www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Books CHRISTOLOGY: Saint Nektarios

This is a recently published book that I just received. It is the second volume of the works of Saint Nektarios (+1920) that is being translated from Greek into English. Among the many virtues known about this saint, few are aware that he wrote and published extensively in his lifetime, especially while dean of the Rizarios School of Theology in Athens. If anyone would like to know where to obtain a copy, I will gladly give the address of where they can be purchased.

I would be interested in discussing this book with others on the forum.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

[font:Century Gothic]Dear Father Anthony ,

This is terribly coincidental! My husband just brought this book home last night from the monastery of St. Nektarios in Roscoe, NY. When it is finally my turn to read it, I will discuss it.

Regards,
Alice[/font]

Dear Alice,

If you are like me, you have a few books that you are reading at the same time, and it may be a while. I just wanted to drop the seed of potentially good book. I am finally glad that some of Saint Nektarios' many books are starting to finally make it into English, and by the the look of this one, seems to be one of the better approaches to Christology with short essays compiled into one book. Time will tell and hopefully others will hae the chance to read it and discuss it.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

BTW, the good fathers at Roscoe keep me up to date on their publishing ventures, so I had the book on the way before Thanksgiving.

Might you post the information on how to order this book to make things easy?

Many thanks!

I am sorry, the book may be ordered from:

Saint Nektarios Monastery
100 Anawanda Lake Road
Roscoe, NY 12776
(607) 498-5285

I know that they accept phone and credit card orders. Unfortunately, I do not have their email address handy. I hope this of help to those interested.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Dear Father Anthony,

I am currently reading the book by Saint Nektarios on Christology, and I am truly perplexed. Although I love Archmandrite Joseph dearly, and consider him a truly saintly Elder, the following in his foreword is puzzling:


Now I say that I found it puzzling, because the book itself appears to me to be a 'scholarly' approach to our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and many of the quotes and idea's of our dear Saint Nektarios are by more contemporary writers that are products of the 'Enlightenment'.

Actually I am truly awed by the 'scholarly' knowledge of Saint Nektarios and can't help but realize that he must have had a deep knowledge of French. I do know that he corresponded with an RCC bishop, and have to assume it was in French. Also Saint Nektarios' knowledge of the different religions that exist and have existed throughout history, is very contemporary, something that again, could only have come about because of the excessive scholarly knowledge that exists within our Western culture.

Now we could say that Saint Nektarios was trying to reach minds that were products of the Enlightenment, and therefore reflected this in his writings, but I don't think so. I think our Saint himself became through his knowledge, a product of that enlightenment.

Am I wrong?

Zenovia

Actually you are not wrong in a way. Saint Nektarios was a very intelligent man and received the best possible education that was academically and spiritually available for his time.

He is known to have written many works in Greek, this and one other are now available in English. I do not think though that his approach was to those of the Enlightenment, but to the masses in the areas that he loved and served. You have to remember texts such as these were not readily available at the time he wrote them. Mass publication had not yet taken off, and a great deal of the population was barely literate. Religious education as we know it today, was in a deplorable state, with most that were teaching it in the state schools barely knowledgeable in the subject they taught.

This book was written to counter the ignorance of that era. To educate the masses, was the saint's goal, and thus enlightening to the truth of the faith. It is no wonder that the books were a success not only in the saint's times, but up until this day primarily in the many Greek speaking societies, and now through translations into other tongues so that all may share in his treasures. I do not believe that the "Enlightenment" had much to do with it the saint's educational emphasis, but rather the saint's love for those he served and their spiritual needs and education.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Dear Father Anthony,

Thank you for your response. Actually, I should have said he was awakened to the 'thoughts' of the Enlightenment through his profound knowledge and contacts with the West. What I believed happened was that those thoughts were very prevalent among the intelligencia in Greece as well as all of Europe. It was the time that the Bolshevik revolution started in Russia because of it,, and when our dear Saint tried to exorcize someone, he found it was very difficult. When mentioning to the possessed that he was very powerful, the entity responded that 'yes, there are three of us'. One is the head of Russia, (this was 1917 when Lenin took over), and the other is in China.

It was also the time that the three children were persecuted at Fatima, so I have to assume these 'idea's' were prominent throughout Europe.

What I find interesting, although never referred to, is that by not becoming the Patriarch of Alexandria, (although desperately sought by the populace at the time), and by being the head of the Rizarios school, he managed to help produce, (through his prayers and efforts), true and devout priests. This kept Greece from becoming communist itself. God works in mysterious ways.

Zenovia

Dear Zenovia,

Were I have to agree that the saint was a great man that helped lead many to sanctity, I would rather focus the discussions of his writing and especially his book. This is a topic that you do not see that often and I find his way of expounding on it rather interesting. I had read the previous volume that he written on Confession and Repentance and he brings a rather refreshing style to how he approached the subjects he has chosen to write and expound on.

His subjects can be rather deep as in the case of Christology, but his approach is to make it understandable to most hat read his writings. He approaches the subject so that most are not talked down to but rather pulled up and not to made that their lack of education can be a hindrance to understanding God and achieving salvation. Apparently from the style he uses, this seems to be an underlying problem to those he wrote this for. His approach is rather pastoral writing not for just the theologian but also for the common man.

As I delve further into the book, I would like to see further on how he approaches the different nuances in bringing his subject alive. I have read different works on the subject, and knowing that this saint most times at his own expense wrote on these subjects would like to see how he brings about a different approach.

Until then we will see.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

An orthodox friend of mine once gave me a little book about the spiritual teachings of Saint Nektarios. I was impressed.
In my home village here in Finland there is an orthodox church of Saint Nektarios. I use to visit it every now and then...
Sancta Nectarios - ora pro nobis!

In this book, I find that St. Nektarios is attempting to educate. Though some of the book is a bit deep, the English translation is absolutely excellent!

What comes across is the saint's profound love and faith for God coupled with his incredible scholarly knowledge.

In Christ,
Alice