Paper short abstract:

This paper traces the spread of Saint Nektarios' cult in Romania through field work, interviews, and the study of unpublished testimonies. Comparison of pilgrimages in Aegina and Bucharest are made with special attention to healing rituals and their presumed efficacy.

Paper long abstract:

In 2002, a fragment of the relics of Saint Nektarios, a healing saint from the Greek island of Aegina, was offered to the prior of Radu Vodă Monastery in Bucharest. The following year the exhibited relics quickly gained popularity. This sudden veneration of the twentieth-century saint, canonized by the Greek Church in 1961, was due to his reputation as a miracle worker, particularly healing people suffering from cancer, a major cause of death in Romania.

The Saint's feast, celebrated on the 9th of November in Greece and Romania, has been included in the ritual calendar of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2004. Since then, the cult has spread to the entire country and the Romanian diaspora abroad. Children (both girls and boys) are baptized with the saint's name. Tours constantly take Romanian pilgrims to Aegina, where only Greeks are more numerous in attendance.

This paper traces the spread of Saint Nektarios' cult in Romania. Particular interest is given to comparison of pilgrimages in Aegina and Bucharest, with special attention to healing rituals and their presumed efficacy. Based on fieldwork observation at Radu Vodă monastery since 2010, interviews with the faithful and clergy, written and online sources (including many unpublished testimonies of miracles), field trip observation from Aegina (summers of 2005 and 2006) and other places in which St. Nektarios' relics are exhibited the study traces the cult in space over time. For the Greek rituals, a valuable source are the published works of Evy Håland, who gave permission to include them in this study.