Nectarios of Aegina ( el, Νεκτάριος Αιγίνης; 1 October 1846 – 8 November 1920), Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Wonderworker of Aegina, is one of the most renowned Greek saints, venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and officially recognized by the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

in 1961. He is also widely venerated among Eastern Catholics. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is celebrated every year on 9 November.

Life

Anastasios Kephalas, later Nectarios, was born on 1 October 1846 in Selymbria, to a poor family. His parents, Dimos and Maria Kephalas, were pious Christians but not wealthy.Also known as Nektarios of Egina, he was baptized as Anastasios Kefalas (Αναστάσιος Κεφαλάς). At the age of 14, he moved to Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, to work and further his education. In 1866, at age 20, he moved to the island of Chios to take a teaching post. On November 7, 1876, he became a monk, at age 30, in the Monastery of Nea Moni, for he had long wished to embrace the

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

life. Three years after becoming a monk, he was ordained a deacon, taking the name Nectarios. He graduated from the University of Athens in 1885. During his years as a student of the University of Athens he wrote many books, pamphlets, and Bible commentaries. Following his graduation he went to Alexandria, Egypt, where he was ordained a priest and served the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo. He was consecrated Metropolitan bishop of Pentapolis (an ancient Diocese in Cyrenaica, in what is now Libya) by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Sophronios in 1889. He served as a bishop in Cairo for one year. Nectarios was very popular with the people, which gave rise to jealousy among his colleagues. They were able to persuade his superior that Nectarios had ambitions to displace the Patriarch. Nectarios was suspended from his post without explanation. He then returned to Greece in 1891, and spent several years as a preacher (1891–1894). He was then director of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School for the education of priests in Athens for fifteen years. He developed many courses of study, and wrote numerous books, while preaching widely throughout Athens. In 1904, at the request of several nuns, he established Holy Trinity Monastery for them on the island of Aegina. Nectarios ordained two women as sub- deaconesses in 1911. Up to the 1950s, a few Greek Orthodox nuns also became monastic sub-deaconesses. In 1986,

Christodoulos Christodoulos () is a Greek given name. It is a theophoric name which means "servant of Christ". It can refer to: * Christodoulos (Greek patriarch of Alexandria), r. 907–932 * Pope Christodoulos of Alexandria, Coptic patriarch in 1047–107 ...

, the Metropolitan of Demetrias and later Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, ordained a woman sub-deacon in accordance with the "ritual of Saint Nectarios" (the ancient Byzantine text Nectarios had used). In December 1908, at the age of 62, Nectarios resigned from his post as school director and withdrew to the Holy Trinity Convent on Aegina, where he lived out the rest of his life as a monk. He wrote, published, preached, and heard confessions. He also tended the gardens, carried stones, and helped with the construction of the monastery buildings that were built with his own funds. Nectarios died on November 8, 1920, at the age of 74, following hospitalization for prostate cancer and two months of treatment. His body was taken to the Holy Trinity Convent, where he was buried by his best friend

Savvas of Kalymnos Saint Savvas of Kalymnos (also known as Saint Savvas the New) is the patron saint of the Greek island of Kalymnos, where he lived during the last twenty years of his life as the priest and spiritual father of the nuns of the Convent of All Sa ...

, who later painted the first icon of Nectarios. The funeral of Nectarios was attended by multitudes of people from all parts of Greece and Egypt.

Veneration

The relics of Nectarios were removed from his grave on 2 September 1953. Official recognition of Nectarios as a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople took place on 20 April 1961. The feast day of Saint Nectarios is celebrated every year on 9 November.

Decision of Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria

On September 15, 1998, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa restored the ecclesiastical order of Nectarios: : ''Alexandria 15th September 1998'' : ''The Holy Spirit has enlightened the gathered members of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa, under the leadership of H.B. Petros VII, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, more than a century since Saint Nektarios, the great Teacher and Father of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church was expelled from the Church of Alexandria, to reach the following decision:'' : ''Taking into account the resolution of the Church to rank Saint Nektarios amongst the saints because of his innumerable miracles and his acceptance within the religious conscience of Orthodox Christians throughout the world, we appeal to the mercy of the ever-charitable God.'' : ''We hereby restore the ecclesiastical order of the Saint of our Century, Saint Nektarios, and grant to him all due credits and honours. We beseech Saint Nektarios to forgive both us, unworthy as we are, and our predecessors, our brothers of the Throne of Alexandria, for opposition to the Saint and for all which, due to human weakness or error, our Holy Father, Bishop of Pentapolis, Saint Nektarios, suffered.'' :::''PETROS VII, By the Grace of God'' ::''Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa.''

Works

;Translated into English *
Repentance and Confession, 2nd Printing - 2011
', (Translated and Published by St. Nektarios Monastery, Roscoe, NY). *
Christology, 2nd Printing - 2012
', (Translated and Published by St. Nektarios Monastery, Roscoe, NY).

In popular media

The life of Nectarios was depicted in the 2021 film ''Man of God'', written and directed by

Yelena Popovic Yelena or Jelena is a feminine given name. It is the Russian form of Helen, written Елена in Russian. Notable people called Yelena *Yelena Afanasyeva (born 1967), former Russian athlete who competed in the 800 metres * Yelena Vladimiro ...

Notes

External links

Biographical accounts * Sotos Chondropoulos.
SAINT NEKTARIOS: The Saint of Our Century
'' Translated by Peter and Aliki Los. Publications "Καινούργια Γή", Greece.
St. Nektarios Monastery, Roscoe, NY
)

at www.serfes.org

at www.st-seraphim.com

at www.fatheralexander.org
Agios Nektarios Church & Monastery
at www.aeginagreece.com Selected writings

at www.serfes.org Some miracle accounts

at www.sprint.net.au
eviasieghina.ro
St. Nectarios' miraculous relics
Visiting Aghios Nectarios, Aegina island, Greece (departing from Athens) - With photos
Other * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nectarios Of Aegina 1846 births 1920 deaths 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria People from Aegina Saints of modern Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Miracle workers People from Silivri Poet priests Greek saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church