St. Nektarios of Aegina (1846-1920) was remembered in the Orthodox churches of the East earlier this week (9 November). Originally from what is now modern-day Turkey, he served as a monk and priest in various locations including Cairo where he served as a bishop for one year. Though very popular with the people, some of his clerical colleagues plotted against him using false accusations. He was suspended from his post without explanation or a fair hearing. Rather than defend himself aggressively, he accepted humiliation with patience, a trait that became one of the hallmarks of his holiness [source].
His writings reveal a
profound reverence for the Eucharist, which he regarded as the supreme mystery
of the Church. In a quotation attributed to St Nektarios, we read:
The Mysterion (Sacrament) of the Divine Eucharist that has been handed down by the Lord is the highest of all the Mysteria (Sacraments); it is the most wondrous of all the miracles which the power of God has performed; it is the highest which the wisdom of God has conceived; it is the most precious of all the gifts which the love of God has bestowed upon men. For all the other miracles result through a transcendence of certain laws of Nature, but the Mysterion of the Divine Eucharist transcends all these laws. Hence it may justly be called, and be viewed as, the miracle of miracles and the Mysterion (Sacrament) of Mysteria (Sacraments). [source]
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