Saint Nectarios of Aegina (1846–1920),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.
Bishop Nectarios was a priest in Australia when he read an appeal in a church magazine for missionaries to revive the Orthodox Church in Madagascar. There had been two Orthodox Churches in the country, mostly supported by Greek expatriates, but a military coup in 1972 had resulted in the expulsion of the clergy.
Nectarios pleaded with his bishop (the Bishop of Adelaide) to let him go to Madagascar, but the bishop at first refused, saying that he was too useful to him where he was. Eventually, however, the bishop relented, saying that he knew Nectarios would just be miserable if he were forced to stay.
Nectarios made contact with the publisher of the Greek magazine that contained the appeal, and asked who had written it, and was rather taken aback to learn that it was not an appeal from Orthodox Christians in Madagascar asking for a priest, but that the publisher himself had thought it would be a good idea. Nectarios realised that it would be pioneering missionary work.
Nevertheless, he went to Madagascar, which is part of the Greek Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. He made contact with the families who were looking after the church buildings, and took the son of one of the families with him on his missionary journeys, travelling around the island to villages where there seemed to be no churches, and arranging with the headman of the village to preach the gospel there if anyone was interested. In this way he established several parishes. He sent the young man who had first accompanied him to the theological seminary in Nairobi, and established a school and an orphanage.
Here we are together,
when tomorrow comes,
we will still be here,
I'm back and feel it,
when I walk with you,
my feet don't touch the ground,
it's all that matthers,
that anywhere you go I will be there,
I will be there.
Chorus:
Feels like our world has just begun,
now after all it's said and done,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
you're still the one I kiss goodnight,
you'll always be my guardian light,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
looks like we made it,
looks like we made it,
you and I,
you and I,
the people say we're crazy,
that we never make it half the way,
but look as us together,
stronger than we were in yesterday,
and I believe it,
that you will be the one, come bring us shine,
you will be mine,
Chorus:
Feels like our world has just begun,
now after all it's said and done,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
you're still the one I kiss goodnight,
you'll always be my guardian light,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
looks like we made it,
looks like we made it,
you and I,
looks like we made it you and I
hey,oh you and I
Chorus:
Feels like our world has just begun,
now after all it's said and done,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
you're still the one I kiss goodnight,
you'll always be my guardian light,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
looks like we made it,
looks like we made it,
you and I,
you and I,
looks like we made it you and I
Chorus:
Feels like our world has just begun,
now after all it's said and done,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
you're still the one I kiss goodnight,
you'll always be my guardian light,
looks like we made it,
we're still here together baby,
looks like we made it,
looks like we made it you and I.