The Alexandrian period is essential to understanding Saint Nectarios: his consecration as Metropolitan of Pentapolis, the accusations made against him, his removal from administrative office, and the later ecclesiastical reassessment of the injustice.
Metropolitan of Pentapolis
Nectarios served the Patriarchate of Alexandria and was consecrated Metropolitan of Pentapolis in January 1889. Pentapolis was an ancient metropolitan title associated with Cyrenaica. His pastoral reputation grew quickly.
The crisis of 1890
Orthodox accounts state that clerics hostile to his growing popularity suggested that he sought the patriarchal throne. He was removed from his administrative duties in 1890 without the kind of canonical hearing in which he could answer the allegations. He continued to regard himself as a hierarch of the Church and later returned to Greece.
Documentary approach
The Rizarios archive is especially valuable because it preserves later Greek diplomatic testimony describing Nectarios as a victim of intrigue and slander. This page will ultimately host a document-by-document chronology rather than relying on later retellings alone.
1998 ecclesiastical restoration
Modern Orthodox accounts record a formal Alexandrian synodal act in 1998 addressing the historical wrong done to Saint Nectarios and restoring his ecclesiastical standing. The exact text and an authoritative English translation are being prepared for the document archive.