Righteous Mothers of The Three Hierarchs: Nonna, Anthousa, & Emmelia - St. Nektarios of Aegina

Orthodox Wisdom

Listen to St. Nektarios praise these holy mothers who raised some of the greatest saints the earth has ever seen. He describes how these holy women planted Christ in their sons' hearts and cultivated the grace to maturity. How critical the role of the mother is in raising children and how firm the foundation she can lay down in the hearts and minds of her children. -St. Nonna is the mother of St. John Chrysostom -St. Anthousa is the mother of St. Gregory the Theologian -St. Emmelia is the mother of St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Macrina the Younger, St. Peter of Sebaste, and St. Theosebia This is an excerpt from "Mothers and the Upbringing of Children" by St. Nektarios of Aegina https://youtu.be/_e4Fn_MsxLI A new book I suggest reading for those interested in Orthodox education, homeschooling and more: "Formation in the Love of Truth: Principles of Orthodox Education" by Archpriest Peter Heers: https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/product/formation-in-the-love-of-truth-principles-of-orthodox-education/ _______ -EDUCATION: Orthodox education resources at Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association: https://saintkosmas.org/ -PREGNANCY RESOURCES: ZOE for life! is a support center (in person and online) for women needing recourse for unplanned and planned pregnancies, adoption, and more: https://zoeforlife.org/ -BOOK: Orthodox Christian Parenting by Zoe Press: https://www.zoepress.us/all-books-cds/orthodox-christian-parenting-recipes-for-raising-children-2020-2nd-edition -PRAYER: Akathist to the Mother of God, "Nurturer of Children": https://www.akathists.com/the-most-holy-theotokos/nurturer-of-children/ -PODCAST: Admonitions for Parents - St. John Chrysostom: https://youtu.be/lFcUbGHnU28 -PODCAST: The Holy Childhood of Archbishop John Maximovitch (OW podcast): https://youtu.be/hXB4wW4iozw -TEXT OF THIS PODCAST: https://saintkosmas.org/st-nektarios-mothers-and-the-upbringing-of-children -FIND A CHURCH: Find an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Nektarios writes: These mothers, desiring to educate their children as perfectly as possible and to polish their minds through Greek learning and knowledge, did not at all hesitate to entrust them to pagan teachers, so that they might be suitably developed intellectually. They considered the teachers’ heterodoxy of no importance, because they had confidence in themselves, confidence that by their own example they had wholly channeled their own love for true learning and their fervent zeal for religion into their children’s hearts. They recognized that nothing would be strong enough to shake their sons’ religious principles and convictions, because these principles and convictions had been carefully built upon a rock! Consistent, then, with their convictions, Nonna and Emmelia, the good and noble mothers of Basil and Gregory, sent them off to Athens, to the hearth of learning and enlightenment, but the center also of idolatry, where the pagan religion was enthroned with all its magnificence. But their confidence was not disappointed, for the two young students, having alive in the hearth of their heart the fire of faith in Christ, remained uninfluenced during the whole period of their studies. What radiant examples we have before us in these pious mothers! What wondrous images! What wondrous models! Who can deny that it is the mothers who produce great and virtuous men? _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!