… Stricken with leprosy, he came to see it not as a curse, but as a special favor from heaven and a personal calling from Christ, the One who sets the contest. … the illness was destroying the members of his body—eyes, hands and feet—so that in the end he remained immobile. Yet this praiseworthy man was destroying every conceivable passion and vice, reaching blessed dispassion and perfect obedience to the will of God and to his spiritual father, becoming a man of most fervent prayer par excellence. … his noble, broad smile preached more effectively than the strongest preacher. For this reason his cell had become a font of spiritual rebirth; it was there that both healthy and ailing people found courage. (From the eulogy delivered by the Saint’s spiritual son, Father Evmenios) Published by Mr. Stamatios Frazelos and The Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Theotokos the Life Giving Spring - Dunlap, California Book available for purchase: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/saint-nikiforos-the-leper-wonderworker Paraklisis & Akathist to our Holy and God-Bearing Father Nikiforos the Leper & Wonderworker: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/paraklisis-akathist-to-our-holy-and-god-bearing-father-nikiforos-the-leper-wonderworker?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=d34c800ce&pr_rec_pid=7187607552154&pr_ref_pid=6685204938906&pr_seq=uniform Telegram episode with additional photos and content: https://t.me/athoniteaudio/8573 ICXC NIKA
