Nilus by Rossano

Portrait of St. Nilus by Rossano

The holy Nilus the Younger (Νεῖλος), or after his birthplace Nilus of Rossano (* around 910 , † 26. September 1004 ), was distinguished Greek origin and lived as a monk mainly in southern Italy (including Rossano, Santa Maria del Patire ) and in around Rome .

Before he turned to the monastic way of life, he had a family. In the Merkourion countryside , a core area of ​​Greek monasticism, he lived under the spiritual direction of Saint Fantinus the Younger. As a monk, he was committed to the dissemination of the Rule of St. Basil , to which all Orthodox monasteries are based today. He was famous for his ascetic life (at times as a hermit), virtue and theological education. After 950 he founded the monastery of Sant'Adriano near San Demetrio Corone near his hometown . Around 980 he avoided Muslim raids and moved to Montecassino with a group of students . There the monastery of San Michele in Valleluce was made available for him to stay. After around 15 years, he first moved to Serperi near Gaeta , and later to near Rome. He is also with Otto III. met. His main lasting work was the founding of the Greek Abbey Grottaferrata near Rome, together with Bartholomäus, also from Rossano . He has also made a name for himself as a calligrapher . According to both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches' calendar of saints, the feast day of St. Nilus is September 26th .

See also

• List of the Blessed and Saints / N
• Basilians

literature

• Germano Giovanelli (Ed.): Vita di S. Nilo di Rossano, fondatore e patrono di Grottaferrata . Grottaferrata 1966.
• John M. Howe: Neilos of Rossano . In: Alexander Kazhdan (Ed.): Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium , Vol. 2 . OUP, Oxford 1991, pp. 1450-1451, ISBN 0-19-504652-8 .
• Enrica Follieri : Per una nuova edizione della Vita di San Nilo da Rossano . In: Bollettino della Badia Greca di Grottaferrata , Vol. 51 (1997) pp. 71-92.
• Entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia , Robert Appleton Company, New York 1913.
• Klaus-Peter Todt:  Neilos the Younger. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 6, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-044-1 , Sp. 579-583.