Saint Nektarios, whose name was Anastas Kefalas, was born in Southern Thrace on October 1, 1846 AD. He grew up in a large and poor family, and his mother and grandmother closed the curtains every night so that the Turks would not see the lamp lit in the children’s room, where everyone kneeled before the holy icons and prayed. His grandmother loved him very much because he looked like an angel, very eager to follow his lessons and loved the Bible and the Psalms. She helped him a lot in learning to pray and gave him a wooden cross, which was his most precious possession.

At the age of thirteen, he traveled to Constantinople to learn. He worked as a porter and then as a laborer to secure a living. Then he began working in the church field, teaching children the alphabet and continuing his education at the same time to become a teacher. The temptations of money did not attract his attention. Study, inner life, and prayer helped him discover his desire for an ascetic life, and he found true happiness and comfort in the embrace of the Church.

Education, monasticism and priesthood:

He went to the island of Chios and spent ten years teaching Phileti. In 1876 AD, he became a monk. He learned from the traditional teaching of the Church that the Orthodox monk is nothing but a beacon and a shining light in the darkness, and he was called Brother Lazarus. He spent three years in the monastery, living in asceticism and austerity. His soul was enlightened by the light of Christ, and he began to derive humility, love, and giving from him.

Then he was ordained a deacon and was given the name “Nectarios.” With the help of a wealthy nobleman, he traveled to Athens to continue his secondary studies. He was also sent to Alexandria to Patriarch Sophronius, who loved him and sent him again to Athens to complete his university education. Since life was difficult in that era of time, he would give up his food to save one of those for whom Christ died. After obtaining his university degree, he returned to Alexandria, where the Patriarch himself ordained him a priest in 1886 AD. Five months later, he received the rank of archimandrite in Cairo. He was appointed to several positions, where he worked hard in the Lord's field to plant the divine word. He also beautified the Church of St. Nicholas with honorable icons, and most of his efforts were to collect donations for the poor, to whom he gave all his money. In 1886 AD, he was elected Bishop of the Five Cities (Libya region). When rumors were fabricated against him by the clerical circles, Patriarch Sophronius believed them. Without allowing him to defend himself, he was removed from office and expelled from Alexandria. Persecution pursued him from all sides, and only the people remained by his side, a helpless mass that had no name or authority. However, the saint continued to pray for the patriarch until the end of his life.

Return to his country:

Initially, he spent his time in Athens reading theology. He lived oppressed, in extreme poverty, fasting, and patient. He was appointed a preacher in the city of Chalkis on the island of Ibos after knocking on all doors begging to work in the church with insistence and patience. When several cities were entrusted to him, he chose the city of Kemi for his residence, and he worked in preaching and liturgical services. He used to make inspection visits to the needy and isolated patients.

In 1893 AD. He was transferred to the city of Lamia, then appointed director of the theological school in Athens known as “Resario.” Despite his many sufferings with members of the school's executive office, he tolerated all criticism silently, and thanks to him, sufficient numbers of qualified seminarians were established, not only practically but also spiritually to serve the Orthodox Church.

He was so humble that he would clean the school toilets every day before sunrise for two months on behalf of the sick worker, fearing that he would lose his job. He took care of the lessons and problems of the school as well as the people who came to confession, writing theological books, conducting the unexpected liturgical services that were requested of him, and helping everyone who knocked on his door. He strongly defended Orthodoxy against the trends opposing and criticizing it. He was personally interested in planting the school garden with plants and flowers, because he loved contemplating the art and wisdom of the Creator and saying: “You open your hand and everything is filled with goodness.” During his work at the school, he visited the Holy Mountain (Athos), and there a hermit described him as a prophet: “the bishop of the five cities who has long been ranked among the saintly bishops.”

He always saw the Master in front of him during prayer. He often told the Mother of God all his problems in detail, prayed for the whole world and for his students, and begged the Mother of God for Orthodox monasticism to grow and flourish. Crowds in Athens and Persia were also flocking to participate in Mass and listen to his sermons wherever he went. Events continued...most of them were painful incidents that made him feel tired.

Founding of the monastery:

A group of girls gathered around him wanting to embrace monastic life, so they chose an old monastery in Zanta on the island of Ayena. As soon as he arrived there, he healed a young man afflicted with an evil spirit and then said to him: “These fainting sensations will not bother you after today, my son. Persevere in your studies because this will benefit you in life.” the future". He healed a woman suffering from bleeding. After the Divine Liturgy that was held in the island’s cathedral, he recited requests for rain - after a three-year hiatus - after which heavy rain fell, and he repeated: “Glory be to the Lord... glory be to the Lord.”

He continued to correspond with his girls and take care of them spiritually and financially. He did not occupy his mind with managing financial matters because he used to say: “Spiritual works based on material means or human capabilities are not achieved.” He used to give in charity whatever money he earned: from his work, donations, and the publication of his books and writings, which he often distributed for free. He was completely confident that God would send her replacement. He wrote in one of his letters to the nuns: “Every pain we endure with patience is a step that raises us toward perfection.”

After he resigned from his job at the seminary in 1908 AD. A residence was built for him outside the monastery. He allocated a room for educating illiterate girls, and converted a room into a cobbler's workshop - the profession he had learned when he was a monk in Chios - to repair the torn slippers that the nuns were wearing and teach them the profession.

His intention was to establish a preparatory school for young women to receive moral and religious education and some manual and domestic work because he believed that the secret of people’s progress lay in the hands of young women, future mothers.

He often stayed up late at night, despite his fatigue, to study and write. He was a strong defender of the meek Orthodox Church, as it is the only ark that contains divine power and truth, and possesses great power for salvation. He fought against the attacks of many enemies, including Freemasons, modern materialists, politicians, heretics, and heretics.

Ten years after the founding of the monastery, Theocletus, the Metropolitan of Athens, became angry with envy, so he retracted his verbal approval to build the monastery and threatened to demolish it. Our saint had to drink the cup of patience until the end, as his work did not receive official recognition until after his death.

His slumber:

He suffered from a serious prostate disease for a long time, and was subject to terrible pain that penetrated his heart, intensifying with time. He was admitted to the hospital and remained for two months, during which time the doctors were not able to perform surgery on him. On 11/9/1920 AD (Eastern) corresponding to 11/22 (Western), the nun accompanying him heard him say: Did you address the speech, O Lord? He entrusted his holy and patient soul to his beloved teacher.

Many miracles occurred after he fell asleep, including the healing of incurable diseases and the expulsion of demons. His body remained intact for twenty years, exuding an indescribable fragrance. After this period, his body turned to dust, so people were able to take relics from him, and the perfume still emanates from his bones to this day. In fact, every object that touches his bones becomes a source of perfume.

This saint did not achieve glory in his life. Rather, as he once said to his student Kosti (who accompanied and served him throughout his life): “Glory is not for those who are in the midst of struggle, waiting for judgment.” That glory is somewhere above, in the triumphant Church.” The great saint was glorified in the victorious Church. He is now standing before the divine throne, the throne of the Holy Trinity, which he did not utter throughout his life without being moved or terrified. He intercedes for everyone who seeks him, as he is the intercessor of cancer patients, because he healed some cases in his life, and after his death he continues to heal many to this day.

The church celebrates him on November 9.

Troparia in the first tune
Come, O believers, let us honor Nectarius, born in Silivria and the banner of Aegina, who appeared in recent times, and a genuine lover of virtue. Since he is the precious servant of Christ. As healing springs forth in all circumstances to those who cry out to Him with faith. Glory be to Christ who glorified you. Glory be to Him who made you miraculous. Glory be to Him who through you made healing for all. Amen

Selections from his sayings (his teaching)

• He said in Orthodoxy:
  • O Orthodox, thousands of winds are blowing against you, thousands of dark forces are fighting you and revolting, wanting to uproot you from the world and struggling to extract you from people’s hearts. They wanted to make you a lost hope, a museum, a tragic past, and a history that has passed and ended. However, it is God Almighty, the Holy Trinity, the Most Benevolent and All-Wise, who controls this chaos, throws you into a corner that is farthest from what you expected, and covers you like a rose under a rock. It keeps you in the hearts of the simplest people, who have no worldly power or knowledge. And here you remain to this day. Here you are, still alive and existing, nourishing the emerging generations, cultivating every good spot on the earth, distributing strength, life, heaven, and light, and opening for people the doors of eternity.
• Christianity
  • The Christian religion is not a philosophical system over which people educated and trained in the metaphysical sciences argue, embracing or rejecting it according to the opinion formed by each of them. It is the faith established in people's souls that should be spread to everyone and preserved in their consciences...
  • There are truths in Christianity that are beyond our rational understanding, and man's limited mind cannot comprehend them. Our mind perceives it, is convinced of it, and bears witness to its supernatural existence...
  • Christianity is a religion of revelation. God reveals His glory only to those who have been perfected by virtue. Christianity teaches perfection through virtue and requires its followers to be holy and perfect. Christianity deplores and resists those who are under the influence of fantasy. He who is truly perfect becomes, with divine help, outside the body and the world, and enters another spiritual world. And of course, not by imagination but by the brilliance of grace. Without grace and without revelation, man, even the most virtuous among men, cannot rise above the body and the world.
  • God reveals Himself to the humble person who lives according to virtue. Those who ride the wing of imagination try to fly like Akiros and reach the same end. Those who harbor illusions do not pray; Because the one who prays raises his mind and heart to God, while the one who turns to fantasies leads himself to deviation. Those who are addicted to imagination withdraw from God's grace and from the world of divine revelation. They have abandoned the heart in which grace is revealed and have subjected themselves to an illusion devoid of all grace. The heart is the only one that receives knowledge of matters that are not understood by the senses, because God, who resides in the heart and moves within it, speaks to it and reveals to it the essence of the desired matters.
  • Seek the Lord every day. But seek it in your heart and not outside it. And when you find him, stand with trembling and fear like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, because your heart has become a throne for God. But in order to find God, be humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord hates the arrogant, but He visits the humble in heart, and that is why He says: “To whom will I look, but to him who is just and humble in heart?”
  • The divine light illuminates the pure heart and the pure mind, because they are capable of receiving light. While impure hearts and minds, while they are not capable of receiving enlightenment, they greatly detest the light of knowledge, the light of truth. She loves darkness... The Lord loves those with a pure heart, listens to their prayers, grants them his requests that lead to salvation, reveals himself to them, and teaches them the secrets of the divine nature.
• the church
  • The word “church,” according to the precise Orthodox view, has two meanings. One of them expresses her doctrinal and religious personality, that is, her inner essence, the spiritual essence in particular, while the second expresses her external personality. Thus, according to the Orthodox faith, the Church is defined in a dual way: as a religious institution and as a religious community.
  • Therefore, the Church can be defined as a religious institution in this way: The Church is a divine religious institution from the New Testament, built by our Savior Jesus Christ through the plan of incarnation, based on the belief on the Day of Pentecost in the descent of the All-Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ the Savior and His holy apostles, whom He made instruments of divine grace. To immortalize his saving work. This institution has been entrusted with filling out the declared facts. In it the Holy Spirit works through the sacraments, in which those who approach Christ in faith are renewed, and in which both the apostolic teaching and tradition, written and unwritten, are preserved.
  • The Church can also be defined as a religious community in this way: The Church is a community of human beings united by the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
  • The correct view of the Church classifies it into militant and victorious. The Church is a warrior as long as she struggles against evil so that goodness may prevail, and she is victorious in the heavens where the choir of the righteous resides who have striven and perfected their faith in God and righteousness.
• tradition
  • Holy Tradition is the Church itself. Without Holy Tradition there is no Church. Whoever denies tradition denies the Church and the teaching of the Apostles.
  • Before the Bible was written, that is, before the writing of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles, and before their spread among the churches of the world, the Church was based on Holy Tradition. The sacred texts are to tradition as the part is to the whole.
  • The Fathers of the Church viewed tradition as the faithful guide to the interpretation of the Bible and it is necessarily necessary for understanding the truths contained in the book. The structure of church services, especially the Divine Liturgy, the services themselves and the method of conducting the services, as well as some other prayers and arrangements in the church, all go back to the tradition of the Holy Apostles. In their discussions, the Holy Councils relied not only on the Bible, but also on tradition as from a pure spring. Therefore, the Eighth Canon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council says: “If anyone violates any part of the Church’s tradition, written or unwritten, let him be excommunicated.”
• Discovering God
  • It is clear that unbelief is the offspring of an evil heart; A pure heart free of deception finds God everywhere, shows Him everywhere, and always believes without hesitation in His existence. When a man of pure heart looks upon the world of nature, that is, upon heaven, earth, sea, and all that is in them, and when he notices the systems that compose it: the infinite multitude of stars in the sky, the innumerable multitude of birds, every kind of animal on earth, the variety of plants on it, and the abundance of fish in the sea He was astonished and spontaneously exclaimed with the Prophet: “How great are your deeds, O Lord! You have done them all with wisdom.” This man, driven by his pure heart, also discovers God in the world of grace in the Church, this world from which the evil man was excluded. The man of pure heart believes in the Church and values the spiritual order, and finds God in the sacraments, in the heights of theology, in the light of divine revelations, in the truths of doctrine, in the commandments of the law, in the achievements of the saints, in good works, in every perfect gift, and in general in all creation. The Lord rightly said in his beatitudes about those with purity of heart: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
• Self-knowledge
  • He who does not know himself does not know God either. Whoever does not know God does not know the truth and nature of things in general. He who does not know himself always makes mistakes and constantly turns away from God. He who does not know the nature of things and what they really are in themselves is unable to evaluate them according to their value and to distinguish between the expensive and the cheap, and between the trivial and the precious. Therefore, this person occupies himself in the pursuit of trivial and intuitive things, completely oblivious to and uninterested in the eternal and more valuable matters.
  • Man must seek to know himself and God, and to understand the nature of things as they are in themselves, for this becomes the image and likeness of God.
• Human
  • Man is a composite being, composed of an earthly body and a heavenly soul... The soul is closely united with the body, yet it is independent of it.
  • Man is not only an intellect, but also a heart. The forces of these two centers, in their mutual support of each other, make man perfect and teach him what he cannot learn by reason alone. If the mind teaches about the natural world, then the heart teaches us about the supernatural world... A person is complete when he develops his heart and mind together. And now the heart is growing through the declared religion.
• Immortality of the soul
  • The rational human soul has supernatural and infinite ambitions. If the rational soul follows the body and dies with it, it must be subject to it and follow in all its desires. Independence would be contrary to both the laws of nature and logic, because it disturbs the harmony that exists between the body and the soul. As a relation to the body, the soul must submit to the body and follow it in all its lusts and desires, while on the contrary, the soul dominates the body and imposes its will on it. The soul subjugates the desires and whims of the body, bridles them, and directs them as it wants. This phenomenon is noticed by every thinking person. Everyone who is aware of his rational self is aware of the soul’s dominance over the body.
  • What proves the soul’s dominance over the body is its obedience when self-denial leads it to sacrifice for the sake of the soul’s abstract ideas. It would not have been possible to understand the control of the soul with the aim of giving priority to its principles, ideas, and views, if the soul was dying with the body. A soul susceptible to death cannot reach this height, nor can it condemn itself to death along with the body in order to give priority to abstract ideas that lack meaning, since neither noble thoughts nor honorable and courageous intentions mean anything to the soul susceptible to death.
  • Therefore, a soul qualified for these matters is an immortal soul.
• Life after death
  • The teachers of the Orthodox Church based on the Bible teach that those who have fallen asleep in the Lord go to a place of rest according to verse 13:14 in Revelation of John: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, the Spirit says, so that they may rest from their labors. And follow them.” This place of rest is viewed as a spiritual paradise where the souls of those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, the souls of the righteous, enjoy rest as they await the day of reward and reward of God's call in Jesus Christ.
  • As for sinners, they know that their souls go to hell, where there is torment, sorrow, and groaning awaiting the horrific Day of Judgment. The Fathers of the Orthodox Church do not accept the existence of another place, as the Bible does not mention such a place.
  • After the end of the general judgment, the Righteous Judge will announce the decision to both righteous and sinners. To the righteous he will say: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” While to sinners he will say: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Those will go to eternal hell while the righteous will go to eternal life. This punishment after the general judgment will be complete, final, and decisive. It will be complete because what receives what it deserves is not the soul alone, as in man's partial judgment after death, but rather the soul and body together. It will be final because it is permanent and not temporary like the secondary judgment. It will be decisive because for both righteous and sinners it will be eternal and unchangeable.
• Saints
  • Our Church honors the saints not as gods, but as faithful servants, as pure men and friends of God. It praises the struggles they have endured and the deeds they have done to the glory of God by the work of His grace, in such a way that all the honor the Church pays them points to the Supreme Being who viewed their lives on earth with approval. The Church honors them by remembering them annually with public celebrations and by building churches in honor of their name.
  • The pious men of God, whom God is the greatest on earth, have been honored by the Holy Church of God since it was established by Christ the Savior.
• Repentance
  • Man's salvation is based on two factors: God's grace and man's will. The two must work together if the goal is to achieve salvation. Repentance is a sacrament in which whoever repents of his sins confesses them before a spiritual father appointed by the church and given the authority to forgive sins, and from this spiritual father he receives absolution from his sins and is reconciled with God whom he sinned against.
  • Repentance means remorse and change of mind. The hallmarks of repentance are contrition, tears, hatred of sin and love of righteousness.
• Virtue
  • We must do everything we can to acquire virtue and moral wisdom, for the reward is beautiful and the hope is great. The path to virtue is effort and toil. The door that leads to life is difficult, the path is narrow, and few will find it. While the door to vice is wide and the path broad, it leads to destruction.
• Spiritual exercise
  • Spiritual exercise is training in piety and is the most precious, as it is the promise of the present and future life. Efforts made for piety bring spiritual happiness. Theophylactus says: “Train yourself in piety, that is, in pure faith and right living. Training is therefore necessary, as is continuous effort. He who trains practices until he wins, even if there is no match.” Training accustoms a person to being gentle, moderate, able to control his anger, control his desires, be charitable, love his fellow human beings, and practice righteousness. Training is righteous asceticism, which makes a person's way of life praiseworthy.
• Fasting
  • Fasting is a commandment from the Church that obligates a person to adhere to it on specific days. Our Savior teaches regarding fasting: “If you fast...” From what he teaches we can learn: 1) that fasting is pleasing to God, 2) that whoever fasts to raise his heart and mind toward God, the Lord will reward him, and He is the most generous giver. In the New Testament, fasting is recommended as a means of preparing the mind and heart for divine worship, for long prayer, for rising from the earthly, and for gaining the spirit.
• Inner awakening
  • Awakening is the first teacher of truth and therefore absolutely necessary. Awakening raises the soul to study itself and its desires, to learn its true qualities and reject those that are unholy. Vigilance is the guardian angel of the mind that always guides it, saying: Be vigilant. Wakefulness makes the soul aware and awakens it from sleep. Awakening tests every thought, every desire, and every memory. Thoughts, desires, and memories arise from various causes, and they often come disguised in a dazzling guise, in order to deceive the unwary mind and enter the soul to control it. Only awakening can reveal its hidden forms. Its false disguise is often so complete that discerning its true nature is very difficult and requires extreme vigilance. One must remember the saving words of the Lord: “Be watchful and pray that you do not fall into temptation.” The person who is awake does not enter into the experience because he is awake and alert.
• the prayer
  • True prayer does not change, it is constant, with a contrite heart and an alert mind. The vehicle of prayer is always humility, and prayer is a manifestation of humility. Because when we are aware of our weakness, we call on God's strength. Prayer unites with God as it is a divine communication and spiritual communion with the highest and most beautiful being.
  • Prayer is putting aside earthly things and ascending to heaven. In prayer we turn to God.
  • Prayer is truly a heavenly shield, and it is the only one capable of keeping safe those who have offered themselves to God. Prayer is the general medicine to purify our souls from passions, to prevent sin and to cure our mistakes. Prayer is an inexhaustible treasure, a never-faltering harbor, the foundation of stillness and the root and mother of an abundance of blessings.
• Holy Communion
  • The secret of Holy Communion that we received from the Master is the highest of all secrets. It is the most amazing miracle of God's power. It is the highest expression of God's wisdom. It is the most precious gift that God has given to humanity. Because all other wonders are accomplished by bypassing some laws of nature, but the secret of Divine Communion bypasses all laws. Therefore, it is right to call it and look at it as a miracle of miracles and a secret of secrets.
  • If you want to be a participant in the blessings that Holy Communion bestows, and if you want to be saved, be a true Christian, have the fear of God and faith in the mystery of Holy Communion, and love God and your neighbor.
• Miracles
  • Miracles are not impossible from a logical point of view, and a common sense does not deny them. Natural laws cannot claim to be the only ones, nor do they threaten to fall with the emergence of other laws that also lead to the development and progress of creation... Miracles are the results of God’s love for His creation.

For more insight into the life of the saint, see the book “The Biography of Saint Nektarios the Wonderworker”