Month: November 2022

I have perceived much beauty
In the hoarse oaths that kept our courage straight;
Heard music in the silentness of duty;
Found peace where shell-storms spouted reddest spate.
Nevertheless, except you share
With them in hell the sorrowful dark of hell,
Whose world is but the trembling of a flare,
And heaven but as the highway for a shell,
You shall not hear their mirth:
You shall not come to think them well content
By any jest of mine. These men are worth
Your tears: You are not worth their merriment.

Wilfred Owen, The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings from the Nation’s Capital! 

Any chance to walk the Mall, visit the National Monuments, and tour the shrines of our Federal Government is indeed a blessing and honor that any American Citizen should seize, given the opportunity. Though we are in Maryland for our son’s sporting event, we made sure not to miss introducing him to the stately beauty and enduring dignity that is Washington DC. Indeed, any day in our Nation’s Capital is a blessed day. And to be there on Veteran’s Day transforms the day from national pride to heartfelt thanksgiving. 

As we walked the area of the National Mall, we listened to the speakers, and partook of the events at the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam War Memorials. Vets, from all branches and eras walked in groups and stood as individuals, gracefully receiving our “Thanks for your service,” as we negotiated our way through the walkways. We felt a great sense of gratitude, seeing these proud Veterans, knowing that the marble buildings, bronze statues and sculpted artwork, all assembled to symbolize American pride and history, though permanent and stately, are only reflections of the actual people who have stood to defend our Nation. 

Every one of those Veterans has seen violence, experienced fear, heard sounds, smelled smells, and seen horrors that should never have scarred their minds or inflicted their bodies. They were placed in harm’s way, upholding the ideals and principles of our forefathers, so that the freedom and dignity of man could be protected and upheld.

While politicians come and go, governing philosophies rise and fall, red turns to blue, and blue turns to red, our collective Republic stands as one Nation Under God. To be sure, as debates are held and votes are taken in the chambers of Congress, every American should walk the streets of Washington DC and experience all that unites us, rather than dwell on that which divide s us. Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address reminded his listeners that both sides of the Civil War read the same Bible and prayed to the same God. His call to a collective consciousness is still important today.

It is also the reminder, that God is not forgotten in this great Land. It is here, between these two, blessed shores, where His Name is lifted, cherished, witnessed and glorified. Our St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church community is largely made up, as the children of immigrants. Our parents and grandparents strove to get here, so we could live and thrive here. We should never have to be reminded that their sacrifices and dreams should not be taken for granted. But sometimes we need a slight prodding. A walk through the sights of Washington DC can serve as such a reminder. That walk on Veteran’s Day is that much more vivid and powerful. 

Thank you to my grandparents who immigrated to this country. Specifically, thank you to my Papou Nick Zakis who gained his US Citizenship by serving in the Army. Thank you to my father-in-law, Steve Zoumadakis who served in the Korean War. Thank you to the Veterans of our St. Anna parish, both those living and who have passed. And to all men and women of the US Armed Forces. Bless the memories of those who never made it home and strengthen their families. God bless our incredible country, and every diverse person who calls it home. 

With Much Love in XC, 

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last Spring, our parish, and actually the entire Orthodox world in the United States were treated to an exceptional film, “Man of God,” the story of St. Nectarios of Aegina. His life and ministry as the “Modern Saint” is a guide and inspiration to us all. Let us recall our own, parish history, St. Nectarios was on our short list of names for our church. Since we will celebrate the Divine Liturgy this Wednesday in honor of his Feast Day, I thought it best to reintroduce you to his life today.

Saint Nectarios of Aegina (1 October 1846–8 November 1920), Greek: Άγιος Νεκτάριος Αιγίνης, Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Wonderworker of Aegina, was officially recognized as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1961. His Feast Day is celebrated every year on 9 November.

Anastasios Kephalas, later Nectarios, was born on 1 October 1846 in Selymbria (today Silivri, Istanbul) in the Ottoman Empire to a poor family. His parents, Dimos and Maria Kephalas, were pious Christians but not wealthy.

At the age of 14, he moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) to work and further his education. In 1866, at age 20, he moved to the island of Chios to take a teaching post. On November 7, 1876, he became a monk, at age 30, in the Monastery of Nea Moni, for he had long wished to embrace the ascetic life.

Three years after becoming a monk he was ordained a Deacon, taking the name Nectarios. He graduated from the University of Athens in 1885. During his years as a student of the University of Athens he wrote many books, pamphlets, and Bible commentaries.

Following his graduation he went to Alexandria, Egypt, where he was ordained a priest and served the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo. He was consecrated Metropolitan bishop of Pentapolis (an ancient diocese in Cyrenaica, in what is now Libya) by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Sophronios in 1889.

He served as a Bishop in Cairo for one year. Nectarios was very popular with the people, which gave rise to jealousy among his colleagues. They were able to persuade his superior that Nectarios had ambitions to displace the Patriarch. Nectarios was suspended from his post without explanation. He then returned to Greece in 1891, and spent several years as a preacher (1891–1894). He was then director of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School for the education of priests in Athens for fifteen years. He developed many courses of study, and wrote numerous books, while preaching widely throughout Athens.

In 1904, at the request of several nuns, he established Holy Trinity Monastery for them on the island of Aegina.

Nectarios ordained two women as deaconesses in 1911. Up to the 1950s, a few Greek Orthodox nuns also became monastic deaconesses. In 1986, Christodoulos, the metropolitan of Demetrias and later archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, ordained a woman deacon in accordance with the “ritual of St. Nektarios” (the ancient Byzantine text St. Nektarios had used).

In December 1908, at the age of 62, St. Nectarios resigned from his post as school director and withdrew to the Holy Trinity Convent on Aegina, where he lived out the rest of his life as a monk. He wrote, published, preached, and heard confessions. He also tended the gardens, carried stones, and helped with the construction of the monastery buildings that were built with his own funds.

St. Nectarios died on November 8, 1920, at the age of 74, following hospitalization for prostate cancer and two months of treatment. His body was taken to the Holy Trinity Convent, where he was buried by his best friend St Savvas of Kalymnos, who later painted the first icon of St. Nectarios. The funeral of St. Nectarios was attended by multitudes of people from all parts of Greece and Egypt. His anathema was not lifted by the Alexandrian Patriarchate until 1998.

The relics of St. Nectarios were removed from the grave on 2 September 1953. Official recognition of Nectarios as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople took place on 20 April 1961. 

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter