By Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden
Shortly before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of St. George in Stockholm, I placed a part of the holy relics of the Holy Father Nactarius, Metropolitan of Pentapolis in Aegina, in order for the faithful to pay their respects.
The priest of the church, Varthalomaios Iatridis, was burning incense during a short procession that took place inside the church until I put the part of the relic on the altar.
I remained there seeking the intercession of the miraculous saint for the sake of the clergy and the people of my humble eparchy.
At the end of the service, I spoke in my homily about the virtues of the saint and the congregation paid their respects to the holy relic.
The next day, I received a phone call from the old parishioner of the Cathedral, who asked me the following question: Why I accompanied Father Varthalomaios who was burning incense in the sanctuary since there were two clergymen already there.
I explained to her that, due to the pandemic, no one other than the clergy was allowed to enter, and, therefore, Fr. Varthalomaios performed the Divine Liturgy alone and I was concelebrating in the altar.
She insisted that there was another priest inside, vested in gold, who was chanting and was taller and older than Fr. Varthalomaios.
I told her that I personally did not see anyone other than him. The Christian woman was very moved when I told her that Saint Nectarios obviously paid us a visit since we were praying to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his repose in the Lord.
I promised her that I would visit her seriously ill husband and bring with me the relic of Saint Nectarius in order for the family to pay its respects.
I wanted to support her spiritually and, therefore, I mentioned the miracle we experienced about two years ago in Stockholm, when one of the clergymen called me one night, asking me to visit his mother in the hospital in order to bless her. According to the doctors she was getting worse and they told them that she would live only for a few hours.
I immediately went to the hospital carrying with me the holy relic of Saint Nectarius. I blessed her, we sang together the Apolytikion of Saint Nectarius, I made the sign of the cross while holding the holy relic and she reverently paid her respects. I told her with certainty that she would return to her home and recover immediately, despite the doctors’ diagnosis, since the saint would be her miraculous physician from then on.
It was a miracle! She was discharged from the hospital the same week and returned home safe and sound. Although more than two years have passed since then, the faithful woman is healthy and lives happily with her family.
The saint of the 20th century appeared before us twice in Stockholm and we witnessed his miraculous intercession.
May Saint Nectarius bless us all!
