Section 03: The Great Injustice

The spiritual center of the collection: the 1890 calumny that drove St. Nektarios from Egypt, and the silence in which he bore it. Sixteen months after his consecration, on the strength of fabricated rumors that he coveted the patriarchal throne — charges never substantiated and never adjudicated — he was relieved of his duties and ordered to leave Egypt; he returned to Greece in poverty, bearing the wound without retaliation. The two files cover the calumny and expulsion (the flagship), and the bearing of it in silence — the defining virtue of his life, vindicated only in 1998 when the Patriarchate of Alexandria formally restored his order and asked his forgiveness.

Tradition: Greek Orthodox (canonized 1961)

Contents

File Topic
The Calumny and Expulsion The flagship: the slander and his removal from Egypt in 1890; the release of 3 May 1890 and the order to leave; the contested and unsubstantiated charges; the farewell letter of ~900 of the Greek community (29 July 1890); the 1998 Patriarchal rehabilitation as the documentary admission that no charge was well-founded
Bearing It in Silence His refusal to defend himself, retaliate, or speak against Sophronios and his accusers; the homelessness and poverty in Athens; the spiritual meaning of his silence — the likeness to Christ before his accusers

How to Use

  • Read The Calumny and Expulsion for the event itself and the careful, attested handling of charges the sources cannot establish.
  • Read Bearing It in Silence for the saint’s response — the non-retaliation that is the heart of his sanctity.
  • The obscurity into which he returned is treated in Section 04: Preacher and School Director.

Cross-References