Anastasios Kephalas, later Nectarios, was born on 1 October 1846 in Selymbria, to a poor family. His parents, Dimos and Maria Kephalas, were pious Christians but not wealthy.
At the age of 14, he moved to Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, to work and further his education. In 1866, at age 20, he moved to the island of Chios to take a teaching post. On November 7, 1876, he became a monk, at age 30, in the Monastery of Nea Moni, for he had long wished to embrace the ascetic life.
Three years after becoming a monk, he was ordained a deacon, taking the name Nectarios. He graduated from the University of Athens in 1885. During his years as a student of the University of Athens he wrote many books, pamphlets, and Bible commentaries.[citation needed]

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