Icon of Saint Nektarios of Aegina — Metropolitan of Pentapolis

This hagiography depicts Saint Nektarios of Aegina, known in the world as Anastasios Kefalas, born in 1846 in Selymbria, Thrace, to devout Christian parents. He first worked as a school supervisor at the Metochion of the Holy Sepulchre, before being appointed teacher at Lithi, on the island of Chios, in 1866.

Driven by a deep attraction to monastic life, he was tonsured a monk under the name Lazarus in 1876, and ordained a deacon in Chios the following year, at which point he took the name Nektarios. In 1885, with the financial support of Patriarch Sophronios of Alexandria, he earned his degree from the Theological School of the University of Athens. Ordained a priest in Alexandria in 1886, he soon became Metropolitan of Pentapolis, in Egypt.

His rapid rise stirred the envy of several members of the patriarchal clergy, who arranged for his removal. Returning to Greece in 1889, he settled in Athens before founding, in 1904, the women's Monastery of the Holy Trinity on the island of Aegina, where he performed numerous miracles and became known throughout the country.

Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1919, he reposed at the Aretaieion Hospital in Athens on November 8, 1920. He was proclaimed a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on April 20, 1961. His head and most of his relics now rest at the Holy Trinity Monastery on Aegina. The Orthodox Church honors his memory on November 9 each year.

Hand-painted on straight wood, this icon pairs a 24-karat gold halo with a 38 x 28 cm format, suited to both a personal prayer corner and a place of worship.

Given for his feast, a baptism, or to enrich a collection of religious items, this icon of Saint Nektarios of Aegina honors a saint whose humility in the face of injustice continues to inspire the faithful around the world.