Assumption Greek Orthodox Church

Orthros and divine liturgy St John Chrysostom https://youtu.be/E9eD9TE0qFc

Continuing with our series on Saint Nektarios, and his 100 year anniversary of his repose to the Lord, in a chapel at the Monastery you will find a marble tomb ...where Saint Nektarios had been buried after he died. Many faithful can hear the Saint blessing them if they put their ear to the tomb and listen. Previous posts to date include: > Private living quarters of Saint Nektarios: https://bit.ly/36piiCW > Saint Nektarios relics and private chapels he used to prayed in: https://bit.ly/2ImdnL9 More photos and videos will be shared on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. May Saint Nektarios intercede our prayers to the Lord and bless the people of Greece and throughout Europe who are going through great hardship at this time. ____________________________ >>> Final period before and following the passing of Saint Nektarios. On September 20, 1920 the nun Euphemia brought an old man in black robes, who was obviously in pain, to the Aretaieion Hospital in Athens. This was a state hospital for the poor. The intern asked the nun for information about the patient. Is he a monk? he asked. No, he is a bishop. The intern laughed and said, Stop joking and tell me his name, Mother, so that I can enter it in the register. He is indeed a bishop, my child. He is the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Pentapolis. The intern muttered, For the first time in my life I see a bishop without a panagia or cross, and more significantly, without money. Then the nun showed the saint’s credentials to the astonished intern who then admitted him. For two months Saint Nektarios suffered from a disease of the bladder. At ten thirty on the evening of November 8, 1920, he surrendered his holy soul to God. He died in peace at the age of seventy-four. In the bed next to Saint Nektarios was a man who was paralysed. As soon as the saint had breathed his last, the nurse and the nun who sat with him began to dress him in clean clothing to prepare him for burial at Aegina. They removed his sweater and placed it on the paralyzed man’s bed. Immediately, the paralytic got up from his bed, glorifying God. Saint Nektarios was buried at the Holy Trinity Monastery on Aegina. Several years later, his grave was opened to remove his bones (as is the custom in Greece). His body was found whole and incorrupt, as if he had been buried that very day. Word was sent to the Archbishop of Athens, who came to see the relics for himself. Archbishop Chrysostomos told the nuns to leave them out in the sun for a few days, then to rebury them so that they would decay. A month or two after this, they opened the grave again and found the saint incorrupt. Then the relics were placed in a marble sarcophagus. Several years later, the holy relics dissolved, leaving only the bones. The saint’s head was placed in a bishop’s mitre, and the top was opened to allow people to kiss his head. Saint Nektarios was glorified by God, since his whole life was a continuous doxology to the Lord. Both during his life and after his death, Saint Nektarios has performed thousands of miracles, especially for those suffering from cancer. There are more churches dedicated to Saint Nektarios than to any other modern Orthodox saint. (Text source: OCA.org)

It is not the clever, the noble, the polished speakers, or the rich who win, but whoever is insulted and forbears, whoever is wronged and forgives, whoever is ...slandered and endures, whoever becomes a sponge and mops up whatever they might say to him. Such a person is cleansed and polished even more. He reaches great heights. He delights in the theoria of mysteries. And finally, it is he who is already inside paradise, while still in this life. - Saint Joseph the Hesychast

We encourage you to read the Psalms recommended by St Arsenios of Cappadocia, celebrated on November 10, if you ever 'feel blue'.