Saint Nektarios and the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopedi
02.09.2015
In the Archives of the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, 11 unpublished letters of Saint Nektarios Kephalas, Metropolitan of Pentapolis, the popular Saint of Aegina, were found.
In this article we will present these letters. I express my warm thanks and gratitude to a) the most venerable abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery, Archimandrite Ephraim, b) the venerable elder of the Vatopedi Monastery, the monk Joseph, from whom I had the blessing to publish the letters, and c) the most venerable protopresbyter Fr. Theodoros Zisi, professor at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), for his contribution and guidance.
During the fourteen years (1894-1907) during which Saint Nektarios served as director of the Rizareio School, he wrote and published a large number of his remarkable works. The publication of his writings required a large sum of money, which the Saint did not have.
TURN TOWARDS THE MONASTERIES
At this point we must emphasize the Saint's turn to monasteries for financial support of his writing work in favor of the Church and its staff (Epistle 9).
The Saint, apart from the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, also had correspondence with other Monasteries of Mount Athos. This fact is not accidental.
A lover of the monastic life, he had joined a monastic brotherhood at the age of 27. And although after three years he left the space of monastic life and undivided immersion in the life in Christ, to work within the Church, he remained a genuine lover of the monastic life, transmitting his piety to others through his teaching and example.
This is how his turn is justified.
The 11 letters we are publishing are dated July 3, 1900 (the 1st letter) to June 30, 1906 (the 11th -last- letter); and are addressed to the trustees of the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi.
The Saint requests financial support from the Monastery initially for the publication of his work "Christology" and later for the publication of his work "The Immortality of the Soul and the Holy Remembrances".
It seems that the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi had the financial means; therefore, it willingly and quickly responded to the Saint's request for the publication of both works.
The Saint unceasingly thanks the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi for its support, which not only expresses its friendship and esteem for the person of the Saint but also its good and loving feelings, which it manifests frequently and in many ways in support of our Holy Theology and Greek Education (Letter 3).
THE WRITTEN WORK OF THE SAINT FULFILLMENT OF THE HOLY DESIRE
The writing and publishing of works by the Saint fulfilled his divine desire to spiritually strengthen the fullness of the Church.
The great ignorance that plagued the people and the clergy, as well as the lack of books during his time, could not go unnoticed by the Saint.
He was truly saddened by the realization that the entire Church was suffering – “The almost general disintegration of the beliefs of those seduced by the new deception…” (Letter 7).
That is why the theosophical Hierarch, as a "truly worker of virtue," delivered to the Church a voluminous written work as a fulfillment of his sacred desire to work "for the brothers and for the glory of God" (Epistle 11).
His theological production characterizes the Saint as a continuer of the Greek patristic tradition.
It is also characterized by its originality in the selection of topics, many of which were not only discussed for the first time by the Saint, but also among many of which he has not even found a successor to the relevant research until now. (Bratsiotis, Prof. Univ., “Saint Nektarios Kefalas”, I.M. edition, 1985, p. 241).
In the published letters, regarding this issue, we observe the following:
– The Saint characterizes his work as great and beneficial (chap. 1); also as “theophilic labor” (Epistle 9th)
– He supports Theology and Greek Education with his work (Letter 3)
– Moved by religious zeal, he seeks, through the publication of his works, to support the shaken beliefs of the faithful, teaching them the ignored truths of our Holy Church (Epistle 7th).
– With the Lord's help, he never tires of writing and publishing. The pleasure of working for the Church and for the glory of God is his greatest reward (Epistle 11).
The text of the unpublished letters is as follows:
LETTER 1
July 3, 1900
To the Most Holy and Venerable Commissioners of the Holy and Venerable
Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos
After the brotherly embrace in Christ, I take courage to address to your brotherly love a certain request in support of my work, of which I am enclosing a table of contents, in which all the material of the book is written and its great importance and the great benefit resulting from its dissemination are evident.
Your Holy Monastery, prosperous with God the Holy and always willing to support the printing and dissemination of such good works, I hope that it will also graciously accept my request and will support the printing of such a great and beneficial work.
In this conviction, I thank the Venerable Holy Monastery of Vatopedi in advance and I remain a fervent supplicant to God.
† Nektarios of Pentapolis
CHRISTOLOGY
PART A.
About the divine character and the redemptive work of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Chapter A.
About the Savior and Redeemer of the human race. About the Son of Man; that He is the way, the truth, and the life. That the name, Son of Man, is the name by which humanity was heralded the coming Savior and Redeemer. About the expectation of the nations.
That of the approach of the fullness of the time of the fulfillment of the expectation of the nations, and of the signs that herald the coming of the future redeemer.
On the fullness of time and the apparent absolute necessity of the coming of the redeemer of humanity.
Chapter B.
About eternal life and that it is found in the knowledge of revealed truth.
That the desire for eternal life, which is innate, is true. That man has always sought eternal life.
Chapter C.
About the coming of the Savior and his characteristic features.
1) That man's ardent desire was fulfilled.
2) Characteristics of the Savior who fulfills her desires
of the heart of him who knows him.
Chapter D.
On the necessity of faith in Christ Jesus, the Son of God.
1) That no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone the Son is willing to reveal (Matt. 11:27).
2) That faith in the Son of God and knowledge of Him makes us know God the Father and grants us eternal life and makes us children of God by grace through adoption through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5).
3) That eternal life is found in faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.
Chapter E.
The brightness of the Christian faith.
Testimonies of the brightness of the Christian faith.
Development of the testimonies of the brightness of the Christian faith.
1) That faith in Christ is luminous.
2) Faith in Christ as a guide to knowledge, as logical faith, is luminous.
3) Faith in Christ is luminous, because it develops a warm love for the content of the believer's faith in Him.
4) Faith in Christ is luminous, because it inspires hope in God.
5) Faith in Christ is luminous, because it adorns the believer with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
6) Faith in Christ is luminous, because it bears the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
7) The brightness of the Christian faith, witnessed by this inter-constructive power.
8) Faith in Christ is illuminating, because its light shines forth in the Holy Scriptures and illuminates the darkened eyes of the intellect.
9) The faith of Christians is bright and illuminating, because it imparts to the believer a moral life and philosophical thought.
10) Faith in Christ is luminous, because it is revelatory and imposing. The Church of the Gentiles is a great testimony of this illuminating and revelatory power.
11) The brightness of the Christian faith witnessed by the power of the Holy Cross.
12) The brightness of the Christian faith witnessed by the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and the Apostolic work.
13) Faith in Christ is luminous, because it has prevailed.
14) Faith in Christ is luminous, because History testifies to its brightness.
15) Faith in Christ is bright and illuminating, because brightness informs the mind and convinces the heart, and its illuminating power is testified to by the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament.
16) The brightness of the Christian faith as evidenced by the rapid spread of Christianity throughout the then known world. Historical testimonies.
Chapter Six
On the divine character and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter G.
On the divine character of our Savior Jesus Christ, from the Holy Scriptures.
1) Prophecies about the character of the Messiah.
2) Villages of the Holy Gospel showing the character of the Messiah as described by the prophets.
3) Prophecies about the passion, death, burial and Resurrection of the Messiah.
4) That the Messiah's death is atonement and reconciliation.
Chapter 8.
On the divinity of the Christian faith.
Chapter IX.
On the reason for the failure of miracles.
1) That the ignorance of God and man is the reason for the failure of miracles.
2) That the concept of God as an absolute being supports the revelation of this in the world.
3) That the goodness of God desires its revelation in the world.
4) On the relationship of God to man in particular.
5) On the manner in which divine revelation is accomplished.
Chapter I.
That eternal life is by faith in Christ MONASTERY and not by the works of the law.
1) That the law became a tutor to Christ.
2) That God also led the nations to a knowledge of the truth.
3) That Jesus Christ is he of whom Moses and the Prophets wrote.
Chapter XI.'
1) Concerning the requested great sign, by which the divinity of our Savior Jesus Christ was testified.
2) The divine character of the Savior Christ as evidenced by his redemptive work.
Chapter 12.'
About the work of the mission of our Savior Jesus Christ.
PART B
On the Revelation of God in the world.
Chapter A.
The Revelation of God in the world, witnessed by the fulfillment of the Prophecies.
1) Prophecies about the coming of the expected Messiah.
Chapter B.
1) That Jesus Christ was the Son of David and the Son of God.
2) Prophecies about the tribe, clan, house, homeland and place of birth of the Messiah.
3) The prophecies that find their fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ testify that He is the promised Redeemer of the world, that He is the true God, that He was redeemed and no other will come.
Chapter C.
Prophecies referring to the Jews are coming to fruition as predicted.
1) Prophecies of the prophet Moses.
2) Fulfillment of wishes.
3) Fulfillment of the good prophecies regarding the era of the Judges.
4) Fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the kings.
5) Curses and their fulfillment.
6) Prophecies of the other prophets who foretold to the children of Israel their future fate.
7) Prophecies about the return of the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, from the Babylonian captivity and the loss of the ten tribes in captivity.
8) Prophecies about the destruction of Judea and the wickedness and unfaithfulness of the Jews.
9) Prophecies about the return of the nations to the living God.
Chapter D.
Prophecies referring to the surrounding nations that fought and oppressed the children of Israel.
1) The prophecies about Nineveh.
2) About the size of Nineveh.
3) About the destruction of the city of Nineveh.
4) The prophecies concerning Babylon and their fulfillment.
Chapter E.
About the God revealed in the Old Testament under the name Jehovah, that he was the Son and Word of God the Father, who in the last days, taking on human form, worked for the salvation of the human race.
Chapter Six
About the established kingdom of God on earth and that it is founded in the Holy Church of God.
1) That He who was revealed in the world established through His Church the kingdom of Heaven on earth.
2) That the revealed God is revealed in His Church and that the Divine Mysteries of God's Holy Church testify to His divine revelation, because through them He works the salvation of those who believe in Him.
3) That He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Lord of all, the righteous Judge who will render to each one according to his works on the day of judgment.
End
In Athens on July 2, 1900
† Nektarios of Pentapolis.
{Continued}
For the copying of the letters and the preface
ANDRI HADZIKOSTA-TOFALIDOU Theologian
Source: Andris Hadjikosta-Tofalidou, Unknown letters of Saint Nektarios to the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, Orthodox Testimony Magazine, Published by the Pancyprian Association of Orthodox Tradition "The Friends of Mount Athos", Nicosia (number 41, Autumn 1993), ISSN 1011 – 1719.