The Healing of Spiritual Illnesses According to Saint Nektarios

The Healing of Spiritual Illnesses According to Saint Nektarios 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

(A transcribed homily delivered at the Church of Saint Nektarios, in Argos Orestiko, Kastoria, on November 9, 2023.)

I have read many texts about Saint Nektarios, and I know the basic points of his life. This is important, because most Christians know only about the patience he demonstrated in enduring the slanders directed against him during his life, as well as the miracles he performed. These things are worthy of attention; after all, God performs miracles through His saints. And these are very important indeed.

However, Saint Nektarios was not simply a Bishop, nor merely a wonderworker and saint, but a great Father of our Church. I was saying to some people this afternoon that if Saint Basil the Great and the great Fathers of the Church had lived in the twentieth century, they would have performed approximately the same work that Saint Nektarios performed. Or, if Saint Nektarios had lived during the fourth century, he would have been much like those great Fathers and Hierarchs of our Church.

I cannot present to you everything related to the teaching of Saint Nektarios, but I have chosen primarily to develop the subject: “The Healing of Spiritual Illnesses According to Saint Nektarios.”

When we read the writings of Saint Nektarios, we see the fundamental teaching of our Church: that the Church is a spiritual hospital, a spiritual healing center, which heals the spiritual illnesses of human beings. Priests, and especially Bishops, are spiritual physicians, spiritual healers, and the theology of the Church is, in reality, a therapeutic discipline, a healing science that treats the spiritual illnesses of human beings. We see precisely this in Saint Nektarios.

The question I wish to answer is this: Where did Saint Nektarios learn pastoral ministry as a healing science, and, more generally, how did he become a good spiritual physician?

We know that in order for someone to become a good physician of the body, he must study at a medical school, come under the supervision of medical researchers and university professors, then receive training in laboratories, specialize, and perform various procedures himself. In this way, he becomes a good healer and a good physician. Since we say that Saint Nektarios was a good spiritual physician, a good spiritual father and healer, we must examine where he learned this spiritual medical science.

When one reads the life of Saint Nektarios, one sees this clearly. From the time he was a little child, he wanted to become a saint. From the time he was a little child, he read the writings of the Fathers and others, and from the time he was a little child, he wanted to become a teacher. Indeed, he read Psalm 50 of David and insisted on the verse that says: “I will teach transgressors Your ways, and the ungodly shall turn back to You.” What is this? It is teaching. And, of course, what we call teaching is nothing other than healing. For when someone teaches, he offers the means by which the listener will be healed. This is pastoral ministry.

From the time he was a little child, Saint Nektarios was within the Church and loved God very much. But he learned this therapeutic spiritual science and discipline particularly through his association with holy people, with monks. We know that for a period of seven years he was a primary schoolteacher on Chios, near the Nea Moni Monastery of Chios. At that time, there was a renowned ascetic at this monastery, a venerable Abbot, Elder Pachomios.

At that time, in order to teach subjects in an elementary school, one had to have completed the Gymnasium, what was formerly called the Scholarchion. Thus, while teaching, he also went to the monastery, to Nea Moni of Chios, where he was close to the Venerable Pachomios. For seven years, while working as a primary schoolteacher in that area, he was guided by this dispassionate Elder. Afterwards, he decided to become a monk. He entered the monastery under the spiritual guidance of this Elder and remained there as a novice monk for three years. Keep these details in mind, because they are very important in order for us to understand where Saint Nektarios began, something that is of great significance.

He remained in this monastery as a novice monk for three years, and we know very well that when someone enters a monastery to become a monk and becomes a novice, he struggles so that he will not do his own will, but, through obedience, will do the will of God. This is what we call in theology the transformation of the gnomic will into the natural will: not doing what one personally desires and what one's passions desire, but doing what God wills. This is the content of obedience. We do not practice obedience because we want to become slaves of other people, but so that we may learn what God wills and how we may be healed; how the gnomic will may become the natural will, so that we may do what God wills.

Subsequently, he was tonsured a monk and ordained a Deacon. However, because they saw that he was an intelligent person, they took a particular interest in ensuring that he completed what we would today call high school. For this reason, he was sent to Athens for three years to complete all his secondary-school studies. He then returned to Nea Moni of Chios and remained there for approximately one year. But because they again saw that this man had a future and was intelligent, they undertook to send him to study theology. Thus, he went to the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and from there the Patriarch sent him to the Theological School of Athens. Afterwards, his life followed the course with which you are familiar.

I therefore consider this background in the life of Saint Nektarios to be extremely important. That is, he learned the spiritual medical science in the monastery. Just as a student studies at a university medical school and comes under the academic guidance of his professors, who are researchers and teach him what pathology means, what surgery means, what ophthalmology means, and so on, and what medical science means, the same happens with those who wish to learn the spiritual medical science. They seek out those who have knowledge of the healing of spiritual illnesses.

Thus, Saint Nektarios learned spiritual matters in the monastery. Saint Nektarios did not come from “nowhere,” nor was he simply helped by the books he read; rather, he learned these things in the monastery. There he learned the method of spiritual healing and the Orthodox science of pastoral care, and, of course, the spiritual ministry of pastoral care: healing the spiritual illnesses of human beings, as we shall see further on.

Consider this, something I say very often: the Church is a healing center. And since the Church is a healing center, we could say that the monastery is an Intensive Care Unit; moreover, it is also a surgical operating room. The monks in a monastery that is founded upon the Orthodox tradition know what healing means. There, the school of spiritual medicine also operates, and from there Bishops and Priests emerge who know how to heal people. Thus, Saint Nektarios became a genuine theologian. He learned what prayer means, what obedience to the commandments of God means, and what the sacred services of the Church mean. He became a spiritual healer.

There is a letter that he sent to someone which made a great impression on me when I read it for the first time. There he writes that many times, when he was presiding from the Bishop's throne, he would remember the Venerable Pachomios at Nea Moni of Chios and would be moved. Consider this: a Bishop is presiding from the Bishop's throne, yet his mind was at Nea Moni of Chios, with his Elder, the Venerable Pachomios. What spiritual experiences Saint Nektarios must have had!

Therefore, Saint Nektarios became a genuine healer, not only because he read books and writings, but because he learned the method of healing spiritual illnesses through practical experience, and in this way became a genuine theologian.

And what the Venerable Nilus the Ascetic writes came to pass: “If you are a theologian, you will pray truly; and if you pray truly, you are a theologian.” That is, if you are a theologian, you must truly pray, and if you truly pray, then you are a genuine theologian. This is also what Saint Gregory the Theologian writes when he gives the definition of who theologians are. He says that theologians are “those who have been tested and have advanced in theoria.” They are those who have undergone examination, that is, those who have passed from the purification of the heart to the illumination of the nous and have reached theoria; “and, before these things, those whose soul and body have been purified, or are at least being purified, to the greatest extent possible.” That is, they have purified both soul and body, or, if this has not yet taken place, they are at least struggling to purify themselves, “to the greatest extent possible.”

Saint Nektarios, then, learned the method of healing, and he applied it throughout his entire life. No one becomes a saint simply because he desires it, because he has a desire to do so. Rather, one must come under guidance and pass through the stages of the spiritual life, which are purification, illumination, and deification. This is what we call praxis and theoria. And what Saint Nektarios learned, that is what he taught.

The Teaching of Spiritual Therapeutics to the Students of the Rizareios Ecclesiastical School

As you know, Saint Nektarios was the Director of the Rizareios Ecclesiastical School and, of course, he was also a professor. Among the other subjects he taught was the course of “Pastoral Theology.” We studied this subject in the Schools of Theology as well. In other words, when we speak of “Pastoral Theology,” we mean how we are to shepherd the flock of God, what it means to provide pastoral care for people, and what pastoral science and formation mean.

He therefore taught this subject to the students. Many of them became Priests, became Bishops, and became university professors—I am thinking now of Panagiotis Bratsiotis, Professor of the Old Testament at the Theological School of Athens. Many became theologians and taught in schools. Saint Nektarios taught Pastoral Theology to all of them.

In order to provide them with a textbook, as professors who teach do, he wrote a textbook on Pastoral Theology. There is, therefore, a book titled A Course in Pastoral Theology, which bears the notation “For the Use of Students.” It is a textbook on Pastoral Theology for students. In this book, he presents the work of shepherds and, primarily, the work of the Bishop. Anyone who reads this work, titled A Course in Pastoral Theology, will see that it refers to the Bishop, the true shepherd, because the Bishop and Metropolitan of a Metropolis is the shepherd par excellence of the Church. We see this throughout Saint Nektarios’s book.

To begin with, when writing about Pastoral Theology, he gives its definition, explaining what Pastoral Theology means. Pastoral Theology is “the systematic teaching of the subject that deals with the office of the Spiritual Shepherd of the Church of Christ and with what the Spiritual Shepherd ought to be like, so that he may govern well the flock entrusted to him by God.” As a subject, Pastoral Theology is connected with the governance of the spiritual flock. He writes: “Just as much diligence and care as the shepherd of sheep devotes to the salvation and well-being of his flock, such care and attention must the shepherd of rational sheep also have and demonstrate for the good governance of his rational flock and the salvation of the souls of his rational flock.” This definition is clear. He goes on to write that “Pastoral Theology is a theological subject.” Another phrase he uses is that Pastoral Theology “is applied theology.” Pastoral Theology is practiced theologically.

When you read about a particular saint, you must examine when and how he lived, and in what environment he lived. Saint Nektarios studied at the Theological School of Athens at a time when various Western movements prevailed. Scholastic and Protestant theology had chiefly made their way into Greece, associated with rationalism and an external morality. Saint Nektarios, however, remained faithful to the teaching of the Holy Fathers. Thus, he writes that “Pastoral Theology is a theological subject,” and, moreover, he writes that it is “applied theology”—not theoretical theology, but theology that puts the teaching of the Church into practice.

He then defines what the Church is, and gives a most beautiful definition. Of course, we know that the Church is the Body of Christ, but we must see how Saint Nektarios elaborates on this definition.

Following Saint Epiphanios of Cyprus and Saint Gregory the Theologian, he writes: “The Church is the visible Kingdom of God on earth, which received its beginning in Paradise through Abraham and the Patriarchs up to Moses, was preserved through the Law until Christ, and was brought to fulfillment through Christ.” The Church is not an association, it is not an organization, and it is not a social charitable organization; rather, it is the visible Kingdom of God upon the earth.

The Church began in Paradise with Adam and Eve, and because they were removed from Paradise after their disobedience, the Kingdom of God now comes to earth. This takes place through God's revelation to Abraham, to the Patriarchs, and to Moses. It is the pre-incarnate Logos who is revealed in the Old Testament, and afterward the incarnate Logos comes, Christ, who showed us that the Church is Paradise, the Kingdom of God.

He then writes that “the purpose of the Church is the salvation of the human race and the restoration of the Kingdom of God on earth, which was disrupted by sin, and the prevalence of love, joy, and freedom upon the earth.” This is a remarkable definition. The purpose of the Church is the same purpose that God gave in Paradise to Adam and Eve. Because this purpose of the Church was disrupted by sin, we must now live it here on earth in Christ Jesus, and this takes place through the prevalence of love, joy, and freedom.

Here it is clearly evident what the original purpose of man's creation was, how man failed to fulfill this purpose, and how, through the Incarnation of the Son and Logos of God, man returns to his former state and ascends even higher. This is the therapeutic work of the Church. Therefore, Saint Nektarios has in mind the pre-Fall and post-Fall condition of man, as well as his regeneration in Christ within the Church.

And one should consider that, at the time when he was writing these things, as I said earlier, other views of the Church prevailed at the Theological School of Athens, as well as within the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece—Western, Scholastic, and Protestant views. The reason Saint Nektarios writes these things is that he came to know them through his experience in the Monastery and through the ascetic practice he undertook under a holy Elder.

When we read the book on Pastoral Theology, we see that, following the Introduction, Saint Nektarios develops two major sections.

The first section is titled “Introduction to the Subject of Pastoral Theology.” There he discusses “the subject of Pastoral Theology,” “the Church,” “the Mysteries,” and “the qualifications of spiritual shepherds.” It is particularly striking that, when he speaks about the qualifications of a shepherd, he writes that he must possess “general qualifications” and “religious qualifications,” namely, fervent love for our Lord Jesus Christ, holy zeal, holy fear of God, and a firm and living faith. He must also possess “natural intellectual qualifications and acquired ones,” “physical qualifications,” and “the legally required age and a calling to the priesthood.” Under these, he includes “literary and theological education,” “ecclesiastical formation,” and “general education.” He provides the necessary explanations, because it is essential for a shepherd to possess such knowledge in our time. You see, this book presents an entire body of theory developed by Saint Nektarios.

The second section of the book is titled “Introduction to Special Pastoral Theology.” In this section, he develops the subject of “ethology,” that is, the character and conduct of shepherds. I repeat that he speaks primarily about Bishops, because when a Metropolitan in a particular province knows these things, he can then guide the Priests and the people on the basis of them. There he writes that the Shepherd must possess “dignity,” “sacred dignity,” and “propriety.” He then discusses “virtueology,” that is, he speaks about the virtues: peace, humility, self-denial, freedom from resentment, and the courage that a clergyman must possess, so that he may teach the people accordingly, as well as meekness, patience, and so on. He also discusses “moral vices,” that is, the passions. Next, he refers to “the duties of the shepherd,” namely, the duties that the spiritual shepherd has toward the Church and toward various others. We do not simply have rights, about which everyone speaks today; we also have duties toward the Church and toward various others in society.

These are the two major sections of the book. What is important is that he does not teach the subject by developing chapters in the usual manner, but develops it through questions and answers: he asks a question and then answers it, proceeding in an inductive manner. After these two major sections of the book, together with their subsections, have been completed, he then presents the “Appendix,” which contains the foundation of Pastoral Theology upon which he relied in writing everything that preceded it.

Here, too, in the “Appendix,” there are two sections. The first section refers to the “Pastoral Theology of the Fathers.” He records passages from the Fathers that speak about the pastoral ministry that shepherds, primarily Bishops, ought to exercise. The second section includes Canons of the Church relating to the priesthood and the pastoral ministry.

What Saint Nektarios accomplished was something rarely encountered in his time. At the beginning of the twentieth century, when he lived, Western theology prevailed in Greece, and the views of its representatives were being introduced. Much later, from the middle of the twentieth century onward, the texts of the Fathers began to be published and dissertations began to be written on them. Saint Nektarios, by contrast, used texts of the Fathers during that difficult period. Of course, he had read all the Acts of the Ecumenical Synods, which is why he also wrote a book on the Ecumenical Synods. He knew the dogmas and Canons of the Church, and such knowledge was rarely encountered among a Bishop of that period.

Therefore, when someone reads this book by Saint Nektarios, titled Pastoral Theology, it becomes clear that it is a spiritual mirror of Saint Nektarios; it is his spiritual autobiography. Of course, many people have spoken and written about the life of Saint Nektarios and have expressed their impressions of him, based on their own experiences or on information from others. But if someone wishes to see who Saint Nektarios really was, that person must read his Pastoral Theology. For the things he taught and said about what a Bishop and shepherd ought to be were things that he himself believed and lived out in practice.

The Application of Pastoral Theology to the Nuns of the Sacred Monastery of the Holy Trinity on Aegina

The place where the practice of the science of Pastoral Theology becomes evident is in the letters he sent to the nuns of the Sacred Monastery of the Holy Trinity on Aegina.

When Saint Nektarios was at the Rizareios School, he taught the students, but he also celebrated the Divine Liturgy and preached to the people. Some young women who heard his preaching and were deeply moved by it expressed to him their desire to become nuns and wanted his assistance. Thus, Saint Nektarios undertook to build a Monastery on Aegina, which is the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, and he provided the nuns with spiritual guidance.

In the beginning, because Saint Nektarios was in Athens, serving as Director and professor at the Rizareios School, he guided them by writing letters to them. These letters have therefore been preserved, and in them his greatness is evident. I ask you to find and read these letters. There we see that Saint Nektarios was a great ascetic, a remarkable spiritual teacher. It is evident that he knew spiritual guidance; he knew how to receive a person in the condition in which that person found himself and heal him, how to lead him from the image of God to the likeness of God, and how to heal a person of the passions in a discerning manner.

Later, when he retired, he went and remained at the Monastery, guiding the nuns in the manner he knew, drawing both upon the Monastery in which he had been a novice and a monk, and upon his studies, as well as upon all the pastoral experience he had acquired.

Thus, when someone reads these letters that he sent to the nuns, he sees Saint Nektarios putting the theology of the Church into practice. For it is one thing to ascend the pulpit of the church or stand at the Beautiful Gate and speak, delivering a sermon; it is another thing to take responsibility for a person who is wounded, tormented, distressed, and despairing, and gradually set that person on “the way of the Lord,” as we say. This is a great science, a great art. This is what Saint Nektarios did.

I cannot present all these letters to you, but I will emphasize two points in particular.

The first point is that Saint Nektarios clearly demonstrates that he understands the distinction between illnesses, and this shows that he is a great ascetic. I said this morning in the sermon that we speak about and are impressed by the asceticism of certain Fathers on Mount Athos. But here, when someone reads the letters of Saint Nektarios, he understands that he, too, was a great ascetic.

What is true theology? It is not simply a matter of possessing extensive knowledge, but of discerning the spirits, whether they are from God or from the devil. We have various thoughts. We wonder: What are these thoughts, and where do they come from? Are they from God or from the devil? Who will distinguish them for us? Who will make this discernment? The important thing is for a person to discern these thoughts: which one comes from God, which one comes from the passions, and which one comes from the devil. In this way, a person is given the opportunity to free himself through his own struggle, but above all through the grace of God.

These letters show that Saint Nektarios had great knowledge of the inner world of the human person, that he was a good spiritual healer, that he knew the therapeutic teaching of the Church, and that, at the same time, he possessed great discernment. The Gerontissa would write to him, and he would reply.

I find this an opportunity to emphasize a remarkable fact. Saint Nektarios established a women's Monastery and appointed a blind woman as its Gerontissa! Who today would establish a women's Monastery and appoint a blind woman as its Gerontissa? Usually, they appoint as Gerontissa someone who has studied, has graduated from a School of Theology, possesses certain external qualifications, and is at least physically able-bodied. Saint Nektarios appointed a blind woman as Gerontissa, who was nevertheless blessed: the renowned Gerontissa Xenia. She would send him letters, apparently dictating them to a nun, and he would reply.

The Gerontissa had nuns with her who had various problems. For when someone enters a Monastery, all the passions that he had in the world and that had lain dormant begin to appear there. This is why they would ask Saint Nektarios, and he would answer them with great discernment. Indeed, he distinguished illnesses as physical, psychic, psychosomatic, and spiritual.

Let us therefore look at the contents of some characteristic letters.

In one of his letters, the Saint replies that a particular nun was suffering from a physical illness caused by cold and dampness, and that this was not a spiritual problem but a physical one. He advises the Gerontissa to make the sign of the Cross over her with the holy relics and informs her that he himself will pray for the nun. The human body has within it corruption and mortality, and a person will encounter such conditions during the course of life.

In another letter, he diagnoses a particular nun as suffering from a psychic illness, that is, from passions that are inflamed through the influence of the evil one. For her healing, he advises her to use spiritual means: to confess her thoughts to the Gerontissa, to be attentive to her thoughts, to chant the Supplicatory Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos, and to practice the Jesus Prayer.

In another letter, he diagnoses a particular nun as suffering from the interaction of physical, neurological, and psychic illnesses. He confirms that this particular nun suffers from hysteria; this illness has weakened her nervous system and made her neurotic, and for this reason she is attacked by the evil one and has various thoughts. He urges her to strengthen her nervous system with medication and not to be disturbed by her thoughts.

In other letters, he advises the nuns to be careful about their feeling of love, so that it does not turn into carnal love and carnal eros, and so that unhealthy conditions do not arise in their relationships with one another. He is strict on this point and recommends as a remedy for their healing complete poverty and the turning of their love toward Christ the Bridegroom.

From this first point, drawn from these letters and many others, it is evident that Saint Nektarios was a perfect spiritual healer and possessed the great gift of discernment.

The second point arising from the letters he sent to the nuns of the Sacred Monastery whom he guided spiritually is that he knew fully how the passions function and how they are healed. This is also why he was a good theologian. One cannot be a theologian without knowing how to heal a wounded person.

Among the letters of Saint Nektarios is one that he sent to the nuns in which he writes what he had answered to his “daughter in the spirit,” Amalia—who was not a nun—when she submitted a question to him on this subject. This letter clearly shows that he knew pathology very well; that is, he knew how the passions function in the human person, and he made a correct diagnosis.

Saint Nektarios knew that the passions are the natural powers of the soul. In other words, when God created man, He did not place evil powers within him, the things we call passions, such as anger, jealousy, and so on, which we must uproot. Rather, these are powers of the soul that were good but were corrupted through sin.

All the Fathers of our Church, including Saint John of Sinai in his book The Ladder, write that God placed love within us as a power by which we are to love God. We, however, instead of loving God completely, love created things. This is a corruption of love. Whereas love was according to nature when directed toward God, we have made love contrary to nature. Therefore, the passions are illnesses of the powers of the soul.

God gave us jealousy, or zeal, so that we might be zealous for His glory. Yet, instead of being zealous for the glory of God, we are jealous of human glory. This is vainglory, pride, and so on. Then there is anger: anger is not evil. Just as we press the accelerator in a car to make it move, so anger is a power of the soul, enabling a person to accomplish what he wishes to do for the good. This is why Christ says: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30), that is, we are to love Him with our whole soul. Therefore, we have anger so that we may fight the devil and those who lead us into sin, and through anger be directed toward God. When these powers of the soul do not proceed according to nature and above nature, but proceed contrary to nature, this is spiritual illness.

What, then, is healing? Healing does not mean that these powers must be uprooted, that love must be removed. Rather, love for created things must become divine love, divine eros; eros toward human beings must become divine eros, or we must love human beings in Christ. The jealousy we feel toward other people and toward what they possess must be transformed into zeal for the glory of God and the saints, so that we may become saints. Thus, these powers of the soul must be transformed. This is why we speak of the transformation of the passions.

When Saint Nektarios speaks about love, he knows how love functions contrary to nature, when it is directed against God and far from God; he knows how it functions according to nature and how it functions above nature when it is directed toward God.

The question submitted to him by his “daughter in the spirit,” Amalia, was the following: “Is it possible for peace to dwell in a heart filled with passions?” Is it possible for someone to have peace if his heart is full of passions? Today, we would answer with a single word: this is impossible. You cannot have peace if you have passions. Saint Nektarios does not approach it this way. Rather, he is a spiritual surgeon, a physician, and in this letter he provides an extensive analysis.

First of all, he gives a definition of peace. Since the subject is peace, and whether it is possible for someone to have peace, he begins by defining peace. “Peace is, as it seems to me, the water of repose ... and it is a gift of God, bestowed abundantly upon those who make peace with Him and do His divine will.”

Peace is not simply getting along well with everyone. Peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of Christ. For there may be no war and yet we may have no peace. There may be no people fighting against us, and yet we may have no peace within ourselves. Here he writes that peace is a gift of God to man and is the water of repose.

He then writes that Christ gave peace to His Disciples. When Christ appeared to them after His Resurrection, He said: “Peace be with you.” For this reason, “peace, as a divine gift, is light and has communion with those who are illumined.” That is, peace is light and has communion with those who are illumined. “Peace, as light, flees darkness, because light has no communion with darkness; sin is darkness, and therefore peace flees sin as darkness. Therefore, the sinner is never at peace.”

Pay attention to this beautiful line of reasoning. Peace is a gift of God; peace is light. Therefore, light is the opposite of darkness. When a person turns away from the light, he has darkness, and darkness is sin. Therefore, the person who has sin does not have peace.

However, even after giving this definition of peace, “the question remains”: “Are all the passions within us sins that repel the peace of God, which was given to those illumined by the light of the knowledge of God?” In other words, he wonders whether all the passions that exist within us are sins and repel the peace of God, which was given to those who have been illumined by the light of the knowledge of God. That is, are there no passions that are not sins and therefore do not repel peace?

Here it becomes evident that Saint Nektarios knows the condition of the human soul very well, and he develops the subject inductively. He writes that, in those who have been illumined by the light of God, not all the passions are sins. “For the innate passions, both of the soul and of the body, having been implanted by God, are blameless.” God made everything good, and the passions were given “for one purposeful and reasonable end.” When they function according to the divine law, according to the reason for their existence, and in pursuit of the purpose for which they were given, they are transformed into moral powers. These blameless passions conduct themselves according to the divine law, and for this reason they coexist with peace; peace does not depart from the souls of people who have such passions.

Saint Nektarios knew very well the teaching of the neptic and hesychast Fathers, as we encounter it in their writings.

What are the blameless, natural passions? They are the needs of the human soul and body, which are natural. In other words, when the time comes, the human body wants food; it has an appetite and feels hunger. This is not a sin. When the time comes for it to become thirsty, the body feels thirst and must drink water. These, therefore, are called natural passions, blameless passions.

Christ also had these, because He assumed the whole of human nature, a mortal and passible body, without sin. This is why He became hungry and thirsty and grew tired. But in Christ these functioned differently from the way they function in us. Christ became hungry when He willed it; that is, the blameless, natural passions did not exercise authority over Him. Rather, through His divinity, He had authority over them. We, when the time comes, must drink water; natural passions are a necessity for us. In Christ, they were not a necessity in this way. Rather, He became hungry and thirsty when He willed, because His divinity held dominion over His bodily functions.

Therefore, we say that, in human beings, the blameless and natural passions function by necessity. In other words, the time comes when we become sleepy and must sleep; sleep is a natural passion. This is not a sin. When does it become a sin? When what is blameless and natural is transformed into something blameworthy. For example, I become hungry and eat more than I should. This is gluttony. Gluttony is the transformation of a blameless passion into a blameworthy passion. I become thirsty, and because I am thirsty, I begin drinking excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages and anything else. This is excess, and this blameless passion of thirst, which is natural, is transformed and becomes blameworthy.

The entire effort we must make within the Church concerns how the blameless passion can remain blameless. We must eat as much as we need, drink as much as we need, sleep as much as we need, and rest as much as we need. And who will tell us this? The pure nous will tell us. When a person has a pure nous that prays noetically, he knows when to stop eating, because excessive consumption interrupts prayer. A person eats more than he should and ceases to pray. This is an indication that the natural, blameless passion has been transformed into a blameworthy passion. The entire effort we make in the Church, and through our struggle with the grace of God, is directed toward transforming a blameworthy passion—for example, gluttony—into a natural passion, making gluttony, too, a natural, blameless passion.

Apart from the natural, blameless bodily passions, there are also natural, blameless psychic passions which, as I said earlier, are the natural powers of the soul: desire, love, zeal, and so on. When they function for the purpose for which they were created, they are blameless, natural passions. These, too, can be transformed and become blameworthy. Thus, the ascetic practice of the Church is concerned with how the psychic passions can be transformed from blameworthy into blameless.

Therefore, Saint Nektarios writes that one thing is the blameless passions, which are innate, psychic and bodily, and which have been implanted by God, since God made the human body to eat; and another thing is the passions that do not function according to the “purposeful and reasonable” end for which they were given, but function “unlawfully and irrationally,” and possess “the character of passion,” so that their operation is reckoned as sin.

Having made this distinction between natural, blameless passions and blameworthy passions, he goes on to write that, apart from the innate passions implanted by God for the exercise of the virtues and for our perfection, there are also within us inherited passions and other psychic passions that God did not place within us. In other words, God gave us the hunger of the body; He established how the body develops, how the blood circulates, and how food is digested so that all the organs of the body may be sustained. These are natural needs established by God. However, there are also other psychic passions that God did not place within us. What are these? They are “the law of sin within us,” which appears within us “as a certain inclination toward evil.” This inclination toward sin tends to dominate our will and direct it according to its own demands.

Therefore, when the blameless passions become blameworthy, and we have gluttony, greed, anger, evil desire, and so on, a habit is formed, an inclination toward sin develops, and this is called the law of sin. This is evil. This inclination seeks to govern us and transform our psychic and bodily powers into “enslaved passions,” into “demonic passions.” Thus, “the law of sin” exists within us “as an inclination” that seeks to transform the natural passions and make them “demonic passions.” When this inclination gains dominion over us, “then peace is driven away,” the person becomes a slave to sin, and “has no peace whatsoever.”

Even in this case, however, correction is possible. “If the law of sin has subjected the freedom within us” and directs it, then the passions become enslaved to sin and peace is driven away. However, “if the law of God within us, the law of goodness, resists and fights” in order to subdue the law of sin and the impulse of the inclination toward sin, and so that moral freedom may prevail, “then the peace of God fills our hearts.”

He writes here that the law of sin exists within us as an inclination. But there is the possibility, when someone observes the law of God, of healing the law of sin and healing the passions that have been transformed into negative conditions within our soul. Even after healing, however, we must remain vigilant and watchful, “because the law of sin keeps watch within us, while the devil fans it like a fire.”

Pay attention here, because this observation is extremely important. We must be ready and alert. This is the watchfulness of which Christ speaks: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). There must be constant vigilance and watchfulness, because we also have the devil outside us, who fans this law of sin within us. He fans this inclination like a fire, setting the desiring part of our soul ablaze, and then, of course, the passions manifest themselves once again.

And Saint Nektarios concludes:

“The conclusion is that you should exercise self-control and struggle against the law of sin, and not let the uprising of your passions trouble you.” What does he write here? If you see an uprising of the passions within yourselves, do not be afraid or troubled. Exercise self-control and struggle, because everything can be healed. “Peace is not driven away by the passions, but by the character they acquire through defeat or through struggle. If you are victorious in the struggle, the uprising of the passions becomes the occasion for new joy and peace. If you are defeated, God forbid, then distress and turmoil arise. But if, after a mighty struggle, something human should happen to you, and the law of sin should prevail for a time, yet you return to the struggle and persevere in it, the one who struggles is victorious, and peace returns.”

From all this, it is evident that Saint Nektarios is a spiritual healer, a spiritual father.

From everything I have explained to you, several truths emerge. First, Saint Nektarios knows the pathology of the human person and is an excellent spiritual physician. Second, because he knows this pathology, he makes a good diagnosis and provides healing; he is a good healer. This is how it happens with physical illnesses. First, the physician makes a diagnosis, and then speaks to us about the treatment and gives the appropriate medicines to each person individually. Third, he is not absolute in his judgments. He does not say that whoever sins is abandoned by God. Rather, he urges us to undertake our struggle, and if we fall, to rise again. Then the peace of God is not driven away. When a person struggles, peace remains within him.

Through what Saint Nektarios writes, he provides ways forward. He is strict when he sees psychic passions that a person does not wish to heal. But when he sees a person struggling and fighting, he gives that person courage to continue in the struggle.

A Friend of God and of the Saints

Saint Nektarios was a friend of God, and I could say that he was also a friend of all the saints. He himself received spiritual therapeutic guidance from saints, and for this reason he later practiced it with his spiritual children. But he did so in a very beautiful manner, with discernment and love.

I will read you another letter, so that you may see how Saint Nektarios was a perfect ascetic, a perfect hesychast, a father of perfect discernment, and a physician. This letter is very important, in my opinion, because it shows that he had experiences of the spiritual life. He sent this letter to all the nuns. He writes:

“My beloved daughters in the Lord, rejoice in the Lord.

I am writing this letter to you immediately after rising from my bed, in order to share with you a certain dream that made a great impression on me.”

He woke up in the morning and recorded for the nuns the dream he had seen, because it had made a great impression on him. Of course, the saint knew that we should not attach great importance to dreams, but he understood, through the discernment he possessed, that this particular dream had special significance. He continues:

“The dream was as follows: I saw that I was standing at the foot of the coffin containing the holy relic of Saint Nicholas, and I was observing it, and it appeared to me to be sleeping.”

He saw that he was in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Alexandria and that he was looking at the relic of Saint Nicholas. As he observed it, it seemed to him that the saint was sleeping. He continues:

“In the meantime, however, it appeared to me to move, and shortly afterward it opened its eyes—Saint Nicholas did so. Then he arose and sat up, and, raising his hands, extended them toward me.”

Saint Nicholas rose from the coffin, raised his hands, and seemed to be calling him to come closer.

“I bowed out of reverence, in order to kiss him; and he embraced me and kissed me three times on the mouth, and I kissed him in return. After the kiss, he looked intently at me and said: ‘I will exalt you high, high; but I also want you to make me a silver throne.’ Having said these things to me, he lay down again and fell asleep, while I awoke. Upon awakening, I remembered at that moment that I had also seen this dream some days earlier, but had forgotten it.”

Notice here that a holy man had a dream, but he did not attach importance to it. And he had seen this dream for a second time. This is a dream from God, given to a humble soul, and not to a soul filled with egotism and pride. He continues:

“Then I remembered that the first time, when the saint arose, he merely kissed me, but said nothing to me. The second time, the announcement and the request took place. This is what I saw, and I am writing it to you as a dream that made an impression on me because of its revelatory character, its assurance, and its request. Let us see whether the dream is true. It appears plausible.”

The saint possessed great discernment, and he says that they will see whether it is true, although it appears to him to be true. He continues:

“‘But we remain dispassionate,’” that is, I remain dispassionate toward the dream, “‘and may God guide us in the work of good. The church in Cairo, which I decorated and adorned, and which I transformed from a humble state into something splendid, is dedicated to the name of Saint Nicholas. This is the first time I have seen Saint Nicholas in a dream, kissing me and speaking with me. Blessed be the name of the Lord.’”

Concluding Remarks

This was Saint Nektarios. From what I have mentioned earlier, it is evident that Saint Nektarios had experiences of God and of noetic prayer, and that he taught the students of the Rizareios Ecclesiastical School Orthodox pastoral theology. He also guided the nuns in how to heal their passions and live the hesychastic tradition of the Church. He himself had experiential communion with God and the saints. Here you see Saint Nicholas embracing him, greeting him with kisses, and kissing him on the mouth, and saying to him: “I will exalt you high, high.” And he was exalted and became a saint himself.

This is the work of spiritual fathers. This is the work of the Church. This is the work that we must do. We must recognize that we are spiritually ill and remain in the Church in order to be healed. Through this healing, we acquire the knowledge of God, advancing from the image of God to His likeness.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.