September 10, 2020

The Stasidion of Saint Nektarios


When Saint Nektarios fled to Athens following being falsely accused of immorality in Egypt, where he served as the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, he began to preach and establish a name for himself in the area of Evia for a period of about three years. Then, in 1894, he was appointed dean of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School in Athens. Through his eloquent sermons, his untiring labors to educate fitting men for the priesthood, his generous philanthropy despite his own poverty, and the holiness, meekness, and fatherly love that were manifest in him, he became a shining light and a spiritual guide to many. He served as dean at Rizarios for fourteen years, from 1894 to 1908, before moving on to Aegina where he established a convent and guided some of his female spiritual children till his repose in 1920.

In the Church of Holy Great Martyr George at Rizarios School today, the stasidion (stall) where Saint Nektarios stood and sat during worship has become an object of reverence and a historical monument.