As soon as Nectarios set foot in his new home, he discovered that malicious rumors about him had preceded him. For three Sundays he came to church as a preacher, and the people mocked him and showered him with insulting words, accusing him of hypocrisy and Phariseeism. After that, he almost despaired and left for Mount Athos, but he was patient. He returned once after one of his disappointments, broken-hearted and in pain. He returned to his room, raised his eyes to the crucified one, and asked: "What did I do that they hated me to this extent?" He felt a tremor and a flame in his soul, and suddenly a silent voice came to him from the cross, overwhelming his entire being: "And what did I do that those who crucified me hated me to this extent?" Then the ascetic breathed a sigh of relief, was comforted, and decided to do it all over again. As the slanderers sought to discredit him, news reached Alexandria from some of his acquaintances who loved him that he was a victim of the envy of the envious and the slander of the slanderers. The result was that people felt a pang of conscience. As strong as their rejection of him was at first, their support for him became stronger afterwards.
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