Patriarch Nectarius was born Nikolaos Pelopidis near Heraklion in
Crete in 1602. He was educated by the monks of
Saint Catherine's Monastery, who were operating the Sinaitic Academy in Herakleion at that time, eventually becoming a
monk himself in
Sinai. About 1645 he studied at
Athens with the Neo-
Aristotelian philosopher and scholar
Theophilos Corydalleus. He is known by his recommendation of the
Confessio Orthodoxa of
Peter Mogilas (1645), which he endorsed in 1662. As early as 1666 he sought to be relieved of his duties, and by 1669
Dositheos Notaras had become his successor. After his resignation, Nectarius remained in Jerusalem, except for a short time when he was driven to Mount Sinai by Latin monks who came to Palestine with Roman Catholic crusaders. Later he remained at the Monastery of The Holy Archangels (Andromedos,
Joppa) until his death. Saint
Raphael Hawaweeny states that Nectarius was "a righteous person in mind and soul" and so chose to retire due to "fierce resistance of the Jerusalemite monks when he declined to persecute the indigenous Orthodox". Patriarch Nectarius died on July 14, 1676.
Writings Patriarch Nectarius was versed in the Greek, Arabic, Turkish, and Latin languages. During his patriarchate, Romish emissaries were very active in
endeavoring to persuade the
Greek Christians of Palestine, suffering under the yoke of the Turks, to unite with the Church of Rome. Among them a
Franciscan, named Peter, was especially active in distributing five tracts in defense of the
papal authority. Nectarius' refutation of these tracts regarding papal supremacy was among the most important of his writings, in a publication entitled:
Κατά τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ Παπᾶ, a firm refutation of the Roman Catholic theses. In his doctrine of the
Eucharist, Nectarius was strictly Orthodox, and a zealous opponent of
Cyril Lucaris and the
Calvinistic movement. In addition, Nectarius is said to have written a history of the
Egyptian empire down to
Sultan Selim. ==Notes==