About the life path of the saint
Nectarios of Aegina is one of the most revered saints in Greece. In our country, the miracle worker is less known than in the East, but believers do not forget to venerate the saint on the day of his memory - November 22. On this day the saint died from a severe form of cancer.
Praying to this saint helps to get rid of various types of cancer lesions. Pilgrims from all over the world come to the island of Aegina, where the last years of Nektarios’ life passed, every year.
The future miracle worker was born near Constantinople in 1846. At baptism the baby received the name Anastasy. The boy's parents were pious and honest people. From an early age, Anastasia was attracted to the Word of God. The boy often attended church and read the Holy Scriptures.
Anastasy could not receive an education in his native land, because his family lived poorly. At age 14, he left for Constantinople to find work and pay for his studies. The guy was hired to work in a factory. The future saint did not even have enough money for shoes. He wrote a letter to Jesus Christ.
In his message, the young man asked the Savior to send him money. The faith of God's chosen one was so great that he had no doubt: the Lord would send him funds. One merchant, an acquaintance of Anastasia, learned about the unusual message and helped the young man out. On behalf of God, the merchant handed over the money to the boy.
After the factory, the guy went to work at school. Worldly life did not attract Anastasia, and he became a monk. He was given the name Nectarius. Translated from Greek, it means “immortal.” At the age of 40, Nektarios was ordained a priest. For several years he served in the St. Nicholas Church in Cairo. After some time, Nektarios became Bishop of Pentapolis.
God's chosen one did not strive for fame and honor. He was modest, merciful, and courteous, but human envy and slander haunted the saint. Nectarius had to endure years of exile. He was accused of intrigue and an immoral lifestyle, but the bishop said that a clear conscience is the highest good. He accepted his misfortunes humbly.
Being in old age, Nektarios founded the Holy Trinity Convent on the island of Aegina. When the saint’s health worsened, he did not know that it was about cancer. Nectarius hid his illness from the nuns for a long time. He went to the hospital when the physical pain became unbearable.
The saint died in the ward for the poor. A miracle happened that day. Nektarios’s body began to flow myrrh immediately as soon as his soul left this world. The clothes of the deceased were placed on the paralyzed patient and he immediately began to move.
Many people came to say goodbye to the wandering bishop. 41 years after the death of the miracle worker, the Greek Church canonized him. The relics of Nektarios are kept in a special shrine in the monastery where he spent the last years of his life. Now this holy monastery bears the name of the metropolitan.
Hospitable Aegina
Saint Nektarios was not yet in our monthly calendar, and at the same time, that year - 1999 - was his year in the Greek Church. We were then actively engaged in publishing activities, and I, even before my tonsure, had the opportunity to edit the biography of St. Nektarios, compiled by Archimandrite Ambrose (Fontrier). Then, one might say, my first close and detailed acquaintance with this saint of God took place.
It continued when I arrived in Aegina, where the saint labored in the last years of his life and where he founded a monastery. His relics now rest there. Aegina is a small, beautiful and very cozy island; we found it covered in almond blossoms. It so happened that we had different experiences and circumstances there, including not very joyful ones, and I remember how, dissatisfied and upset with something, I went to a festive service where the local Bishop was supposed to serve. After the service there was a meal, I was still thinking about something of my own - and suddenly, out of confusion, I knocked over a glass of koliv - a sweet treat - on myself, so that I was smeared from head to toe with honey, powdered sugar and everything that was in this glass. Apparently, Saint Nektarios somehow wanted to convey to me that it was time to calm down and take a break from worrying about various things.
Situations for praying to a saint
An akathist is dedicated to the Greek bishop. There is a prayer request with which you can turn to the miracle worker.
In what situations should you read the prayer text:
- you are worried about obsessive states (panic attacks, thoughts of suicide), so that prayer will help you get rid of a neurological disorder, observe strict fasting;
- your garden is being attacked by pests; Nectarius, by the power of prayers, expelled voracious insects from the garden of his friend, a pious elderly woman; one cannot turn to a saint out of curiosity for the prayer text to influence reality; the damage from insects must be significant;
- you are caught in a storm at sea;
- your strength is fading due to an unknown illness; prayer will help you find the “right” clinic where you will be given an accurate diagnosis;
- envious people slandered you;
- your relative has cancer.
Nectaria is considered the first assistant for cancer. In Russia, at the Children's Oncology Center there is a chapel. In it you can find the miraculous icon of Nectarios of Aegina. This iconographic canvas was consecrated on the relics of the saint. Not every person has the time and opportunity to go to Greece, to the Aegina Monastery, but you can read the akathist and prayer to the miracle worker.
Many cases of healing occur annually among patients of preschool and school age. Nectarios, just like Jesus Christ, loved children. When the saint was the director of the Risarian school, he did not punish those who violated discipline. The bishop atoned for the student’s guilt with strict fasting. What upset the monk most of all was the cruelty shown to children.
If your baby is diagnosed with a dangerous illness, contact Aeginsky, the protector of the suffering. In the temple you can purchase an icon of St. Nektarios. Start every morning with prayer. If your child spends a lot of time in the hospital, buy a separate icon for him. Let the image of the miracle worker be next to the young patient.
Children of primary school age will not be able to fully understand the meaning of the prayer request, because for this you need to know the life of the saint well. Their parents pray for little patients.
Coming to the people
If we look at the history of the veneration of various saints in Rus', we can see that those saints of God who were not connected in any way with our people or with our Russian land sometimes became “friends,” relatives, and very beloved among the people. It seemed that they should not have any special glory, but they prayed to them, placed their icons in churches, and through their prayers many miracles were performed. How can I explain all this? Perhaps, only because not only we “choose” the saints, but the saints also choose us. Sometimes they seem to be the first to communicate, help us and wait for a response from our heart. The most striking such example is, perhaps, the numerous cases of the intercession of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - his help, including to people who are not believers, non-church people, who know nothing about Christianity, who subsequently come to the temple and recognize the saint on the icon.
Saint Nektarios can be called the same person - going to people, gradually entering the life of the Orthodox people. His fame throughout the world for decades spread through the fact that he appeared to people in various corners of the globe, in countries completely far from Orthodoxy, where you can barely find any believers, who, moreover, did not know that there was such a thing. the ascetic that his glorification is being prepared or he has already been glorified. And he helped some of these people, consoled others, and then, as it happens, they simply recognized him - in an icon or in a photograph.
Of course, each of us can turn to Saint Nektarios. Understand him, get to know him. And if we have not yet developed a personal relationship with him, if we sincerely strive for it, they will definitely develop.
Prayer request for recovery
Psychologists see cancer as a reflection of negative thinking. The patient himself perceives the disease as a heavy blow of fate. There is no point in wondering whether it is possible to be cured without medical procedures.
The Almighty gives healing in different ways. One patient can get rid of a tumor in a mystical way, while another recovers after surgery. When dreaming of healing, do not put conditions on God and do not torment yourself with doubts.
Text of the prayer request:
The lines of this prayer are filled with humility. A believer in times of trial turns to the saints not only for physical, but also for moral support. During his lifetime, Saint Nektarios heard the voice of those who needed help. He will hear your voice too.
Prayer to Nectarios of Aegina
O Saint Nektarios, God-wise Father! Receive, guardian of the Orthodox faith, the confession from the lips of people named after Christ, gathered today in the temple by the grace of God living in you. The news has reached the Russian borders, as you, the great servant of Christ in the saints, appear to those who call on your name in all corners of the universe and grant healing from cancer.
We have heard about the priest who is your namesake and who built a temple in your name, with the great mourners. I was stricken with a cancerous chest ulcer, bleeding every day, and I suffered more severely; but you do not abandon your holy work. Suddenly you, O most merciful saint, descended from heaven and appeared to him in the temple in a visible form.
He, the unseeing thy brother, is the only one from mortal existence, asking for your prayers and saying: “I am a great one, otherwise I want to restore the holy altar, so that once again I will perform the holy liturgy together with the parishioners; After all, I am ready to die; death does not frighten me.”
You, father, are incorporeal, your face is wet with tears! And the volume of the sufferer, kissing and saying: “Do not grieve, my child, as you have been tested by illness, you will be healthy. Everyone knows about this miracle.” He, having been healed, in his mind, with whom he spoke, was invisible to you. Oh, great servant of Christ Nectarius! This temple is now complete and your miracles are like an overflowing sea, multiplying!
We know that the prayer of the righteous should be hastened by our zeal for the service of God and I resolve to die for Christ, so that we may find health. Your sick child prays to you, righteous father: may God’s will be done to us, good, pleasing and perfect, not wanting the sinner to die, but to turn and live for him. You, the herald of God’s will, heal us with your grace-filled appearance, may God be great in heaven and on earth forever and ever! Amen.
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Rules of prayer for cancer patients
If a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, the heart shrinks with anxiety, but one should remember: while the person is alive, the Lord can create a miracle for him. Everyone who cares about his fate - relatives, colleagues, neighbors - can pray for the healing of the patient. Patients who have been diagnosed with cancer pray to Nectarius.
Before you start praying, confess. Ask for forgiveness from everyone you unwittingly offended. If you had a harmful addiction - drug addiction, gambling addiction - make a promise to God that you will not return to your old life.
There are some rules for prayer.
- Pray morning and evening. Repeat the words of prayer as many times as your soul tells you.
- Learn the text of the prayer, but in order not to forget the words, keep the piece of paper in front of you.
- Begin any requests for healing with the sacred text “Our Father.” Then read the prayer appeal to God's chosen one from Aegina.
- If you have an important treatment-related event coming up (examination, radiation therapy session), let your spouse or relatives order a prayer service for your health at church.
- If you are in a ward where there are other seriously ill people, you can pray to the saint silently.
- Support yourself with prayers at any stage of treatment. Once the main tumor has been eliminated, pray that the cancer will not develop in another part of the body.
There are often cases when people do not have enough money for cancer treatment. If you don’t know where to get funds for chemotherapy, contact the miracle worker with prayers. The Monk Nektarios was a poor man.
Convinced that the material world is unstable and God’s generosity is limitless, the saint said that God possesses everything, and man is not able to predict the future. He entrusted himself to providence, knowing: the Almighty will find a way to help those who believe in him.
When praying to Nektarios, describe the problem in your own words. Don't focus on what you don't have. Trust in Divine Providence. Money may come to you through a charity or through a rich person who wants to help you.
* * *
In January 1925, a godly girl was suddenly subjected to incredibly painful attacks from a spirit of malice. At the mention of the name of the Saint, the enemy raged, insulted and tormented the poor creature of God. Unable to bear the suffering of their daughter, the parents decided to take the unfortunate woman to the Saint’s grave on the day of Pentecost in the hope that there she would receive deliverance.
While they were getting to Aegina, the demon went completely berserk. In the monastery, the nuns were forced to tie the girl to one of the pine trees growing near the grave. There, thanks to the intercession of the Saint, the demon came out of the sufferer, who then accepted monasticism under the name of Metrodora.
* * *
In 1931, a young couple came to the monastery to baptize a child, who was dedicated to St. Nectaria. These parents already had two children born paralyzed. The first was still alive, but 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 their youngest child, promising the saint. Nectarius to baptize him in the monastery and name him in honor of the Saint. How can we tell about the miraculous power of Christ? Immediately after the third dive, the child was pulled out of the water completely healthy. He is still in full and perfect health.
* * *
The Bishop of Gortyn and Arkadia from the island of Crete talks about the miracle performed by St. Nectarius in his diocese in May 1965.
“The deepest excitement,” he writes, “has gripped all of Massara after the undeniable and authentic miracle performed by St. Nectarius. Many, having heard about it, will begin to frown, expressing doubts and lack of faith. Others may smile and talk skeptically about miracles, saints, and God. Some will argue that all this is “an invention of priests deceiving ordinary people.”
Doctors talk about cases where, as a result of the intervention of some force, health is restored. There are, however, many organic diseases that cannot be cured. Science admits its powerlessness here and remains silent. True, the worm of doubt gnaws at human thought, because 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 an 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 man who works hard to earn bread for the children.
Maria has been suffering from some terrible head disease for a whole year now. Wild pains torment her to such an extent that her screams can be heard in neighboring houses. The disease also affected the lungs. Science has confirmed these facts. The doctor sent the patient to his colleagues in Heraklion (the capital of Crete), and they, in turn, sent her to the Athens Oncology Clinic “St. Sabbes”. According to the examination and analysis, there was no hope for healing: the disease was too advanced. On the advice of doctors, the husband brought his wife home and prepared for the worst. Maria fell ill with unbearable pain.
On the evening of May 18, someone knocked on the door of the Metropolis. I opened it to see who had arrived. Maria and her husband stood in front of me. Shocked, she told me that she was healed. She ran to 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 to do some shopping. I told him not to linger, because it seemed to me from the terrible pain that the end was approaching. I prayed non-stop to St. Nectarius, so that he would heal me or take my life, because I was going crazy from pain.
Suddenly I saw some shadow entering the door. I thought it was my husband. The shadow approached me, but I could not discern who it was because my vision was blurred. Then I heard a voice telling me: “Get up, go to church and ring the bell. To everyone 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, I got out of bed, started walking 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 prayer service there, glorifying the Lord and His saint.”
* * *
One of our nuns, who lives in constant communion with the Heavenly Bridegroom in unceasing prayer, once asked St. Nektaria to help her find a way out of a difficult situation. At dawn she dreamed of him, handing her a piece of bread with the words:
- Take it, it’s joy!
The next day, all her difficulties were solved much easier than she could have expected.
Another time she prayed the whole night for the whole world and for many suffering souls, begging St. Nectarius to cover all the unfortunate with his blessing.
She dreamed of him again, dressed in bishop's robes. In a very soft voice he told her:
- I have a burning desire to help people... for I see Christ... He is still crucified.
After a long pause he added:
- I am present in the world with my relics... may 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 that, due to lack of space, we cannot talk about in this book.
* * *
Every day throughout every year, overcoming a variety of obstacles, pilgrims come to Aegina. Ordinary people, intellectuals, officials... There are many here who suffer from nervous diseases, epileptics, hysterics... They also come here to find peace of their conscience, to find solutions to complex problems, and a way out of material difficulties. And no one leaves without results. Some pilgrims crawl on their knees, come barefoot and spend whole days fasting and nights in prayer and crying. Often the silence here is broken by poorly controlled sobs...
The saint said to his spiritual daughters:
“The day will come when many will come here.” Some to glorify God, others for comfort and healing, others out of curiosity...
“Nectarios became a saint,” writes the abbot from Paros, “from among so many thousands of people, bishops, priests, hieromonks, monks, and laity. Why does God, who loves all people and wants everyone to be saved, so that everyone can be saints and gods by grace, not give His grace to others so that they too can become saints? My dears, God offers His benefits to everyone, gives them free of charge to everyone. But because 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 dismissive people. He gives them to pious people who fear Him, love Him and keep His commandments, and not to the atheists, the proud, the unfaithful and those who depart from His Divine commandments. He gives them to those who fast, who are abstinent, who pray: “The gifts of heaven are obtained by fasting, vigil and prayer.” The Lord gives His gifts to those who possess three great virtues: humility, faith, love.”
These three virtues adorned Nectarius and revealed him to the saints. To whom will I look: to him who is humble and contrite in Spirit and who trembles at My word, says the Lord (Isa. 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 the 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 Nektarios’ humility. And made him a saint. He also saw his true, strong and unshakable faith, which permeated 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 in new tongues; they will take snakes; and if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them; They will lay hands on the sick, and they will become healthy (Mark 16:17-18).
