St. Nektarios: Persecuted from Within the Church, Counted as Joy

On the feast day of St. Nektarios, the Kelli of St. George presented its holy relic of the saint to the faithful gathered at the Chapel of Saint Basil for the Divine Liturgy. The speaker then reflects on the saint's life, drawing on the film 'Man of God' and on the words of St. James: 'Count it complete joy, my brethren, when you are persecuted for my name's sake.' The central point is that St. Nektarios suffered persecution not from outside the Church but from within it.

His own brother, fellow clergy and bishops condemned him, envying his humility, devotion and prayerful disposition instead of proclaiming his holiness. He endured this for the sake of Christ, who rose from the dead yet was crucified on the cross for all people. The speaker connects this to Christ's blood spilled on the cross for human sins of thought, action and word, the wrongs people commit day in and day out.

The lesson drawn for clergy and lay people alike is that when a Christian suffers at the hands of others and counts that persecution as joy, he can know he is following in Christ's footsteps and walking the right path. The post closes with the doxology that Christ our God is wondrous in His Saints, whose miracles continue to bless the faithful.