St. Nektarios of Aegina

Our beloved patron saint was born on October 1, 1846, in the village of Silyvria in the region of Thrace, Greece, the fifth of six children. His parents were simple and pious Orthodox Christians named Demos and Vasiliki Kephalas. His baptismal name was Anastasios. Since his family was very poor, at the age of 14 it was decided that Anastasios should go to Constantinople in order to work and go to school. Upon arriving in Constantinople, he found a job as a merchant apprentice. At the age of 20, he left Constantinople and went to the island of Chios. There, Anastasios was given a position as a teacher. It was during his years on Chios that he developed a strong love for the monastic life, and he visited the monasteries on the island.

On November 7, 1876, Anastasios was tonsured a monk and received the name Lazarus. He was ordained a deacon, and received the name Nektarios, on January 15, 1877, the anniversary of his baptism. The deacon went to Athens to complete his high school education and later to enter the School of Theology. During his studies of the faith and Church Fathers, he began to write spiritual books and pamphlets. Following the completion of his studies, the Patriarch of Alexandria invited him to Egypt.

The people loved Nektarios, and soon he was ordained to the priesthood by Patriarch Sophronious IV, in March of 1886. He worked with humility, meekness, simplicity, self-control, and compassion. The Christians of Alexandria loved him greatly.

Three years later, Nektarios became Metropolitan of Pentapolis. Some clergy around the area grew jealous of Nektarios' popularity and began to spread rumors about him, especially to the Patriarch. The slanderous talk eventually caused Nektarios to be removed from his position in the church. With tremendous grief, he departed quietly and returned to Greece. Nektarios arrived poor, because he either gave his money to the poor or used it to publish his writings. The false rumors from Egypt followed him to Athens. For a long time he could not find work in the Church.

In all of these difficult times, Nektarios remained patient, increasing his prayers and trusting that God would direct his path. In 1894, he was appointed Director of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School, where he taught classes of theology and served as a model of true virtue. His young students loved him. Many people in the area came to hear his sermons.

On November 9, 1920, after a painful illness, Nektarios gave up his soul to God. At the moment of his repose, the entire hospital was filled with a beautiful and divine fragrance. An article of Nektarios' clothing was placed on a sick man who had been paralyzed for many years; immediately the man was healed. This was one of the many miracles attributed to the holy relics of St. Nektarios. The Saint's body was returned to Aegina to be buried at the Holy Trinity Convent.

The holy relic remained incorrupt for twenty years after his repose. In the years that followed, people flocked to the Holy Trinity Convent, and many were cured of cancer, heart disease, arthritis, epilepsy and other illnesses, when anointed with oil from a lamp burning before the Saint's icon. Eventually, the Patriarchate of Constantinople proclaimed Nektarios a saint in 1961. He is commemorated on November 9.

St. Nektarios taught: "Remember always that the Lord is with you."