The last church to be built in Gavalochori is the Church of Saint Nectarios, which is located at the entrance to the village on the road to Almyrida. It was built by Gavalochori resident Vasileios Fronimakis and other villagers in 1980 on a plot of land donated by a medical doctor, Georgios Pastrikakis. Both Pastrikakis and his wife Emmanouilia are buried in front of the church. The plaque at the site encourages visitors to put common interest above personal interest and to leave the earth having engaged in service to others. This church is typically not open, so you will be able to see inside only if a service or ceremony is taking place in it.
From the main square in Gavalochori, take the road north that goes to Almyrida (Αλμυρίδα). About halfway to Almyrida on the right is a somewhat modern looking building—this is the Church of Saint Nectarios. You can find this church easily because Pastrikakis’s bust stands atop a marble pillar next to the tomb outside of the church.
The Church of Saint Nectarios is a church that has two chapels incorporated into it. The church dedicated to Saint Nectarios is in the middle, the chapel on the right is dedicated to Saint Anastasia, and the chapel on the left is dedicated to Saint Irene Chrysovalantou.
Saint Nectarios (Agios Nektarios, Άγιος Νεκτάριος), who is also known as Saint Nectarios of Aegina, is a modern-day saint born Anastasios Kephalas in 1846 in what is now Silivri in Turkey. Educated in Constantinople, he became a teacher on the island of Chios and then a monk and a deacon in the Monastery of Nea Moni there, taking the name Nectarios. He graduated from the University of Athens in 1885, writing many pamphlets, books, and Bible commentaries as a student. He traveled to Alexandria, Egypt, following his graduation, and there he was ordained a priest and served the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo. He also served as the bishop of Pentapolis in what is now Libya in 1889, but he was only there for one year. His popularity with the people made his colleagues jealous, and they persuaded his superior that he wanted to displace him. He was, in modern-day terms, “mobbed,” and he was suspended from his post without explanation. Saint Nectarios returned to Greece in 1891, spending several years as a preacher before becoming the director of the Rizarios Seminary for the education of priests in Athens for 15 years.
In 1904, at the request of several nuns, Saint Nectarios established the Holy Trinity Monastery for them on the island of Aegina. There, he ordained two women as deaconesses in 1911, unusual at a time when very few Greek Orthodox nuns became monastic deaconesses. In December of 1908, at the age of 62, Saint Nectarios resigned from his post as school director and withdrew to the Holy Trinity Convent, where he lived out the rest of his life as a monk—writing, preaching, and hearing confessions. He also tended the gardens and helped with the construction of various buildings for the convent. Saint Nectarios died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1920, at the age of 74. When he died, the hospital was filled with a strong fragrance that also was smelled when his grave was opened to remove the relics. This scent is known as the odor of sanctity and is considered proof that an individual has ascended to sainthood. Saint Nectarios’s name or feast day is November 9, and religious services are celebrated the evening before and the morning of this day in the church. The evening service begins at about 7:00 and the morning service at about 7:30.
The chapel on the right is dedicated to Saint Anastasia (Agia Anastasia, Αγία Αναστασία), but little is known about her life. Born into a wealthy family in Rome in the 3rd century AD, Saint Anastasia was married briefly to a man who abused her but then was widowed at an early age. She devoted the rest of her life to helping others, visiting the poor and imprisoned and bringing them food, washing their wounds, and consoling them. When news of her acts spread, she was arrested during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian and endured much torture before being put to death by fire in Sirmium in present-day Serbia. Saint Anastasia was known as a healer and an exorcist, and because her intercessions are credited with protecting the faithful from poison and other harmful substances, she is often called Saint Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions or Saint Anastasia the Healer. Her name or feast day is December 22, and religious services are celebrated the evening before and the morning of this day in the chapel. The evening service begins at about 7:00 and the morning service at about 7:30.
The chapel on the left commemorates Saint Irene Chrysovalantou (Agia Eirini Chrysovalantou, Αγία Ειρήνη Χρυσοβαλάντου), who was born in the 9th century in Cappadocia in what is now Turkey. She was brought to Constantinople as a prospective bride for the emperor Michael, and when he married someone else, she became a nun in and then the abbess of the convent of Chrysovalantou. Her food was bread and water with occasional supplements from herbs and vegetables. Many miracles are attributed to Saint Irene, including an act of levitation. On feast days, Saint Irene typically kept vigil in the courtyard of the convent, and during one of these vigils, she levitated a meter off the ground, with two cypress trees bent to the ground before her. Afterwards, handkerchiefs were seen tied at the tops of the trees, evidence that she had once been at that level. For this reason, Saint Irene is often pictured against a background of cypress trees with scarves tied around them. She was just over 100 years old when she died, still retaining her youthful beauty. She continues to be credited with miracles, including helping women who are unable to conceive become pregnant. Saint Irene’s name or feast day is July 28, and religious services are celebrated the evening before and the morning of this day in the chapel. The evening service begins at about 7:00 and the morning service at about 7:30.
The last church to be built in Gavalochori is the Church of Saint Nectarios, which is located at the entrance to the village on the road to Almyrida. It was built by Gavalochori resident Vasileios Fronimakis and other villagers in 1980 on a plot of land donated by a medical doctor, Georgios Pastrikakis. Both Pastrikakis and his wife Emmanouilia are buried in front of the church. The plaque at the site encourages visitors to put common interest above personal interest and to leave the earth having engaged in service to others. This church is typically not open, so you will be able to see inside only if a service or ceremony is taking place in it.
From the main square in Gavalochori, take the road north that goes to Almyrida (Αλμυρίδα). About halfway to Almyrida on the right is a somewhat modern looking building—this is the Church of Saint Nectarios. You can find this church easily because Pastrikakis’s bust stands atop a marble pillar next to the tomb outside of the church.
The Church of Saint Nectarios is a church that has two chapels incorporated into it. The church dedicated to Saint Nectarios is in the middle, the chapel on the right is dedicated to Saint Anastasia, and the chapel on the left is dedicated to Saint Irene Chrysovalantou.
Saint Nectarios (Agios Nektarios, Άγιος Νεκτάριος), who is also known as Saint Nectarios of Aegina, is a modern-day saint born Anastasios Kephalas in 1846 in what is now Silivri in Turkey. Educated in Constantinople, he became a teacher on the island of Chios and then a monk and a deacon in the Monastery of Nea Moni there, taking the name Nectarios. He graduated from the University of Athens in 1885, writing many pamphlets, books, and Bible commentaries as a student. He traveled to Alexandria, Egypt, following his graduation, and there he was ordained a priest and served the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo. He also served as the bishop of Pentapolis in what is now Libya in 1889, but he was only there for one year. His popularity with the people made his colleagues jealous, and they persuaded his superior that he wanted to displace him. He was, in modern-day terms, “mobbed,” and he was suspended from his post without explanation. Saint Nectarios returned to Greece in 1891, spending several years as a preacher before becoming the director of the Rizarios Seminary for the education of priests in Athens for 15 years.
In 1904, at the request of several nuns, Saint Nectarios established the Holy Trinity Monastery for them on the island of Aegina. There, he ordained two women as deaconesses in 1911, unusual at a time when very few Greek Orthodox nuns became monastic deaconesses. In December of 1908, at the age of 62, Saint Nectarios resigned from his post as school director and withdrew to the Holy Trinity Convent, where he lived out the rest of his life as a monk—writing, preaching, and hearing confessions. He also tended the gardens and helped with the construction of various buildings for the convent. Saint Nectarios died of prostate cancer on November 8, 1920, at the age of 74. When he died, the hospital was filled with a strong fragrance that also was smelled when his grave was opened to remove the relics. This scent is known as the odor of sanctity and is considered proof that an individual has ascended to sainthood. Saint Nectarios’s name or feast day is November 9, and religious services are celebrated the evening before and the morning of this day in the church. The evening service begins at about 7:00 and the morning service at about 7:30.
The chapel on the right is dedicated to Saint Anastasia (Agia Anastasia, Αγία Αναστασία), but little is known about her life. Born into a wealthy family in Rome in the 3rd century AD, Saint Anastasia was married briefly to a man who abused her but then was widowed at an early age. She devoted the rest of her life to helping others, visiting the poor and imprisoned and bringing them food, washing their wounds, and consoling them. When news of her acts spread, she was arrested during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian and endured much torture before being put to death by fire in Sirmium in present-day Serbia. Saint Anastasia was known as a healer and an exorcist, and because her intercessions are credited with protecting the faithful from poison and other harmful substances, she is often called Saint Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions or Saint Anastasia the Healer. Her name or feast day is December 22, and religious services are celebrated the evening before and the morning of this day in the chapel. The evening service begins at about 7:00 and the morning service at about 7:30.
The chapel on the left commemorates Saint Irene Chrysovalantou (Agia Eirini Chrysovalantou, Αγία Ειρήνη Χρυσοβαλάντου), who was born in the 9th century in Cappadocia in what is now Turkey. She was brought to Constantinople as a prospective bride for the emperor Michael, and when he married someone else, she became a nun in and then the abbess of the convent of Chrysovalantou. Her food was bread and water with occasional supplements from herbs and vegetables. Many miracles are attributed to Saint Irene, including an act of levitation. On feast days, Saint Irene typically kept vigil in the courtyard of the convent, and during one of these vigils, she levitated a meter off the ground, with two cypress trees bent to the ground before her. Afterwards, handkerchiefs were seen tied at the tops of the trees, evidence that she had once been at that level. For this reason, Saint Irene is often pictured against a background of cypress trees with scarves tied around them. She was just over 100 years old when she died, still retaining her youthful beauty. She continues to be credited with miracles, including helping women who are unable to conceive become pregnant. Saint Irene’s name or feast day is July 28, and religious services are celebrated the evening before and the morning of this day in the chapel. The evening service begins at about 7:00 and the morning service at about 7:30.
