire community in the temple during prayer.
Rejoice, dead and alive, rejoice, earthly and heavenly!
The years of the saint's earthly life meanwhile were drawing to a close. Feeling this, he prayed that the Lord would extend the measured period for completing all the affairs in the monastery, but, like all his life, he humbly added: “Thy Will be done!”
The long-hidden disease finally took its toll. Accompanied by two nuns, he was sent to the hospital. Looking at the little old man, dressed in a cassock, who was suffering from terrible pain, the officer on duty asked: “Is he a monk?” “No,” the nun replied, “he is a bishop.” “For the first time I see a bishop without a panagia, a golden cross, and, most importantly, without money,” the official remarked.
The saint was placed in a third-rate ward for incurable patients. He spent two more months in agony. On the day of the celebration of the Archangel of God Michael and all Heavenly Forces The Lord called to himself the soul of Saint Nectarios.
He did not stay long in the hospital, he turned out to have cancer. Miracles also happened in the hospital, the nurses noticed that the bandages with which they tied the wounds of the Saint were fragrant. Together with the saint, a paralyzed man lay in the ward, and when the saint's soul left this world, he received complete healing through the shirt of Saint Nectarios.
Immediately after his death, the body of the saint began to stream myrrh. When the coffin was brought to Aegina, the whole island came out to see off their saint with tears. People carried the coffin of the saint in their arms and then noticed that the clothes they were wearing during the funeral of the saint were fragrant. The hands and face of the saint of God abundantly streamed myrrh, and the nuns collected myrrh wool.
Saint Nektarios was buried in the crypt of the monastery, several times the crypt was opened for various reasons, and each time they were convinced that the body was incorruptible. Even the violets placed in the coffin by the girl were not touched by smoldering.
The righteous death of the saint followed on November 9, st. Art. 1920. In 1961, the saint was canonized, and his holy relics were raised. It turned out that only the bones remained. As confessors said, the relics decayed so that they could be carried around the world for a blessing from St. Nectarios.
The veneration of the holy saint in the Churches of the East (Constantinople, Hellas, Jerusalem, etc.) is comparable to the veneration in Russia of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Unfortunately, the name of this saint has not yet been included in the calendar of our Church, and so far there is no service for him. There is an akathist to Saint Nectarius in Russian. Until recently, this akathist was served in Moscow, in the Church of All Saints in Krasnoye Selo (rector Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov). In the same temple there was an icon of the Saint, which, as they said, streamed myrrh, and several healings took place. At present, for some reason, the akathist is not performed in this temple, but there you can buy icons and an akathist to St. Nectarios. The Saint became especially famous for his gracious help to oncological (cancer) patients suffering from paralysis and other serious illnesses, possessed by demons. It is also known that Saint Nektarios helps people in financial difficulties.
With the blessing of His Grace Filaret, Bishop of Penza and Kuznetsk, on the day of memory of St. Nektarios on November 22 (9), 2002, a solemn service was celebrated in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in the village of Staraya Stepanovka, Luninsky District, Penza Region, pilgrims arrived from Penza and districts of the region. After the service, a letter was drawn up to His Eminence Juvenaly, Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints, with a request to include the name of St. Nektarios in the calendar of our Russian Church.
In the Ascension Church there is an icon of the saint and an akathist is performed with the consecration of oil. Akathist is performed on Sunday evenings.
Let us also resort to the help of this marvelous saint, thanks to the Lord, with the words of the troparion dedicated to St. Nectarios: Glory to Christ who glorified you, glory to God who gave you miracles of grace, glory to the healing of all who act by you.
According to the book of the biography of the archimandrite
Ambrose (Fontrier).
The material was prepared by Victoria Mekhanikova.
Miracles of St. Nektarios
Countless miracles performed by St. Nectarios and not ceasing from the moment of his assumption. For only listing them, we would not have enough time or paper. And yet we will talk about a few of them - from among the old and recent ones.
In January 1925, a pious young woman was suddenly attacked by an incredibly tormenting spirit of malice. At the mention of the name of the Saint, the enemy raged, insulted and tormented the poor creation of God. Unable to endure the suffering of their daughter, the parents decided to take the unfortunate woman on the day of Pentecost to the grave of the Saint in the hope that she would receive deliverance there.
By the time they got to Aegina, the demon was completely raging. In the monastery, the nuns were forced to tie the girl to one of the pine trees that grew near the grave. There, thanks to the intercession of the Saint, the demon emerged from the sufferer, who then accepted monasticism under the name of Mitrodora.
In 1931, a young couple came to the monastery to baptize a child who was dedicated to St. Nectarios. These parents already had two children who were born paralyzed. The first was still alive, and the second died. The third, who was brought to be baptized, was also born paralyzed. Discouraged and heartbroken, the parents went to fetch oil from the Saint's lamp, with which they anointed the youngest child, promising St. Nectarios to baptize him in the monastery and name him in honor of the Saint. How to tell about the miraculous power of Christ? Immediately after the third dive, the child was recovered from the water in perfect health. He is still in perfect and perfect health.
Another child, a lunatic from birth, who endured up to ten seizures a day, was healed by the Saint in 1933. His parents, who had reached complete despair, came to Aegina for oil from the saint's lamp, anointed him, and when they showed him the icon bought in the monastery, he exclaimed: "Father" and venerated the icon. Since then, he lives in good health to the great joy of his parents and to the glory of God, “Wonderful in His saints.”
In 1934, an educated girl from Thessalonica, who practiced reading the Holy Scriptures and praying, one day fell into melancholy, losing the ability to utter anything other than the word “Woe! Woe! Woe!”
The mother was dismayed at the unexpected change in her daughter's condition. She blessed her with holy icons, but the girl refused to kiss them, shouting: “This is fire! It's fire!" and did not want to overshadow herself with the sign of the cross. She was brought by force to the church, but even there she did not find peace for herself, continuing to whisper: “Woe! Woe! It's fire! Let's go, let's get out of here!"
By the time the cup was taken out, she was trembling and trembling. It was impossible for her to open her mouth, she turned away her face. With great difficulty, they still managed to take communion, but... she rejected the Holy Gifts.
Desperate, deciding that their daughter was suffering from some kind of nervous illness, her parents put her in a psychiatric clinic. However, her health condition not only did not improve, but worsened. The girl was taken to Athens in the hope of finding more qualified doctors there. On the way to the capital, the parents met people who felt that their daughter was suffering from a mental illness and that she needed not medical, but God's help. They told their mother:
Your daughter is not sick with nerves, as it seems to you, but is possessed by the spirit of malice, she needs proofreading and consecrated oil. On Aegina there is a nunnery containing the relics of St. Nectarios of Pentapolis, the founder of the monastery. He works miracles all the time. Take her there. The saint will surely take pity on her and you and heal her.
Believing them, the parents brought their daughter to Aegina on April 29 of the same year. The matter turned out to be not so simple. Arriving at the monastery, the girl refused to bow to the relics. She was anointed with oil from a lamp. With great difficulty, the priest managed to subtract the prayer. The patient raged all night. In the morning, six nuns, barely restraining her, took the sufferer to the church, where she began to shout the same words: “Woe! Woe! Woe! Fire!" At the moment of communion, new efforts were needed. For a whole month, the priest daily read a prayer over it. Truly the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. On May 28, on the day of the Holy Trinity and the patronal feast of the monastery, the girl got up in the morning on her own and, completely calm and collected, went to church and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. She was perfectly healthy.
In a dream, the Saint appeared to her, serving the Liturgy. He called her to him, blessed her and said:
You are healed.
Until the first of July, she lived in a monastery and left free from her illness, thanking God and His glorious saint.
Sponge catchers on Aegina once, before leaving for the sea, prayed to their patron saint and promised to present him with the first sponge they caught in exchange for his blessing. All the sponges caught that day were marked with the sign of the Cross. We saw these sponges donated to the monastery and displayed in the window of the cells of the Saint.
Father Nectarios from Paros told us the story of a bus driver who lost his sight during an accident. Passing once past the Holy Trinity Monastery, the gallant driver crossed himself and prayerfully said:
My hierarch Nectarius, give me back the light and I will give you everything that I have with me!
The unfortunate man immediately regained his sight. How could the Saint, say the nuns, not heal him when he daily helped the monastery to transport parcels!
“I told about this miracle,” Father Nektary continues, “to the owner of the Afeya cafe in Aegina.” He reacted like this:
Dear brother, we have ceased to be surprised here, because miracles happen every day!”
Yes, St. Nectarios works miracles every day, and not only in Aegina, but all over the world, in France, in America...
“In 1949,” writes M.K., “in Greece, I underwent an operation for cancer at the Saint Sabbas Cancer Hospital in Athens.” I had my uterus removed. At the end of the treatment, the doctor happily announced to me that I was out of danger. “Don't be afraid of anything,” he said. “But if you ever see bleeding, know that your end is near, as this will mean a relapse of the disease.”
Eight years have passed. In May 1957, I felt new pains in my stomach. One evening the bleeding started. The end was approaching, I sat on the bed and did not sleep all night, crying in despair.
In the morning my sister and her husband came to visit me. She had just returned from Aegina, where she had gone for Easter. Seeing me unhappy, my sister began to elicit the reason for my condition, her husband also insisted that I tell everything. I explained to them the reason for my despair, but the sister did not show any surprise and embarrassment, on the contrary, she told me with great faith and courage that she was confident in the intercession of St. Nektarios:
Fear nothing, sister, because you believe in God and know about the many miracles that St. Nectary.
At the same time, she took out from her bag a bottle of oil from the Saint's lamp, which she had brought from Aegina, and, handing it over to me, she said:
Take the oil, pray to the Saint, and he will heal you. For my part, I will also pray to him. Rub oil on your belly and be sure that you will get better.
I followed my sister's advice, asking for help from the Saint, and - oh, a miracle! From that moment on, the pain subsided, and the bleeding stopped. From then until today (1962) I am absolutely healthy.
May the name of St. be blessed. Nectaria! May these undeniable facts help to return to God for many, many people, strengthening in them an unshakable faith in His omnipotence, in His Love and Providence, and in the intercession of His saints, through whom He sends us healing of soul and body...”
K. S., a resident of the island of Lesbos, relates that in January 1963 the disease in her right eye was getting worse every day. V a short time she completely lost sight of them. “Imagine my misfortune,” she says. “I cried like a baby at the thought that I might no longer be able to care for my paralyzed daughter. I went to Athens, where friends took me for an examination at the Frederica Eye Clinic. X-ray showed hemorrhage. The eye was incurable. I was taken to another clinic, the name of which I do not remember. Six doctors and the professor examined me again and said that they could not help me. Sad and hopeless, I returned to Lesbos, terrified of losing even my left eye. In October, I decided to go to Mytilini (the capital of the island of Lesvos) in the hope of seeing other doctors, maybe ...
On Sunday I went to church, where, after the Liturgy, I came across the Sainte Marine newspaper (this little newspaper often tells about the miracles of St. Nektarios), which my paralyzed daughter and I constantly read. That day we read it with great concentration. Whether because I was going to go to Mytilene the next day, or because of my deep faith in St. Nectarios, in any case, I knelt down in front of the holy icons and began to pray to him with hot tears:
Saint Nektarios, I revere you and believe that if you want, you can heal me, even though I am a poor sinner. I will thank you...
I fell asleep in peace, confident that the Saint had heard my prayer. Waking up early in the morning, I opened my eyes and, lo and behold, I saw with both eyes. I got up and, giving thanks, anointed my eye crosswise with oil from the lamp three times. Some very cold liquid, like water, flowed out of it. It flowed for a very long time, then I felt that my eye seemed to be “defrosting.” Since then, I can sew, knit again and I can’t get enough of it.
I thank St. Nectarios and glorify the Lord, who commanded the Saint to heal me...”
The Bishop of Gorty and Arcadia from the island of Crete talks about the miracle performed by St. Nectarios in his diocese in May 1965.
“The deepest excitement,” he writes, “swept all of Massara after the undeniable and authentic miracle performed by St. Nectarios. Many, upon hearing of him, will begin to frown their brows, expressing doubt and lack of faith. Others, perhaps, will smile and talk skeptically about miracles, saints, about God. Some will argue that all this is “a fabrication of priests deceiving ordinary people.”
Doctors speak of cases in which, as a result of the intervention of a certain force, health is restored. There are, however, many organic diseases that cannot be cured. Science here admits its impotence and is silent. True, the worm of doubt gnaws at human thought, for it lacks living, sincere faith. It is then that a miracle occurs that goes beyond the senses and empirical data and forces us to recognize the existence of the invisible. spiritual world which thus becomes tangible and real.
The kind mother of the family, Maria R., lives with her husband K., an intelligent and courageous person who earns bread for the children with hard work.
Maria has been suffering from some terrible head disease for a whole year now. Wild pains torment her to such an extent that her cries are heard in neighboring houses. The disease took over the lungs. Science has confirmed these facts. The doctor sent the patient to his brothers in Heraklion (the capital of Crete), and they, in turn, sent her to the Athens Cancer Clinic “Saint Sabbes.” According to the examination and analyzes, there was no hope for a cure: the disease was too advanced. On the advice of doctors, the husband brought his wife home and prepared for the worst. Maria came down with unbearable pain.
On the evening of May 18, someone knocked on the door of the Metropolis. I opened to see who came. Maria and her husband stood in front of me. Shocked, she told me that she was healed. She ran towards me as if she had never been sick at all. Sitting down and crossing herself, she told me the story of her healing:
Kostya left the house for shopping. I told him not to linger, because it seemed to me from the terrible pain that the end was approaching. I kept praying to St. Nectarios to heal me or take my life because I was going crazy with pain.
Suddenly I saw a shadow coming through the door. I thought it was my husband. The shadow approached me, but I could not distinguish who it was, because my vision was blurred. Then I heard a voice telling me, “Get up, go to church and ring the bell. Anyone who asks you why you are calling, answer: St. Nectarius healed you.”
The pain suddenly subsided, I felt a huge surge of strength. Without any difficulty, getting out of bed, I began to walk and, as you can see, I walk perfectly ...
We all went to the church where the icon of the Saint is located, and served a thanksgiving service there, glorifying the Lord and His saint.”
During the time of the Saint, an atheist gendarme lived on Aegina. St. Nektarios admonished him, persuading him to believe in God, to repent, confess, come to church and take communion. But the gendarme remained unshakable in his unbelief.
Once he was sent by his ministry to Macedonia for twelve years. Returning to Aegina, he met the saint at the port, who renewed his exhortations, in vain as before.
Once in a cafe with friends, the gendarme said to them:
Surprisingly, the abbot of the Trinity Monastery is still alive!
What abbot? they asked him.
Hegumen of the Holy Trinity Monastery...
So he died three years ago.
Why are you telling me, - the shocked gendarme answered, - I just saw him in the port and talked with him ...
Everyone was seized with a holy fear. Needless to say, the unbelieving gendarme immediately hurried to the monastery...
In Paris, the wife of one of our priests, who for many years suffered from incurable headaches, received relief from a single anointing with oil from the Saint's lamp, and later the disease weakened and disappeared.
The wife of one of our deacons was healed of a fibroma, thus avoiding surgery. It only took a few anointings to heal.
A certain person was healed twice by St. Nectarius, who appeared to him in a dream, which caused great surprise among the doctor who was going to operate on the patient.
One of our nuns, living in constant communion with the Heavenly Bridegroom in unceasing prayer, once asked St. Nectaria help her find a way out of a difficult situation. At dawn, she dreamed of him, passing her a piece of bread with the words:
Take it, it's joy!
The next day, all her difficulties were resolved much easier than she could have expected. Another time she prayed all night for the whole world and for many suffering souls, begging St. Nectarios to cover with his blessing all the unfortunate. She dreamed of him again, dressed in episcopal robes. In a very soft voice he said to her:
I have a burning desire to help people... for I see Christ... He is still crucified.
I am present in the world with my relics... let the priest who knows me bless everyone who comes for relief, cleansing, forgiveness... My relics are my stole.
And there are many, many more cases which, for lack of space, we cannot relate in this book.
Every day during every year, overcoming a variety of obstacles, pilgrims come to Aegina. Ordinary people, intellectuals, officials... There are many here suffering from nervous diseases, epileptics, hysterics... They also come here to find peace of their conscience, to find solutions to complex problems, to get out of material difficulties. And no one leaves without a result. Some pilgrims crawl on their knees, come barefoot and spend whole days fasting and nights in prayer, and crying. Quite often the silence here is broken by badly restrained sobs...
The saint said to his spiritual daughters:
The day will come when many will come here. Some to glorify God, others for consolation and healing, others out of curiosity...
“Nectarius became a saint,” writes the abbot from Paros, “out of so many thousands of people, bishops, priests, hieromonks, monks, and laity. Why does God, who loves all people and desires that all be saved, that all be saints and gods by grace, not give His grace to others, so that they too become saints? My dear ones, God offers His blessings to everyone, gives them free of charge to everyone. But since He is just, He does not give them to those who are not worthy of them, but only to those who deserve them. He gives them to those who struggle to obtain them, and not to indifferent and arrogant people. He gives them to godly people who fear Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, and not to the godless, the proud, the unfaithful, and those who deviate from His Divine commandments. He gives them to those who fast, who are temperate, who pray: “The gifts of heaven are obtained by fasting, vigil and prayer.” The Lord gives His gifts to those who possess the three great virtues: humility, faith, love.”
These three virtues adorned Nectarios and revealed him to the saints. On whom I will look: the one who is humble and contrite in the Spirit, and who trembles at my word, says the Lord (Isaiah 66:2). And Solomon says that God resists the proud and is merciful to the humble. The Lord turned His gaze to the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary. He looked upon the humility of His servant... (Luke 1:48). The Lord looked upon the humility of the holy prophets, apostles, and all saints, and made them chosen vessels and instruments of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord saw the humility of Nectarios. And made him holy. He also saw his true, strong and unshakable faith, which pervaded all his writings in defense of the Orthodox Faith. This faith made him a miracle worker. Those who believe, says the Lord, will be accompanied by these signs: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take snakes; and if they drink something deadly, it will not harm them; lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. (Mark 16:17-18).
On September 2, 1953, at the direction of the Saint, the grave was opened. Only one skeleton remained. The Lord wanted the bones, the relics of His saint to be distributed all over the world as a sign of blessing. May the name of the Lord be blessed, for we have received, thanks to Mother Magdalene, our share of this blessing. A silver miter was put on the skull, and the bones were folded into a large reliquary. The fragrance spread that day to the whole monastery and the whole district.
When we arrived at Aegina on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we felt the fragrance coming from the already empty grave. The nun accompanying us explained to us that this was a sign of the good reception that the Saint gave to those who came to him with faith and piety. It was an amazing smell of incense combined with the smell of vanilla, white iris - a whole rainbow of scents.
According to St. Simeon the New Theologian, the soul, having become worthy to participate in God's grace, sanctifies its entire body, for it is she who preserves it, being present in all its members. Just as the grace of the Holy Spirit takes possession of the soul, so the soul takes possession of the body. But as long as the soul is united with the body, the Holy Spirit does not exalt the whole body in the name of its own glory, for it is necessary that the soul manifest its will until the very end of earthly life. When death comes, and the soul is separated from its body and, victorious, receives a crown of glory as a reward, then the grace of the Holy Spirit takes possession of the whole body, as well as the soul. Then the remains of the saints work miracles and heal diseases.
When the soul separates from the body at the moment of death, it remains completely in the Divine, that is, in the grace of God. As for the body, it remains without a soul, but with God, and shows miracles to people - divine energy. The soul and body, after being freed from all needs, from all the fuss associated with their union, completely become God's, and the grace of God acts both in one and in the other, without encountering any obstacles. God makes them His own during their lives, worthy of the God who lived in this world when they were united.
That is why everything that comes into contact with the relics receives a certain power, the grace of God, as is clear from the Acts of the Apostles: God worked many miracles with the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs and aprons were placed on the sick from his body, and their illnesses stopped, and evil spirits came out of them (Acts 19:11-12).
Recognized Orthodox people Even during the life of Saint Nectarios, his holiness was soon recognized by the hierarchy. Forty years after his assumption, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras confirmed the holiness of Metropolitan Pentapolis by a decree of April 20, 1961, signed by the entire Synod of the Church of Constantinople.
On November 5 of the same year, Aegina wrote a new glorious page in her golden book. The one whom he accepted dead on November 10, 1920, was transferred with glory to the Aegina Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Monastery for the official act of proclaiming his holiness.
Thousands of believers poured onto the island. On that day there was a strong storm, and the fragile ships plying between Piraeus and Aegina were in serious danger. But the Saint appeared to many and said:
Calm down, no one will die today.
The cortege set off from the monastery. The schoolchildren walked forward, followed by the male and female choirs. Then banners, standards, banners, a detachment of the royal fleet, representatives of the Rizari school moved. Nuns with a huge icon of the Saint, his miter, staff and other things walked in front of four priests who carried on their shoulders a silver miter with the skull of the Saint. Other priests carried the reliquary.
From the writings of St. Nektarios of Aegina.
1. About the One, Holy, Cathedral and Apostolic Church.
In accordance with the Orthodox teaching, the Church has a double meaning, one expresses its dogmatic and religious character, in other words, sacred and spiritual; the other is its external character in the true sense of the word. According to the Orthodox spirit and confession, the Church defines itself as a religious institution and as a religious society.
The definition of the Church as a religious institution can be formulated as follows: The Church is the religious institution of the New Testament. Our Savior Jesus Christ created it by the economy of His Incarnation. It is based on faith in Him, on true confession of Him.
It was established on the day of Pentecost at the moment of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the holy disciples and apostles of Christ the Savior. He made them instruments of divine grace to perpetuate the redemptive work of the Savior. In this institution was invested the fullness of revealed truths; the grace of God works in him through the sacraments; in it, through faith in Christ the Savior, those who flow to it are reborn; it contains the apostolic teaching and tradition, both written and oral.
The definition of the Church as a religious society boils down to the following: The Church is a society of people united in the unity of the Spirit and in the union of the world (Eph. 4:3).
Her apostolic ministry can be formulated as follows: the Church is an instrument of God's grace, which brings about God's communion with people through faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.
Having ascended to heaven, our Lord sent His Holy Spirit in the form of fiery tongues to His holy disciples and apostles. On these His apostles, he created the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church - the society of God and people. He gave her the grace of redemption in order to save the human race, bringing it back from error and reviving it through the sacraments, and in order to make it worthy of the future life, feeds it with the bread of heaven.
In Holy Scripture, the word "Church" has two meanings. Most often - in the sense of a human society united by a religious union, or - the Temple of God, in which believers gather for joint worship. Cyril of Jerusalem says that the Church is called so because she calls all people and because she gathers them.
The word "Church" comes from the ancient Greek language. It means a gathering of people called for a specific purpose, as well as the place in which they gather. It is both containing and content.
In a broad and Christian sense, the Church is the society of all free and rational beings, all who believe in the Savior, including angels. The Apostle Paul says: and made (God the Father) Him (Jesus Christ) above all things, the head of the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph. 1: 22-23). Thus, it unites all those who believed in Christ before His coming into the world, who formed the Church Old Testament, which in the time of the Patriarchs was governed by promises and faith given in revelation, that is, orally. Then, in the time of Moses and the Prophets, it was governed by the Law and the Prophecies, that is, by writing.
In the ordinary and narrow sense of the word, the Church of Christ is the Church of the New Testament, the Church of the Grace of Christ. It includes all those who believe in Him Orthodoxally. It is also called the House of God, because God dwells in it predominantly and because he is worshiped there.
The foundation of the Church is the Prophets and Apostles. The cornerstone is the Savior. Its pillars are the Holy Fathers, who have preserved the unity of faith. Her stones are believers. You are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints... and established on the basis of the apostles and prophets, having Jesus Christ Himself as the cornerstone... (Eph. 2:19-20).
Finally, the Church in the inspired and divine Scripture is called “the bride of Christ”: I betrothed you to one husband in order to present you a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). And also the House of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth, as well as the Body of Christ: And you are the body of Christ, and individually members (1 Cor. 12:27).
St. Methodius, Bishop of Patara, who lived at the end of the 3rd century, calls the Church in the “Feast of Ten Virgins” a receptacle of divine powers, an eternally youthful Bride of the Word. She is God's creation, surpassing all human. In the end, he presents it as “a gathering, a multitude of all those who believe,” where the old teach the young, and the perfect teach the weak.
Saint Hippolytus, famous father of the Roman Church, disciple of St. Irenaeus, in his work of the beginning of the III century "Christ and Antichrist" speaks a lot about the Church and calls her a ship in a stormy sea. On it are the captain, sailors, sails, anchors and all the gear, symbolizing Christ, angels and believers.
By believing in the Holy Spirit who inspired these Fathers of the Church, we inevitably believe in the Holy Church, which is the object of all these names given by the Holy Spirit.
About the Kingdom of God or the Church
As King, our Lord Jesus Christ created the Kingdom of Heaven on earth immediately after His Ascension, when He sat at the right hand of God the Father and when He received from His Eternal Father all the fullness of power in heaven and on earth.
His Kingdom on earth is His Church. As King, Jesus cares for him, gives rules, seals visions and prophecies, and stops sacrifice and offering (Dan. 9:24 et seq.).
He governs, directs, and guides it eternally through his sacred servants. Richly and ceaselessly He distributes the gifts of His Holy Spirit in order to strengthen, grow and expand it. The Savior King sanctifies, comforts, preserves, exalts and glorifies His people (John 15:26; Acts 2:33-36).
As King, the Lord establishes order in His kingdom by giving the Church its servants. As King, Jesus gave His people the Laws.
As King, He calls the nations to believe in Him. As King, He asks His followers to sacrifice even their lives for Him and His kingdom. As King, He declared war on evil and through grace granted peace. As King, Jesus reigns in the hearts of believers who are united to Him through His Holy Church.
Anyone who is not a member of the Church is outside the kingdom of Christ and is deprived of the honor of being His son.
The Holy Church of Christ is a divine ecclesiastical institution founded by our Savior Jesus Christ for the salvation of the human race. The Church was given by the Savior as an instrument of His divine love and mercy towards man. She is the eternal bearer of divine grace and the trustee of human salvation, being God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, always identical with Himself, saves all those who believe in Him in all ages.
For this purpose He created His eternal Church. It includes all believers, from the first to the last. He is its Head and keeps it alive and active and strengthens it for ages. The Head of the Church in Eden, Jesus Christ was the Head of the Church of the Patriarchs, established on the Law of Moses, anticipating the New Testament Church through images and symbols.
The Church of Christ is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, from the very foundation of the world, destined for the salvation of people and an institution for eternal existence.
In his letter to Panarios, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus discusses the Church and at the end says: “The Church was created from Adam; it was preached to the Patriarchs before Abraham; it was believed after Abraham; it was opened by Moses; Isaiah prophesied about her; she was revealed by Christ and exists with him; and now it is celebrated by us.” And in paragraph 78 of his treatise on the Catholic Church, he says: “The character of the Church is determined by the Law, the Prophets, the Apostles, and the Evangelists.”
Cyril of Jerusalem notes that the Church includes all those who believed in Christ before His coming; they constituted the Church of the Old Testament; he also says that in the time of the Patriarchs, the Church was governed by promises and faith received from revelation, that is, not in writing - orally. From the time of Moses and the Prophets, the Church has been governed by Law and Prophecy, that is, written Tradition.
Thus, the Church is the Kingdom of Christ founded on earth, and St. Chrysostom says that she is “the place of residence of angels, the place of residence of archangels, the Kingdom of God, heaven itself.” The Holy Spirit descended upon her dwells in her at all times, as the Savior spoke of this to His disciples: And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever, the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him and does not know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17).
The Holy Spirit abundantly supplies the Church with all the divine charisms. She received the right to bind and loose sins, to preach the gospel, to call nations to salvation. She received the power to revive the morally fallen, making them in the image of God, endowing them with the image and likeness. She acquired the right to reconcile them with God and make them participants in the grace of God, unite them with the Savior, communicate the Holy Spirit to all those who resort to her, and make them sons of God. She received the power to defeat all her opponents, to remain impregnable forever, to bring down her enemies, to remain invulnerable.
According to John Chrysostom, smitten - the Church remains victorious, humiliated - she becomes even more radiant. She is wounded, but she is not slain; it is shaken, but it does not go to the bottom; it is taken by storm, but it does not suffer a crash. She is not passive, she fights without being defeated.
The Church of the Savior is truly the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Love, joy, peace reign in it. It has faith in God; through religious feeling and inner knowledge of the heart, we come to the knowledge of God, to the knowledge of hidden mysteries, to the knowledge of the revealed Truth. In it, aspirations are reliable and confident; in it salvation is realized; in it the Holy Spirit expands Himself and abundantly pours out the fruits of His divine grace. It blossoms divine zeal for God, perfect love and consecration to Him, as well as an unceasing desire for an endless union with God.
In the Church of God, moral virtues reach the pinnacle of perfection accessible to man. With a purified spirit and with a heart transformed by the sacrament of holy baptism, a person with a once darkened and hardened soul develops completely new virtues in himself and advances along the steps of virtue with diligence and zeal. The Church has truly renewed, recreated man, made him the image of God. The Holy See of the Church is the true Meal that nourishes the faithful for eternal life; he distributes to believers the bread of heaven, the body of heaven, and those who eat it never die. The Holy Altar, established in the center of Christ's Church, is the Heavenly Supper; he receives earthly gifts and raises them to heaven, he receives heavenly gifts and distributes them on earth. The Holy Throne of the Church touches the earth and at the same time the Heavenly Throne. The throne is terrible for the angels themselves, hovering under the vaults of heaven.
The Church is the hope, the refuge, the consolation of all who believe in Christ. Divine Chrysostom says that the Church planted by God in the world is like a harbor in the ocean. Moving away from the bustle of life, we find refuge in it and enjoy the world.” And further: “Do not depart from the Church; there is nothing stronger than the Church, there is nothing stronger than the rock, higher than the sky, wider than the earth. She never gets old, but endlessly blooms. Why does Scripture call it a mountain? - Because of her steadfastness. Why does it also call it a rock? - Because of her incorruptibility. Through her, all wild beasts were tamed by divine charms, which is the hearing of the Holy Scriptures. It penetrates the ear of every person, invades the soul and lulls the raging passions in it.”
According to St. Ignatius, the true Church is one: “There is only one Jesus Christ and there is nothing more precious than Him. Come to the Church, which is the one Temple of God, the one throne of the one Lord Jesus Christ, born of the one Father...”
St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, disciple of St. Polycarp and listener of the Evangelist John, says the following about the Church in his book “Against Heresies”: “It is impossible to enumerate the charisms that the Church received from God throughout the world in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate for the good of the nations. Without deceiving or misleading them, she unselfishly gives what she has unselfishly received from God.”
Speaking about the mission of Christ's Church, St. Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch (2nd century), compares the Church in the 14th paragraph of his second book with “islands of the sea.” Some of them are inhabited, they have water, fruits, raids and harbors to give shelter to those threatened by sea storms. In the same way, God gave to the world, raging and torn apart by sins, temples, called holy churches, in which, as in safe island harbors, the dogma of the Church is kept. They are resorted to by those who want to be saved; they become lovers of Truth and thus escape the wrath and judgment of God.
Other islands are rocky, have neither water nor fruits, they are wild and uninhabited. They pose a danger to travelers and shipwrecked. Ships crash on them and passengers die. These are the vicious creeds that I call heresies. Not guided by the Word of Truth, they mislead those who adjoin them. They are like pirates who, having loaded their ships and wandering on the waves, will break the ships on these islands and lose them forever. It is the same with those who stray from the truth and perish in error.”
The Divine Gregory the Theologian, in his first speech against Julian the Apostate, says this about the Church: “You (Julian) oppose the great heritage of Christ, great and never passing away, which He created as God and which He inherited as a man. It was proclaimed by law, filled with grace, Christ revived it, the prophets planted it, the apostles bound it, the evangelists raised it...”
In a speech on the conciliar faith, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus testifies: “The Church is our mother. She is a bride who came from Lebanon, beautiful and pure; paradise of a great artist; village of the Holy King; bride of the chaste Christ; an innocent maiden, betrothed to one Bridegroom, transparent as the dawn, beautiful as the moon, chosen as the sun. Proclaimed blessed by the Law, she is at the right hand of the King.”
The Church is a revelation continually taking place in the world. In it, God reveals Himself in various and many ways and confirms His presence by His Divine powers. In the Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul speaks of the Church founded by Christ: And God set some in the Church, firstly, Apostles, secondly, prophets, thirdly, teachers; further, he gave miraculous powers to others, also gifts of healings, help, management, different languages. (1 Corinthians 12:28).
The Case of the Church
The Apostle Paul defines the work of the Church in the following words: And He appointed some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as Evangelists, others as shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the Body of Christ, until we all come into the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. (Eph. 4:11-13).
Thus, the Church created by Christ the Savior has a perfect organization; she is an organic body. Her head is Christ, her guide is the Holy Spirit, who instructs her and abundantly communicates to her the gifts of God.
The Church is an organic body; it is visible, it gathers into a single whole all its members, both holy and weak. Sick members of the Church never cease to be part of her body. Reborn in the Holy Mysteries and becoming children of grace, they can no longer be separated from it, even if they are under the influence of church punishment; for for them, who have been freed from original sin, there is no other dwelling place than the Church. In the world there is only one place of residence for man: paradise, there is the Church, in which the salvation of man.
After the fall of the forefathers and the rise of sin, those who departed from God created another place - the place of sin. The Church of God included only those who turned their eyes to God and waited for the coming of the Savior. The Church carried the faith and hope for the promised salvation of mankind in Christ the Savior. Those who had this faith and this hope were in the Church of God, waiting for the redemption of mankind by the Savior, and received it. Those who did not have this faith and this hope were outside the Church. The reason for the existence of a place outside the Church was Adam's sin. Therefore, in this world, since the fall of Adam, there have been two places - the place of the Church and the place outside the Church.
Those who come from a place of sin and through faith and sacraments enter into the place of Christ's Church become its members forever; it is impossible for them themselves to return to the place of sin after being reborn in baptism and cleansing from original sin. And since there is no other place, those who enter the Church remain in it, even sinners. The Church separates them as a shepherd separates sick sheep from healthy ones, but the sick sheep, nevertheless, do not cease to be the sheep of the whole flock. When sick sheep get better, they reconnect with healthy ones. If, however, they are incurable, they perish in sin and will be judged according to their sins. But as long as they are still in this world, they are regarded as sheep of the common flock, in other words, as children of Christ's Church.
According to Orthodox teaching, there is only one Church, the visible Church of Christ. In it a person is reborn, coming from a place of sin, in it he remains to abide, regardless of whether he is a saint or a sinner. As a member of the Church, the sinner does not infect the rest of it, because the members of the Church are moral beings, free and not deprived of freedom, as in the case of the body of animals, where the disease of one is transmitted to all others.
Protestants who believe in an “invisible” earthly Church, consisting of the elect, led by God alone, are mistaken. The invisible earthly Church cannot exist. Since people are not blameless and there is no sinless person, where can the chosen ones come from? The invisible Church of the elect would suffer from constant change, from the eternal substitution of its members, if only because of the tendency of man to stumble and fall on the one hand, and on the other hand, because of the compassion of God and His love for man, for God accepts everyone who returns to Him.
The true essence of the Church is that she simultaneously fights and triumphs. She fights when she fights against evil for the kingdom of good; it triumphs in heaven and in the hearts of the righteous, who in the struggle perfected themselves in faith in God and in virtues.
Whoever believes in the invisible Church of the elect comes into conflict with the true spirit of the Church, which does not separate those who are on the path of perfection from those who have already become perfect. Such a distinction is the work of God; He alone will separate the righteous from the sinners after death. Christ does not turn away from those whom He freed by His own blood, just as He did not turn away from sinners during His earthly life. Jesus Christ regards them as members of His Church and awaits their conversion until the last moment.
Those who divide the militant Church into visible and invisible: 1) divide the indivisible; and 2) sin against the very meaning of the name of the Church.
First, they divide the Church. The Church of Christ is the Church of the saints, otherwise it is not the Church of Christ at all. The church of sinners cannot be the church of saints. Thus, the Church of Christ is the Church of the saints.
If the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the Church of the saints, then why is the invisible Church of the elect needed? Who are these chosen ones? Who can call saints those who have not yet left the arena victorious and crowned with glory? Who can be called blessed until the end?
Secondly, they sin against the very meaning of the name of the Church, dividing it in two, into visible and invisible, while the concept of the Church means only the visible.
If they believe that the Church remains indivisible because the members of the invisible Church are at the same time members of the visible Church and because the visible Church is included in the invisible one, then the question arises of how the Church of the imperfect, that is, sinners, can contain the Church of the perfect in her bosom? If the visible Church of the imperfect, of those who are not holy, begets holy children, then how is she deprived of holiness? If the members of the Protestant "community of saints" are not descended from the children of the visible Church, then what is the visible Church for? To avoid controversy and be consistent, those who believe in the "community of saints" would have to stop believing in the visible Church, stop using the term "Church." Then they would not sin against the concept of the Church and would not utter paradoxical things, in one case believing in the Church, and in the other denying it.
For if the members of the invisible Church do not come from the visible Church, but are mysteriously united in God by faith in Christ alone, then in whom does the Savior act and upon whom does the Holy Spirit descend, who becomes holy and perfect, why then, the question arises, visible The Church, since it in no way contributes to unity and perfection in Christ the Savior? Why then the name “Church,” if its members are isolated from each other and do not know each other, if they do not constitute a single organic whole, an inseparable union in the full sense of the word?
The truth is that those who admit the existence of some kind of invisible Church completely reject the concept of a visible Church. And in order to avoid the final dismemberment, they allow some form of the Church, like a meeting that unites their followers to glorify God and listen to the sermon. But all this is by no means the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which we profess in the sacred Creed. They constitute an assembly of the followers of the Lord who believe in Him without a preliminary and truly regenerating bath in the font, without a true attainment of holiness and perfection. Unless, of course, their visible Church is the Church of the imperfect, while the other, invisible, is the Church of the perfect, existing only in their imagination.
It is contradictory to call the Assembly of Saints the invisible Church - a collection of the elect who do not know each other and who are not united by an organic connection into a single whole. For:
1. How can those who have never met together constitute a meeting?
2. How can the Church, which is made up of individuals, be invisible?
The Church and the invisible are two contradictory or rather opposite concepts.
In the first case, they consider as the Assembly, the Church, which means something visible, something that has not yet been united, and in the second, they contradict themselves, calling it visible.
The "community of saints" does not exist and cannot exist. It does not exist, because the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, indivisible and visible, constituted by those who are reborn in it. Nothing that is both visible and invisible does not exist.
Those who have not been regenerated by the grace of God, acting in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, do not constitute any Church, either visible or invisible.
The so-called Protestant Church is an exclusively abstract concept. It is devoid of divine principle, divine and historical authority. It is fully correlated only with human ideas and actions and does not have an invariable, stable character. If Protestants regard the visible Church they compose as the Holy Congregation, why then does the invisible Church exist? And again the question arises, how do those who compose it turn out to be saints when, by their own definition, a person after the fall was completely perverted? Who confirmed to them their rebirth, their holiness, their reconciliation and communion with God? Who proved to them that the grace of Christ works in them? Who testified to them about the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, about the abundance of divine gifts?
All this is not false, without a doubt, it is given only in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The one who is reborn in it receives full confidence in his fellowship with God.
The Credibility and Authority of the Church
As a divine institution, the Church is directed by the Holy Spirit; He dwells in it and makes it an immutable dogmatic rule, "the pillar and ground of the Truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). It is the Church that keeps the apostolic teaching pure and unchanged. Only she alone can lead to the truth, be the only indisputable judge, able to speak out about the salvific truths of the teaching revealed to us by God. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, represented by all her ministers at the Ecumenical Councils, is the only true judge, the only and natural guardian, standing guard over the divinely inspired teaching. The Church alone decides the question of the authenticity and authority of Holy Scripture. She alone guarantees and carefully guards Tradition and the apostolic teaching in its bosom pure and unchanging. She alone can confirm, explain, and formulate truths, guided by the Holy Spirit. Only the Church leads to Christ those who believe in him and gives them a true understanding of the Holy Scriptures. She alone guards her children on their way to salvation. She alone leads them with confidence to salvation. Only in it alone do believers find firm confidence in the truths they believe in and in the salvation of their souls. Outside the Church, this Noah's ark, there is no salvation. The Confession of St. Dositheus says that we believe that the Holy Spirit enlightens the Church, for He is the true Paraclete whom Christ sends from the Father to teach the Truth and expel darkness from the souls of believers.
Without the authority of the Church, there is nothing stable, undeniable, reliable for salvation. Only the authority of the Church keeps the apostolic heritage pure and unsullied; only through him are the truths of the apostolic preaching transmitted pure and undefiled. Without the authority of the Church, the content of the faith may be subject to distortion, and the apostolic preaching will turn into slander. Without a God-visible, created Church, there can be no connection between the members of any community that would not be the Body of Christ, for the Body of Christ is His Church, of which He is the Head. Without the Church, no one can be united with the Body of Christ; no one can become a member of Christ unless he is regenerated and becomes a partaker of the grace that is in the Church.
Protestants, who define the Church as an invisible society, an assembly of the elect, saints, a society of faith and the Holy Spirit, in which* the Savior allegedly acts, excommunicate themselves from the grace of God distributed by the Church, to which they do not belong.
Those who deny the visible Church of Christ also deny the nature of the Church, that is, its concrete character, which makes it a divine institution on earth, in which the redemptive work of the Savior continues uninterruptedly.
Those who like to call themselves members of the invisible society of saints, consisting of the saints of all the earth, known only to God, who believe that through a purely theoretical faith in the Savior they become participants in the Holy Spirit, who think that the Savior works their salvation without the mediation of the created by Him Church, he is mistaken, for "extra ecclesiam nulla salus" 1. Outside the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church there is no salvation. This Church is visible, it is not just a collection of people who believe in Christ. She is a divine institution. She was entrusted guarding the truths revealed to us by God In it the redemption of man is realized In it man communes with God and becomes a Child of God 1 Outside the Church there is no salvation (lat.).
Protestants who have left the visible Church of Christ and formed their own "communities of saints" are sinning against the fundamental character of the Church. They consider faith self-sufficient for salvation. They interpret the work of redemption as a theological theory capable of saving the one who studies it or accepts it. However, the work of redemption is not just a theological theory. This is a mystical act performed in the visible Church of Christ. This is the work that brings salvation, that makes believers partakers of the Holy Spirit. Outside the Church there is no theoretical faith, no society leading to communion with God. The Savior said: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” It was the Lord who erected the visible altar of the Church. That is why, along with the theory, He requires an act, an act in accordance with the truth that He communicated to His Holy Church, the only one that leads into Life, the Head of which is Christ Himself. We must obey her, it is from her that we must learn the Truth and receive salvation. She alone is the pillar and affirmation of the Truth, for the Spirit, the Paraclete, abides eternally in her. The Monk Dositheus says the following about the Church: “We must unshakably believe in Scripture, but not otherwise than in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church.” Heretics, of course, accept Holy Scripture, but they distort it with metaphors, homonymy, sophisms of human sophistication, confusing the uncomplicated and playing on what cannot be played off. If we were to daily accept the opinions of one or the other, the Catholic Church would not be what she, by the grace of Christ, has remained until today, keeping a single point of view regarding faith and believing unshakably in the same thing. In this case, it would be torn apart by many heresies and would no longer be the Holy Church, the pillar and affirmation of the Truth, unstained and pure. It would become the Church of the deceitful, the Church of heretics, who, having formed in it, would then reject it without any remorse. Therefore, we believe that the testimony of the Catholic Church is not inferior to the authority of Holy Scripture. They are both the work of the same Spirit. A person who speaks from himself can sin, err, and err. The Catholic Church never speaks from herself, but speaks by the Spirit of God, the Teacher, who enriches her eternally. She can neither sin, nor err, nor err. It is equal to Holy Scripture and has an immutable and permanent authority.”
St. Cyril of Jerusalem bequeaths: love to learn and learn from the Church which books of the Old and New Testaments are accepted by everyone. For why waste time on those books that are doubtful. According to him, twenty-two books of the Old Testament, translated by seventy teachers, should be read.”
Behind the words of St. Cyril is worth the authority of the Church. At the Council of Constantinople in 1672, Patriarch Dionysios said about the infallibility of the Church: “We say that it is infallible, guided by its own Head, Christ, and enlightened by the Spirit of Truth. Therefore, she cannot be mistaken; that is why it is called by the apostle the Pillar and Affirmation of the Truth. It is visible and will never leave the Orthodox until the end of time.”
Introduction to the Song of Divine Love
Since God is by nature infinite and inaccessible, the desire of the saints to unite with God is never fully fulfilled. He who seeks God is in constant motion, in growth, constantly ascending to heaven. This great yearning for God was characteristic of the Apostle Paul, who wrote: stretching forward, I strive for the goal, for the honor of the high calling of God... (Phil. 3:13-14).
The same desire of God possessed the mentor of the monastics - the Monk Anthony the Great; every day his desire and love increased so much that he could say about himself: “I no longer fear God, because I love Him.”
The more a saintly person is consumed by desire and love for God, the stronger is his feeling that he possesses nothing. The higher he rises to the heights of love, the stronger his feeling that his love for God is weaker than anyone else's. The infinite and desirable beauty of God is inaccessible to human understanding, the Infinite does not fit into the finite. Therefore, God reveals Himself in the human soul gradually and teaches it to seek Him, desire Him and enjoy Him. Then the soul rushes up, to the divine beauty, in order to completely embrace it and contain it. Not reaching it, the soul believes that what it seeks is somewhere much further, much higher, that it is much more desirable than what it has achieved and what it has contained within itself. The soul is surprised, amazed, it is filled with divine desire.
In the language of the saints, the word "desire" refers to objects or persons that are absent, and the word "zeal" refers to those that are present. Being invisible and immaterial by nature, God is Desirable and Desired, but at the same time, being Omnipresent, revealing Himself in His energies, He is Contempt for those who are worthy of Him.
Song of Divine Love
Gratitude is God's gift. It is given to an innocent soul by the grace of God, visiting her and revealing herself to her.
No one has divine fervor without divine revelation. The unrevealed soul is not affected by grace and remains insensitive to divine love.
Those who love God are moved to divine love by the grace of God, which is revealed to the soul and acts in the purified heart. It is grace that draws them to God.
The one who is embraced by the love of God was first loved by God. Only then did he love God. He who loved God was first a son of love, and then he loved the Heavenly Father.
The heart of a loving God never slumbers; it keeps awake because of its great love...
When a person sleeps out of natural necessity, his heart is awake, sending praise to God.
A heart wounded by divine zeal does not seek anything beyond the limits of the Highest Good; it turns away from everything, feels complete indifference to everything.
The soul, seized with love for God, enjoys the words of God and is blessed in His tabernacles. She lifts up her voice to tell the wonders of God and proclaim the glory of God and His greatness.
She sings of God and constantly praises Him.
She diligently serves Him.
Divine zeal completely takes possession of such a soul, changes it and appropriates it to Himself. The soul that loves God comprehends God, and this comprehension kindles its divine zeal.
The soul that loves God is blessed, for it has met the Divine Judge, who has fulfilled its desires.
It completely rejects every desire, every feeling, every impulse that is alien to the love of God, as something contemptible and unworthy of it.
Oh, how strongly the soul that loves God ascends into heaven with divine love, carried by the love of God! Like a light cloud, this love takes possession of the soul and carries it to the eternal source of love, to inexhaustible love, filling it with inextinguishable light.
The soul wounded by divine zeal rejoices incessantly. She exults, she shudders with joy, she plays before God, for she is in the peace of the Lord's love, as on the surface of calm waters.
No sadness of this world can disturb her peace and rest, no sadness can deprive her of joy and exultation.
Love lifts up to heaven the soul that loves God. Astonished, she feels detached from her bodily feelings, from her very body.
Completely surrendering herself to God, she forgets herself.
Divine zeal conveys an unconstrained closeness to God; ease conveys boldness, boldness conveys taste, and taste conveys hunger.
The soul, wounded by divine zeal, is no longer able to think about anything else or want something.
She constantly sighs and says, “Lord, when will I come to You and when will I see Your face? My soul longs to come to You, O God, like a deer yearning for a spring.”
Such is the divine zeal that captivates the soul.
Oh, love, true and constant!
Oh, love, the likeness of the image of God!
Oh, love, quiet delight of my soul!
Oh love, divine fullness of my heart!
O love, unceasing contemplation of my spirit!
You always possess my soul, you surround it with care and warmth.
You revive her and elevate her to divine love.
You fill my heart and inflame it with divine love, you revive my desire for the Supreme Judge.
With your life-giving power you strengthen the strength of my soul; you make it capable of rendering divine love its proper service.
You take possession of my spirit and deliver it from earthly fetters.
You release him so that he can freely ascend into heaven to divine love.
You are the most precious treasure of believers, the most desired gift of divine charisms.
You are the god-like radiance of my soul and heart.
You are the one who makes believers children of God.
You are the adornment of the faithful and you honor your friends.
You are the only truly permanent, for you are eternal.
You are the luxurious garment of those who love God, who, in these garments, appear before divine love.
You are a sweet delight, for you are the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
You bring sanctified believers into the kingdom of heaven.
You are the captivating fragrance of believers.
Through you, believers partake of heavenly bliss.
Through you the light of the spiritual sun rises in the soul.
Through you the spiritual eyes of believers are opened.
Through you, believers share in divine glory and eternal life.
Through you, the thirst for heaven is born in us.
It is you who restore the Kingdom of God on earth.
It is you who spread peace among the people.
It is you who make the earth like the sky.
It is you who connects people with angels.
It is you who raise our singing to God.
You are the winner in everything.
It is you who are above everything.
It is you who truly controls the universe.
It is you who wisely rules the world.
It is you who carry and store everything.
Oh love, the fullness of my heart!
Oh love, the sweetest image of the sweetest Jesus.
Oh love, sacred seal of the disciples of the Lord.
Oh love, symbol of the sweetest Jesus.
Break my heart with your desire.
Fill him with blessings, kindness and rejoicing.
Make it the habitation of the Holy Spirit.
Ignite it with a divine flame, so that its miserable passions will burn out and it will be lit up, singing unceasing praise to you.
Fill my heart with the tenderness of your love, so that I love only the sweetest Jesus, Christ my Lord, and that I sing to Him an endless song with all my soul, with all my heart, with all my strength, with all my spirit. Amen!
Topar, voice 1.
Silivria is the branch and Aegina of the guardian, who appeared in the last years, the virtues of a sincere friend, Nectarios, we honor the faithful, as a divine servant of Christ: he sharpens the goals of the many different ones crying out the gospel. Glory to the Christ who glorifies you, glory to the grace that gave you miracles, glory to the healing that acts by you.
Akathist
Kondak 1
Chosen Metropolitan Nektarios of Pentapolis and the wonderworker of Aegina, we bring you petitions for our sick relatives: thou art a healer of cancerous ulcers and other ailments, and bestowed grace on the whole universe, for the sake of this, with one mouth and one heart, we sing to you incessantly: Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Ikos 1
Finding a guardian angel in holy baptism, from young nails you desired an equal life of an angel, our father Nektarios; now, with the Angels, enjoy the sight of the Glory of God, pray to all the Lord Angels for those who sing: Rejoice, blessed fruit of the married parents; Rejoice, sanctified by God from the womb of the mother. Rejoice, childish obedience; Rejoice, having studied the Scriptures from youth. Rejoice, animated book of God's words; Rejoice, living tablet of the love of God. Rejoice, chosen by God for meekness and humility; Rejoice, leaving the spiritual house for the sake of teaching. Rejoice, for for the sake of you the storm is green on the sea, calm down; Rejoice, for the broken mast is strengthened by your belt. Rejoice, young eagle, possessing the krill of clever prayer; Rejoice, Elena, seeking the sources of repentance. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 2
Seeing you in the air, praying, some blueberry was terrible, God-loving; you, hiding the gift of prayer, sealed the lips of the virgin with an oath to the Lord in your heart, singing: Alleluia.
Ikos 2
You acquired the mind of Christ with prayer, holy Nectarios, in which you understand that there is the will of God, good, pleasing and perfect; teach us in every place to raise our hands to God without anger and doubt, and receive from us laudable: Rejoice, in the vale of deplorable ascents; Rejoice, fruit of the Spirit growing. Rejoice, child of Mount Athos; Rejoice, Key of the Jesus Prayer. Rejoice, shone of ancient piety; Rejoice, city of the Holy Trinity. Rejoice, overshadowed by grace; Rejoice, fiery Cherubim. Rejoice, salt of the promised land; Rejoice, sowing with tears, reaping with joy. Rejoice, on the same flourishing is the relic of Christ; Rejoice, for God has been good to you. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 3
Clothed with the power of the Most High, Father Nektarios, you have affirmed the power of the words of Christ: in My Kingdom, - That speech, - they don’t marry, they encroach below, but like Angels in heaven, they sing: Alleluia.
Ikos 3
Having the Most Pure Theotokos in service, all the host of heaven, you, saint, like an Angel in the flesh, a chanter of Your miracles, set up: we, Mary's omophorion over you, see, with fear and love fall down to you: Rejoice, secret chosen one of the Mother of God; Rejoice, executor of Her commandments. Rejoice, having received the spirit of meekness from Pure Dove; Rejoice, glorifying Ever-Virgin in spiritual songs. Rejoice, teach to please the Queen of heaven and earth; Rejoice, having found mercy from the Son with the prayers of the Mother. Rejoice, chamber of righteousness and wisdom; Rejoice, height of reasoning and depth of humility. Rejoice, Aegina krine, the nectar of repentance that saps; Rejoice, bee of Eden, supplying us with the honey of theology. Rejoice, world-maker, pouring out myrrh; Rejoice, cup of spiritual ablution. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 4
Having a cancerous ulcer bleeding on my chest, the priest of your temple, Nectarios, be confused when you appear to kiss him, as if in the flesh; He, having received healing, was invisible to you, cry out to God with tears: Alleluia.
Ikos 4
Hearing many about the miraculous healing that you did during your lifetime, when in the country of Canada, we serve the holy Liturgy, you appeared in the Dus, miracle worker Nectarios, and you raised a certain man relaxed, calling him to the Chalice; The same health was, the village of Aegina reached and, having seen thee in the flesh, loudly crying out: Rejoice, hospitable doctor, praise to Greece; Rejoice, having acquired glory for Nicholas the Wonderworker. Rejoice, well of blessings; Rejoice, merciful Samaritan. Rejoice, enriched with the gift of miracles; Rejoice, visiting humble people. Rejoice, console us with true miracles; Rejoice, for what is impossible for others is possible for you. Rejoice, for you turn our sorrows into joy; rejoice, for you wipe away tears from our eyes. Rejoice, demon-possessed liberator; Rejoice, healer of cancerous ulcers. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 5
Thou hast ascended with the divine star of repentance, father, above the universe, emitting rays of contrition about human iniquities; illumine our minds to see our sins, let us propitiate the Lord with singing: Alleluia.
Ikos 5
Seeing the maidens of her pure Bishop, in the beauty of soul and body, she is coming to God, and recognizing in him a great prayer book and miracle worker, according to exclaiming to you, Saint Nektarios: Rejoice, Christ's eternal dwelling; Rejoice, wonderful treasure of the Spirit. Rejoice, royal ordination of the Great Hierarch; Rejoice, called to the Throne of the Eternal King. Rejoice, Flesh of Christ with the body; Rejoice, partaker of the Holy Blood. Rejoice, herald of repentance; Rejoice, I intercede for us before God. Rejoice, Nectarios, rejoicing angels; Rejoice, flame, burn the demons. Rejoice, abyss of bounty; Rejoice, sea of glorious miracles. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 6
Preacher of the One Good One, blessed Nectarios, thee, having humbled yourself under the strong hand of God, exalt thee; in the passionate sea of those who float, do not forget your children, but put me on the beam of humility, let them magnify your God, singing: Alleluia.
Ikos 6
Having shone with the light of the beatitudes of Christ, thou hast risen from degree to degree, God-wise Nektarios: with meekness and peace, abstinence and love thou hast enlightened thy soul, but now hear from us the siphon: Rejoice, wearing the robe of humility; Rejoice, offences covered with forgiveness. Rejoice, rejoice in the multitude of the world; Rejoice, inherit the land of the meek. Rejoice, phiale of repentant weeping; Rejoice, mirror of the purity of the heart. Rejoice, filled with the name of Jesus; Rejoice, thou who art drunk with the waters of the Scriptures. Rejoice, proclaiming mercy and judgment; Rejoice, thou who abolished enmity with love. Rejoice, pious life; rejoice, persecuted for the sake of truth. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 7
Although the man of God is perfect to be, Nectarios is righteous, you have chosen the path of the immaculate: on the island of Eginstem the sea of \u200b\u200blife, like in an ark, swimming, triumphantly sang to the Lord: Alleluia.
Ikos 7
The teacher of the New Testament appeared pretty well, preaching the word of God with his life: as if our battle is against flesh and blood, but the ruler of the darkness of this world. We, being able to do anything about the Lord, cry out to you, sovereign Nectarios: Rejoice, good soldier of Jesus Christ; Rejoice, spirit of malice in the heavenly places. Rejoice, having received all the weapons of God; Rejoice, girding your loins with truth. Rejoice, for your feet are red with the good news of the world; Rejoice, for the helmet of salvation is fixed on your versa. Rejoice, shield of faith, whereby faiths are protected: Rejoice, double-edged sword, encroach on heresy. Rejoice, conqueror, eat from the tree of life; Rejoice, man of God, stranger of the second death. Rejoice, true witness of the faith; rejoice, heavenly branch of salvation. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 8
Strange finding perfection in you, just perfect in love is accessible; perfect the love of our souls, loving Nectarios, and having reached a perfect husband, we sing to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 8
You were all in the lower ones, following the humble, in the highest with God, that is, with Love, staying; Grant us, oh, non-Botanian Nectarios, love knowledge, in the hedgehog of singing: Rejoice, for thou hast become a prisoner of the love of God; Rejoice, for thou hast captivated thy children with love. Rejoice, bending you under the yoke of the Savior; Rejoice, carrying the burdens of your neighbors. Rejoice, rooted in love; rejoice, approved in mercy. Rejoice, understanding the breadth and longitude of the Cross; Rejoice, comprehend the height and depth of the Tree. Rejoice, wiser love, superior reason; Rejoice, receptacle of the fullness of God. Rejoice, keep in mind the Christmas tree is true, righteous and honest; Rejoice, love with your heart the Christmas tree is pure, praiseworthy and most lovable. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 9
All angelic and human nature marveled at the image, great Nectarios, revealed in you: as if in Christ there is neither a Jew, nor a Greek, nor a slave, nor freedom, nor a male, nor a female, but a new creature, singing to the Redeemer of the creature: Alleluia.
Ikos 9
The Vetia of the multi-talked silence, to your life, holy father Nektarios, marveling at how holy you were, calling yourself a sinner; You were spiritual, taken from the earth of dust: after death you were exalted, while living with your mind down to hell; but we have opened our mouths, like children we cry: Rejoice, head, who exalted the faith; Rejoice, lips that shame godlessness. Rejoice, eye enlightened by the knowledge of God; Rejoice, right hand, strengthened by His might. Rejoice, humble arrogant minds; rejoice, crushing proud hearts. Rejoice, showing strength in weakness; Rejoice, you found joy in tears. Rejoice, dead and alive; rejoice, earthly and heavenly. Rejoice, pea seed of the belly; Rejoice, mature class of the Resurrection. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 10
At least save your soul, like a virgin, you betrothed that one Bridegroom; now, having entered the messenger of Christ from the faces of the virgins, glorious Nectarios, sing the song: Alleluia.
Ikos 10
Thou art a wall to all who resort to you, venerable Nectarios, pray for the grace of the weak to heal and raise to the heavenly heritage: heal us, your children, and raise us to the Kingdom of Christ, but with all our hearts we say to you: Rejoice, elder of grace; Rejoice, youthful guide. Rejoice, innocent shepherd of innocent sheep; Rejoice, wise collector of virgin pearls. Rejoice, spiritual nurturer of the universe; Rejoice, ardent servant of the Eucharist. Rejoice, voice of the humble Christ; Rejoice, word of the building Spirit. Rejoice, experienced in patience; rejoice, cleansed by sorrow. Rejoice, champion of God's truth; Rejoice, heir of Christ's glory. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 11
Thou brought the singing of the Mother of God, servant of God, calling the Mother of Light the Virgin, now thou hast been perfectly enlightened with the understanding of the mystery of the incarnation, raising a voice to the mountain: Alleluia.
Ikos 11
With the light of Divine glory, we enlighten you, Nectarios, in the devil of glory: enlighten the attire of our souls with the Trinity radiance, let us sing unceasingly to you: Rejoice, stone of the Tsar's diadems; Rejoice, Lightning Nosimago on Seraphimex. Rejoice, for the commandment is bright, enlightening your eyes; rejoice, for thou hast loved me more than gold and topaz. Rejoice, silver is kindled, cleansed by the septenary; Rejoice, spiritual harp, Savior's harp. Rejoice, having written the name of God in the hearts; Rejoice, love justifies the feat of faith. Rejoice, carrying the shrine of the Spirit; Rejoice, sanctifying souls corrupted by passions. Rejoice, righteousness, whitened like fine linen; Rejoice, enlightened by the knowledge of the Trinity. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 12
Grace, given by God to you, multiplying you, servant of God, good and faithful Nektarios, the same I will buy spiritual deeds, create us, and gain more, let us sing to Christ: Alleluia.
Ikos 12
Singing your miracles, wonderful Nectarios, vems, as if Christ richly settled in you, for this sake bring down His miraculous right hand on us, saying to the sit: Rejoice, successor of the ancient fathers; Rejoice, new saint of Christ. Rejoice, beauty of the Great Church; rejoice, universal hope. Rejoice, humiliating yourself, glorified by God; Rejoice, walking in the last, first set. Rejoice, thou who knows the affairs of the monastery exactly, as the universe knows it; Rejoice, alien to the valley of glory, honored with heavenly reward. Rejoice, even after death lie motionless, rise up unwell; Rejoice, having appeared to many, tired of crying about the death. Rejoice, two golden women, monasticism and priesthood, received from God; Rejoice, having more than returned the gold to Christ with healing and miracles. Rejoice, Nectarios, Bishop of God.
Kondak 13
Oh, sacred head, wondrous doctor Bishop of God Nectarios! Accept now a small, both warm prayer of your children, the grace of those who believe in you. Grant us healing of ailments and deliver us from eternal perdition, so that we cry out to Christ our Savior with joy: Alleluia.
(This kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1)
Prayers to St. Nektarios
Prayer one
Oh, myrrh-streaming head, to Saint Nectarios, Bishop of God! In times of great apostasy, who captivated the world with wickedness, you shone with piety and crushed the head of the proud Dennitsa, who stung us. For the sake of granting you, Christ heals the ulcers that are incurable, for our iniquities that struck us. We believe: love the righteous God, for the sake of us sinners, have mercy on you, resolve the oath, save you from illness, and throughout the whole universe His name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, will be fearful and glorious, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer two
Oh, Saint Nectarios, God-wise Father! Accept, guardian of the Orthodox faith, the confession of the lips of the people of Christ-named, gathered today in the temple by the grace of God that lives in you. The message is more reachable to the limit of Russia, as you, great in the saints of the saint of Christ, at all ends of the universe calling on your name are and you grant healing from cancer. I heard about the priest, your namesake and the temple in your name, who built with great sorrow. You were struck by a cancerous ulcer of the chest, blood for every day, sharpening, and suffering fiercely, but you did not leave your holy work. All of a sudden, you, mercifully to the Hierarch, having descended from heaven, appeared to him in the temple in a visible image. He, who does not pray to you, is one brother from mortal being, asking your prayers and saying: afterward, I am ready to die, for death does not frighten me.” But you, father, are incorporeal, your face is watered with tears! and the volume of the sufferer, kissing and saying: “Do not grieve, my child, as if you have been tested by illness, you will be healthy. All ubo know about this miracle.” He, having been healed, had no understanding, with whom you spoke, you were invisible to the former. Oh, the great saint of Christ Nectarios! This temple is now complete, and your miracles are like a surging sea multiplying! We will know that the prayer of the righteous should be hastened by our zeal for the service of God and the determination to die for Christ, may we be blessed. They pray to you, righteous father, your sick child: may the will of God be done with us, good, pleasing and perfect, not wanting the sinner to die, but to turn and live to be him. But you, proclaimer of the will of God, heal us blessed phenomenon yours, may God be great in heaven and on earth forever and ever! Amen.
Why did Christ send the great Saint Nectarios of Aegina from Jerusalem on high to serve the Paschal Liturgy in a mountain village on the island of Aegina?
o.Aegina, Greece
The minibus smoothly came to a stop in the dense shade of an old acacia tree, and in a minute we found ourselves in front of stone steps polished by thousands of feet. The sun was at its zenith, heating the mountain air to the state of a lens that creates the optical effects of a mirage. In the distance, sea waves splashed inaudibly, shimmering with facets of precious sapphires. But even if they were made of real diamonds, they would equally fade before the main treasure of the island of Aegina, to which we had three hundred steps.
The fair-haired guy in front, our leader and leader from the Orthodox center "Thessalonica", took off his cap and crossed himself in a sweeping way. A huge white-pink basilica with a red domed roof towered majestically at the top - the monastery of the Holy Trinity, founded at the beginning of the 20th century by Metropolitan Nektarios of Aegina.
Metropolitan Nektarios of Aegina
We crossed the Holy Gates of the monastery. I walked towards the end and for some reason remembered the parable of the three holy simpletons who walked on the waters and prayed to the Holy Trinity: "Three of you, three of us, Lord, have mercy on us." And there are three of us too! And us, Lord, have mercy! We flew, sailed and rode to this hot island from the three ends of Russia - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. This is how interestingly the providence of God brought us here. As we set out on our journey, none of us knew who would be our companion. Only the One Who gathered us on a long journey to pray. Only He Who, in the eternal determination, chose triune Russia as His last earthly throne. Knowing everything from beginning to end, have mercy and forgive what You have chosen through the prayers of the kindest Saint Nectarios.
We passed along emerald cypresses and bouquet trees of the color of bold fuchsia. Do you have premonitions? Feelings of proximity of an incredible, peering into the pupil, incomprehensible, gently touching the vein on the pulse to correct the hoarse voice of blood? Then you will understand the growing feeling of a miracle when we venerated the holy relics of Metropolitan Nektarios in the church.
“There is nothing incurable for Saint Nectarios”
The relics of St. Nectaria
We are called to the cell of the saint. A modest room with whitewashed walls and icons on them testifies to the ascetic owner. A narrow iron bed in the corner, a chair, a table and an old cabinet with a collection of sea sponges - the craft of local fishermen. This is a gift to the saint from local residents. One day, the sponge-catchers on Aegina, before leaving for the sea, prayed to their patron saint and promised to present him with the first sponge they caught in exchange for his blessing. All the sponges caught that day were marked with the sign of the Cross. The shocked catchers immediately brought them to the monastery.
In the monastery on the island of Aegina
Save, Lord, brothers and sisters! - A middle-aged nun stepped on the threshold of the cell. - Thank God that you have come to St. Nektarios.
At the same time there was a loud whisper: "Ours!" A minute later, mother was already serving us a traditional treat in Greek monasteries - coffee with Turkish delight.
We already know that Saint Nectarios is revered in Greece as a great miracle worker. That in Hellas there is even a folk proverb "There is nothing incurable for Saint Nectarios." Our hospitable hosts from the Orthodox center "Thessalonica" told us a lot of wonderful things about the saint, we heard something from people. But we were waiting for the fulfillment of a presentiment - that which has not yet been told and not described. And in answer to our silent prayer, mother put down the coffee pot and sat down next to me on a dark bench polished with cassocks, on which, perhaps, the saint himself was sitting.
One miraculous event in a forgotten mountain village at Easter
A few years ago, the inhabitants of one of the mountain villages of Aegina were left without a priest, - the sister made a long pause and took a breath with her lungs, as if she was going to take an invisible height. - Time passed, but no new priest was appointed. Finally, Great Lent came, and the peasants became agitated. In Greece, on the first and last week of Holy Four Days, work and study stop - Hellas prays. Flags are flown at half-mast everywhere - like mourning for the crucified Christ, people stand daily at long Lenten services, go in processions throughout the district of the parish, keep a strict fast without oil, and many do not eat at all. To remain at this time without a priest for the parish is an unthinkable thing.
After consulting, the peasants decided to write a pleading letter to the ruling bishop of the diocese. "Holy Master," the inhabitants of the village pleaded, "send us a priest at least for a while Holy Week and Easter. So that we can adequately prepare, repent, pray and joyfully meet the Bright Resurrection of Christ with the whole world. Do not leave us as orphans, Holy Lord, do not forget about our grief. Send us a priest whom Your Eminence will bless."
The bishop read the letter and at the next diocesan meeting, in a series of other questions, announced the request of the laity of the Aegina village: "Who can go, fathers, to this village?" But each of those present explained his employment and gave the reason why he would not be able to go. Then the meeting moved on to other issues, and the mountaineers' letter was covered with a heap of other papers. And then they simply forgot about him due to many troubles and preparations for the approaching Easter.
Aegina Monastery
Finally, the Great Day of the Resurrection of Christ has come, which in Greece is extremely festive and solemnly met by the whole world. Orthodoxy is the official religion of Hellas, and here it is also a public holiday, which is celebrated with the participation of not only the church, but also the government hierarchy. The first festive week passed, the diocesan employees went to their workplaces, and soon the bishop found a new letter from the mountain village on his desk. “Holy Vladyka!” the peasants wrote. “There are no words to express all our gratitude and heartfelt gratitude for your pastoral participation and help to our parish. We will forever thank God and you, Holy Vladyka, for the reverent priest whom you sent us to meet Easter. Never before have we had to pray with such a grace-filled and humble servant of God..."
The bishop began the next diocesan meeting with a question: "Which of the priests went to the village from which the last letter was read?" Everyone was silent, no one answered. Great bewilderment and ardent curiosity seized the saint. A few days later, the rocky mountain roads of the island of Aegina swirled with dust - a bishop's motorcade rushed to the mysterious village. For the first time in his life, Vladyka came to this forgotten village with a magnificent retinue. WITH Easter cakes, kulurakia, krashenka and flowers, they were met by the inhabitants in full force, from the old to the young, and solemnly escorted to a small ancient temple.
Aegina Monastery
Vladyka took the magazine, hurriedly flipped through the pages and read: “Nektarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis”
All Greek priests are considered civil servants, and everyone is required to leave an entry in a special church journal, even if he served in the temple once. The archbishop kissed the revered temple icon and immediately went to the altar. Through the open Royal Doors, everyone saw how he took the magazine and went to the high narrow window. Hastily flipping through the pages, he traced the last line with his finger. "Nectarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis"- it was written in beautiful ink there. Vladyka dropped the magazine and fell to his knees where he stood.
The news of the great miracle struck all who stood in the temple like thunder from heaven. A long ringing silence was broken by a flurry of overwhelming feelings. People fell on their knees, raised their hands to grief, embraced, sobbed, loudly thanked God and Saint Nektarios. Only now did everyone present begin to understand what had happened. The Lord Almighty heard the tearful sigh of the heart of His faithful sheep, left in sorrow in a distant small village at the top of the mountain, and sent them a great shepherd from the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord of the earth, due to weakness, forgot about the entrusted small flock, but the Lord of Heaven and Earth did not forget about him. Now they knew what the moment of Truth was. For a whole week Saint Nectarios, who reposed in 1920, was in the flesh with the simple-hearted shepherds and their families, served in the temple, led them processions, led solemn funeral processions-epitaphs with the Holy Sepulcher in the night, sang hymns and prayers with them, comforted, instructed. They had never heard such words about God from anyone. It seemed that this old geronda with a soft voice knew Him personally.
In the monastery of St. Nectaria
Only then did the people understand why all this time unearthly joy overwhelmed their hearts. Why tears of repentance and tenderness flowed like a river, and no one held them back and was not shy. Why they did not want to eat, did not want to sleep, but only to pray with this marvelous good father. The icon of St. Nektarios was in their temple in a place of honor, but none of them recognized him. This the Lord hid from them.
Christ sent St. Nektarios to celebrate Pascha with the shepherds, not only because this area was in his "zone of responsibility." There are other reasons as well...
He was persecuted, accused of bribery, intrigue and even fornication. And somehow he was caught cleaning the floor at school
For many years, the great saint of the Ecumenical Church, Nectarios of Aegina, was mercilessly persecuted. He was subjected to monstrous slander by part of the clergy, tormented by jealousy and envy of his talents and people's love. He was persecuted, volumes of denunciations were written against him, he was accused of bribery and fornication. By the grace of God, he became an eminent theologian, a prolific writer and preacher, and was elevated early to the episcopal rank. Nectarios remained the most visible, the most educated, the most enthusiastic and impeccable.
He was loved and appreciated by the Patriarch, revered by the flock. But a new slander fell upon Vladyka Nectarios, as if he was aiming for a patriarchal position. And His Holiness of Alexandria, believing the slander, changed his mercy to anger: he was expelled from the Patriarchate and banned from serving contrary to church canons, contrary to the holy fathers and traditions. Saint Nektarios left Egypt, where he served, not trying to justify himself or defend himself, but only repeating after the long-suffering Job: "The Lord gave, the Lord took away." He knew, like David, that the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord. Blessed are you when they reproach you and persecute you... (Matthew 5:11). Those great gifts that Nectarios possessed demanded from him great stamina in the face of difficult trials.
Saint Nektarios
The metropolitan was on the verge of poverty, for a long time he had no means of subsistence. The hostess, from whom he rented a room, did not charge him for meals and lodging, seeing in front of her a man of a holy life. He was an itinerant preacher in abandoned villages, working at a school. Once, when the school janitor, a father of many children, fell ill, the saint began to come early in the morning in order to have time to clean up the classrooms and toilets. After being discharged from the hospital, the man barely made it to school. Entering the building, he was speechless when he saw Nektariy with a rag and a shovel. “Do not be afraid,” the saint reassured. “I am not encroaching on your place, on the contrary, I am doing everything to keep it for you until your final recovery ... But be careful: while I live in this world, no one should know about what you saw."
One day, when Saint Nektarios, exhausted by poverty and shaken by the betrayal and distrust of his friends and relatives, prayed in contrition, an amazing peace descended on his heart. It seemed to him that he heard harmonious singing. Guessing what was going on, he looked up and saw Holy Mother of God accompanied by a host of angels singing in a special tune. He wrote down the words and melody. This most beautiful hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos, known as Agni Parthene, is known to the entire Orthodox world.
Few people know that this hymn was written by the hand and heart of Nektarios of Aegina
Mary, Pure Virgin, Most Holy Theotokos,
Queen, Mati Devo, Fleece, covering all,
Exceeding the Heavenly Forces, uncreated radiance,
Faces of maiden Joy and Angels the Highest...
In 1904, Vladyka with several spiritual children, girls who wanted to devote themselves to Christ, came to the island of Aegina in order to choose a place for the monastery. Blessed Island! Here even the dogs don't bark at strangers. When you meet a passerby on your way, a man or a woman, you will most often hear Christ's greeting: "Rejoice!" With meager funds and donations from benefactors, Nectarios purchased the ruins of an old monastery. On one of the marble slabs mounted on the wall of the church narthex, it is written: "Nektarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis, erected this temple to the eternal glory of the Triune God."
Once the Aegina Monastery, which was still under construction, was visited by the Metropolitan of Athens. Stopping at the service entrance, he asked a poorly dressed old man who was preparing building mixture, call the Metropolitan of Pentapolis. The old man immediately went after him. When the Metropolitan of Athens saw a worker who had turned into a hierarch, he experienced some confusion and said:
Is that you, Nectarios? In this form?.. In a few years, your monastery, on which you spend so much effort, will look just like the ruins opposite.
The Saint answered with inspiration:
My brother and co-servant, this is not at all about whether my monastery will come to such a state as you say. On the contrary, soon these ruins will rise on the island to the glory of the Triune God.
Saint Nektarios
God's people do not keep diaries, so we know very little about their inner life, their inner struggle is unknown to us. One ascetic who lived on Aegina said that the saint was seen praying with tears in his eyes in the church in front of the holy icons for three days and three nights without any food or water. No one knows what kind of trial he then underwent. Only after the appearance of the Angel of the Lord did he leave the temple and, having overcome the temptation, returned to his usual Everyday life. Even the saints are subjected to temptations - until the very end of their earthly life.
People who happened to pray with Vladyka said that these services were similar to the Liturgy that should be performed in Heaven. For the saint himself was worthy to become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and the owner of grace-filled gifts.
During the last year of his life in the monastery, the saint suffered from unbearable pains. He had cancer. He spent two months in the Athens hospital, where he was brought by two nuns. Looking at the little old man, dressed in a faded cassock, who was suffering from terrible pain, the duty officer asked: "Is he a monk?" "No," answered the sister, "he is a bishop."
The attendant was indescribably amazed: “For the first time I see a bishop without a panagia, a golden cross, and most importantly, without money”
The saint was placed in a third-rate ward for incurable patients. Soon the nurses noticed that the bandages with which the lord's wounds were tied were fragrant. On November 9, 1920, at the age of seventy-four, the soul of the saint departed to the Lord. The nurse, who was preparing the body for burial, laid his shirt on the edge of a nearby bed, where a sick man, who had suffered from paralysis for many years, lay. The chamber was filled with a marvelous fragrance, and the paralyzed man immediately got out of bed healthy. The fragrance spread throughout the hospital and did not disappear for several days. The Metropolitan's body began to profusely stream myrrh.
When the coffin was brought to Aegina, the whole island came out with tears to see off their saint. He was buried by the common people who loved him like their own father. People carried the coffin of the saint in their arms and then noticed that even the clothes in which they were at the funeral were fragrant. When, three years later, the monastery crypt was opened, where Saint Nektarios was buried, they found his body and vestments completely incorrupt. Smoldering did not even touch the violets placed in the coffin by the girl.
On April 20, 1961, Metropolitan Nectarios was canonized by the Ecumenical Church. And the countless miracles created by the saint do not stop from the moment of his blessed death.
Until the end of his life, he had to carry the cross of exile and the name of the disgraced metropolitan, who did not belong to any autocephalous Church. He was forced to sign all his papers "traveling bishop." It is not surprising that this particular wanderer of God, almost eighty years after his repose, was sent by Jesus to the shepherds in a mountain village cut off from the world, but close to Heaven, to serve the Paschal Liturgy. Christ favors the shepherds who were the first to come to worship him. He loves the simple, as does His faithful servant Nectarios. Vladyka's adopted son said: "He loved the local people very much, especially the poor and humble. When one of the high-ranking officials came to his office, he would say to me:
My child, how empty they are, these scholars..."
Until now, the Lord honors His humble and simple-hearted children greatest miracles and consoles with the prayers of angels and saints. This amazing story-symbol that happened in our days confirms this. It grows up to the Biblical epic, stretches from the time of the forefather Abraham to St. Nektarios of Aegina. All the same, in its center, in the middle of a crazy world, to the death rattle, strangled by the nets of a totalitarian civilization, in the ark-cradle on the top of the mountain, there are heroes whose prototypes were sung in the psalms of King David. This story rises to the Gospel parable. Before the ancient Greek epic. To the mysteries-archetype, where the Shepherd and the flock celebrate Pascha together in blissful eternal joy. Where the laws, images and plot are unchanged now and forever and forever and ever.
The way back to the old acacia blurred underfoot from heat and tears. The guide looked back at the pilgrims buried in the glass and touched the key. The sound of the angelic hymn Agni Parthena, performed by the brethren of the Athos monastery Simono Peter, poured like drops of living rain:
Heaven Honest Strength and Light, more than all the lights,
Most Honorable Lady of all Heavenly Hosts,
Rejoice, Unbrided Bride...
The bus moved slowly down the slope. Pink rocks, a red dome, candles of cypresses floated outside the window. And the sound grew and flew up:
Sacred and Immaculate, to the Lady of All,
Rejoice, unmarried bride.
Incline to me the mercy of the Divine Son,
Rejoice, unmarried bride.
Intercessor of salvation, crouching, I cry out to Ty:
Rejoice, unbrided bride!
Saint Nektarios, one of the most revered Orthodox saints of Greece, and an unknown saint to many in the Russian Church.
On October 1, 1846, in the Turkish village of Silivria (a suburb of Istanbul), Dimos and Vasiliki Kefalas had their fifth child. At baptism, the boy received the name Anastasy. Pious parents raised their children in love for God: from an early age they taught their children prayer chants and read spiritual literature to them. Anastasius most of all liked the 50th psalm, he liked to repeat the words many times: "I will teach the lawless in Your way, and the wicked will turn to You."
Anastasy dreamed of getting a Christian education, but after graduating from elementary school, he was forced to stay in his native village, since the family did not have money to send him to study in the city. When Anastasia was fourteen years old, he begged the captain of the ship en route to Constantinople to take him with him ...
In Constantinople, the young man managed to get a job in a tobacco shop. Here Anastassy, true to his dream of helping his neighbor spiritually, began to write the sayings of the holy fathers on pouches and wrappers of tobacco products. It was not possible to fully eat on a meager salary, and buying clothes was out of the question. Anastassy, in order not to fall into despondency, prayed unceasingly. When clothes and shoes were worn out, he decided to ask the Lord himself for help. After describing his plight in a letter, he wrote the following address on the envelope: "To the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven." On the way to the post office, he met the owner of a nearby shop, who, taking pity on the barefoot young man, offered to take his letter. Anastasy happily handed him his message. The amazed merchant, seeing the unusual address on the envelope, decided to open the letter, and after reading it, he immediately sent money to Anastasia.
Soon Anastasy managed to get a job as a caretaker at the school at the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Here he was able to continue his education.
In 1866, the young man went home to spend the Christmas holidays with his family. During the trip, a storm began. The mast of the ship broke, unable to withstand the onslaught of the wind. Everyone was horrified, but Anastassy did not lose his head: he took off his belt, tied his cross to it and pulled off the mast. With one hand he held the mast, with the other he made the sign of the cross and cried out to the Lord: he asked for the salvation of the ship. The youth's prayer was heard: the ship arrived safely at the port.
Soon Anastasius got a position as a teacher in the village of Lifi on the island of Chios. For seven years, Anastasy not only taught, but also preached "the word of God." In 1876, Anastassy became a resident of the Neo Moni Monastery (New Monastery). On November 7, 1876, Anastassy was tonsured a monk with the name Lazarus. On January 15, 1877, Metropolitan Gregory of Chios ordained Lazarus to the rank of deacon, with the new name Nektarios. The young deacon still dreamed of studying, in his daily prayers he asked the Lord to give him this opportunity.
By the providence of God, one pious rich Christian offered the young monk Nectarius to pay for the journey and education. From 1882 to 1885, Deacon Nektary studied at the Faculty of Theology Athens University. After completing his education, on the recommendation of his benefactor, he moves to Alexandria (Egypt).
On March 23, 1886, Patriarch Safrony the Fourth ordained deacon Nectarios to the priesthood. Father Nektary receives an assignment to St. Nicholas Church in Cairo. In the same temple, he was soon elevated to the rank of archimandrite, and after some time the Patriarch decides to confer on him the title of Supreme Archimandrite of the Church of Alexandria.
Saint Nektarios of Aegina
On January 15, 1889, Supreme Archimandrite Nectarios was ordained a bishop and appointed Metropolitan of the Pentapolis Metropolis.
Influential people of the patriarchal court feared that universal love for the saint would lead him to the number of contenders for the position of His Holiness Patriarch of Alexandria. They slandered the saint. In his deepest humility, the righteous man did not even try to justify himself. The saint left Egypt and returned to Athens.
Returning to Athens, Vladyka Nektary lived for seven months in terrible hardships. In vain he goes to the authorities, he is not accepted anywhere. The mayor of the city, learning about the plight in which Vladyka Nektarios was, secured for him a position as a preacher in the province of Euboea. The fame of an unusual preacher from the provinces soon reached the capital and the Greek royal palace. Queen Olga, having met the elder, soon became his spiritual daughter. Thanks to the queen, Vladyka was appointed director of the Rizari Brothers Theological School in Athens.
One day, a cleaning worker at the school fell ill and was very worried that he would be fired from his job. A few weeks later, when he returned, he found that someone had been doing his job all this time. It turned out that Vladyka himself secretly cleaned the school so that no one notices the absence of a sick employee.
For his great humility and love for people, Vladyka Nectarios was honored with the gifts of the Holy Spirit: insight and the gift of healing.
Among the numerous spiritual children, several girls gathered near Vladyka who wished to devote themselves to the monastic life. In 1904, Vladyka Nektary founded a convent on the island of Aegina. With his own funds, he managed to buy a small plot of land on which there was an abandoned, dilapidated monastery.
Monastery on the island of Aegina
For some time, Elder Nectarios simultaneously led the school and the monastery, but soon he left the school and moved to the island of Aegina. He will spend the last twelve years of his life on this island, which will soon become a place of pilgrimage for many believers. In the meantime, there was a lot of work to be done to restore the monastery… The elder’s spiritual children said that Vladyka did not shy away from any kind of work: he planted trees, laid out flower beds, removed construction debris, and sewed slippers for nuns.
The spiritual children of the elder said that thanks to the prayers of the elder Nectarios, not only the situation on the island changed in better side(robbery and robberies stopped), but the climate has also changed. The peasants more than once turned to the elder for prayerful help during a drought: through the prayer of Vladyka Nektariy, blessed rain descended on the earth.
According to the testimony of the nuns, many believers revered Vladyka as a saint: the believers said that they saw how during prayer he was “all aglow.”
From the memoirs of the nun Evangelina, recorded in 1972 by Manolis Melinos: “He was like incorporeal ... He had some kind of special attraction. All glowed ... He had a calm face. And what purity exuded his glance! Those blue eyes… It seemed that they spoke to you and called you to the Lord… He was full of love for everyone, he was humble, merciful. He was a man who loved silence.
Elder Nectarios was distinguished not only by his endless kindness and love for people and all living things around him, but also by his extraordinary simplicity. In the monastery, he served as a simple priest, and the bishop's vestments always hung near the icon of the Mother of God. The elder ate very modestly, the main food was beans.
In Greece, Bishop Nectarios also had many enemies and envious people. A lot of young people followed the bishop, especially young girls. One 18-year-old girl asked to join the monastery to Vladyka, and he accepted her. The mother of that girl wrote to the police a statement that the bishop had seduced her daughter, raped her, and killed and buried the unborn baby. The police raided the monastery, the bishop was not only insulted, but also beaten. Dead babies were not found, and the girl, like other young nuns, turned out to be a virgin. Soon, by God's punishment, the mother of the young nun went mad, and the policeman who had beaten the bishop fell seriously ill and was healed after he arrived at the monastery and, falling to his feet, asked for forgiveness from Bishop Niktarii.
In September 1920, the seventy-year old man was taken to a hospital in Athens. Vladyka was assigned to a ward for poor terminally ill people. For two months, doctors tried to alleviate the suffering of a seriously ill old man (he was diagnosed with acute inflammation of the prostate gland). Vladyka courageously endured the pain. There are testimonies of medical workers that the bandages with which they tied the old man exuded an extraordinary aroma.
Vladyka Nectarios had cancer. Vladyka lay down in a simple hospital ward, and the doctors did not know that the metropolitan was in the ward. Only once the doctor, seeing a nun beside him, asked if this man was a monk, and when he found out that it was a bishop, he said with surprise: " For the first time I see a bishop without a panagia and a golden cross, and most importantly - without money«.
On November 8, 1920, the Lord called the soul of Vladyka Nectarios to Himself. When the body of the deceased began to change clothes, his shirt was accidentally placed on the bed of a paralyzed patient lying next to him. A miracle happened: the patient was immediately healed.
From the memoirs of nun Nektaria: “When Vladyka died and he was transferred to Aegina, I also went. The coffin was accompanied by many priests, his students of the Rizari school, and a mass of people. All Aegina is out! The flags were flown at half mast. Shops, houses are closed... They carried him in their arms. Those who carried the coffin said that later their clothes smelled so fragrant that they reverently hung them in wardrobes as a shrine and no longer wore them ... We were all sisters, about ten people were at the coffin and held a box of cotton wool. We constantly rubbed Vladyka's forehead, beard and hands between the fingers. In these places, Miro showed through like moisture through the walls of a jug! This went on for three days and three nights. All people dismantled cotton wool. Myro was very fragrant."
The spiritual daughter of the elder, Maria, said that, seeing the elder on his last journey, put a bouquet of forget-me-nots in his coffin. And when five months later, during the reburial, they opened the coffin, everyone was extraordinarily surprised to see that not only the body and clothes of the righteous man had not undergone decay, but also the flowers have kept their freshness.
Marble sarcophagus, in which until 1961 the relics of St. Nektarios were buried
Many miraculous healings took place at the grave of Elder Nectarios. It should be noted that the inhabitants of the Greek island of Aegina, through the prayers of the righteous, were protected during the occupation. After the war, the former German commandant of Athens confessed that military pilots flying out to bomb about. Crete, flying past the island of Aegina, did not see it(and this, despite good visibility, and the absence of clouds).
The Greeks say that for the holy Lord Nectarios there is nothing that cannot be healed, only faith in his help is needed. Saint Nektarios of Aegina is the spiritual patron of all cancer patients.
Saint Nektarios saw a vision of angels singing hymns to the Theotokos. The saint wrote this hymn on paper with his own hand.
LITERAL TRANSLATION:
Pure Virgin, Mistress, undefiled Mother of God,
Virgin, Mother Queen and all-watered fleece.
Exceeding the heavens, the brightest [sun] rays,
Joy of virgin faces, angels supreme.
Shining brighter than heaven, the purest light.
Most holy of all heavenly hosts.
Virgin Mary, Lady of the whole world,
The undefiled Bride is all-pure, the Lady of the All-holy.
Mary is the bride of the Sovereign, the cause of our joy,
Holy Virgin, Queen, Holy Mother,
Most honorable Cherubim, most glorified,
Disembodied Seraphim, Thrones supreme.
Rejoice, song of the Cherubim, rejoice [praise] song of the angels,
Rejoice, song of the Seraphim, joy of the archangels.
Rejoice, peace and joy, port of salvation.
The drawing of the Word is sacred, the color of incorruption.
Rejoice, Paradise of sweetness and eternal life.
Rejoice, tree of life, source of immortality.
I pray to you, Lady, I now call you.
I look at You with shame / fear, I seek Your mercy.
Holy and undefiled Virgin, All-Holy Lady,
I warmly appeal to Thee, consecrated Temple.
Stand up for me, deliver me from the enemy
And show me an heir of eternal life.
Rejoice, unmarried bride.
Head of Saint Nectarios
Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to the island of Aegina to the holy monastery to venerate the relics of the saint, ask for help and blessings. November 9 (according to the new style) in Greece is the feast day of St. Nektarios. On this day, there is a special pandemonium here, as a huge number of believers come together who want to take part in the festive divine service and honor the memory of St. Nektarios.
The island of Aegina lies in the middle of the Saranic Gulf, 30 km. from the Athenian port of Piraeus. The ferry ride to Aegina takes just over an hour. The ticket price for the ferry is 7 euros. In the port of Aegina, turn left at the exit and after 200 meters there is a bus stop that goes to the monastery of the Holy Trinity, where the relics of St. Nektarios are located.
Mitra and head of St. Nektarios
The main temple of the monastery is the impressive church of St. Nektarios, built not so long ago. This grandiose building is made in the neo-Byzantine style and is decorated with magnificent mosaics. From the church, a steep staircase leads up the hillside to the monastic complex itself. Here is the Church of the Holy Trinity - the oldest temple of the monastery. Nearby, in a small chapel, there is a marble sarcophagus, where the body of St. Nektarios previously rested, and nearby is a source of holy water. The monastic cell in which the saint lived the last years of his life has also survived to this day (it is open to the public). The main shrine of the monastery, no doubt, is the head of the saint and his miraculous relics.
Troparion, tone 4
Having lived a monastic life, like a wise hierarch, / glorified the Lord with a virtuous life, Nectarios reverend. / The same, the Comforter is glorified by strength, / by your divine relics, / drive away the demons and heal the sick, / by the faith of those who come.
Prayer to St. Nektarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis, Aegina Wonderworker
Oh, myrrh-streaming head, to Saint Nectarios, Bishop of God! In times of great apostasy, who captivated the world with wickedness, you shone with piety and crushed the head of the proud Dennitsa, who stung us. For the sake of granting you, Christ heals the ulcers that are incurable, for our iniquities that struck us.
We believe: love the righteous God, for the sake of us sinners, have mercy on you, resolve the oath, save you from illness, and throughout the whole universe His name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, will be fearful and glorious, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
Holy Hierarch Father Nectarios, pray to God for us.
2 strong prayers to St. Nektarios of Aegina the miracle worker
4.5 (90.53%) 38 votes.Prayer to the miracle worker Nectarius of Aegina for healing
“Oh, myrrh-streaming head, to Saint Nectarios, Bishop of God! In times of great apostasy, who captivated the world with wickedness, you shone with piety and crushed the head of the proud Dennitsa, who stung us. For the sake of granting you, Christ heals the ulcers that are incurable, for our iniquities that struck us. We believe: love the righteous God, for the sake of us sinners, have mercy on you, resolve the oath, save you from illness, and throughout the whole universe His name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, will be fearful and glorious, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen."
Prayer to St. Nectarios of Aegina for oncology
“Oh, Saint Nectarios, God-wise Father!
Accept, guardian of the Orthodox faith, the confession of the lips of the people of Christ-named, gathered today in the temple by the grace of God that lives in you. The message is more reachable to the limit of Russia, as you, great in the saints of the saint of Christ, at all ends of the universe calling on your name are and you grant healing from cancer. I heard about the priest, your namesake and the temple in your name, who built with great sorrow. You were struck by a cancerous ulcer of the chest, blood for every day, sharpening, and suffering fiercely, but you did not leave your holy work. All of a sudden, you, mercifully to the Hierarch, having descended from heaven, appeared to him in the temple in a visible image. He, who does not pray to you, is one from mortal being, asking your prayers and saying: afterward, I am ready to die, for death does not frighten me. But you, father, are incorporeal, your face is watered with tears! and the volume of the sufferer, kissing and saying: “Do not grieve, my child, as if you have been tested by illness, you will be healthy. All ubo know about this miracle.” He, having been healed, had no understanding, with whom you spoke, you were invisible to the former. Oh, the great saint of Christ Nectarios! This temple is now complete, and your miracles are like a surging sea multiplying! But we will know that the prayer of the righteous should be hastened by our zeal for the service of God and the determination to die for Christ, may we be blessed. They pray to you, righteous father, your sick child: may the will of God be done with us, good, pleasing and perfect, not wanting the sinner to die, but to turn and live to be him. But you, proclaimer of the will of God, heal us with your grace-filled appearance, may God be great in heaven and on earth forever and ever!
Amen."
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