Cosmas of Aetolia

Cosmas of Aetolia
Born	1714 Aetolia
Died	August 24, 1779 (aged 65) Kolkondas, Pashalik of Berat in theOttoman Empire, now in Fier District of modern Albania
Honored in	Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized	20 April 1961
Majorshrine	Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens
Feast	August 24

Saint Cosmas of Aetolia (sometimes Kosmas of Aetolia or Cosmas/Kosmas the Aetolian or Patrokosmas"Father Cosmas") (Greek: Κοσμάς Αιτωλός, Kosmas Etolos) (born at some time between 1700 and 1714 – dead 1779) was a monk in the Greek Orthodox Churchand an important figure in the Greek Enlightenment.

Cosmas was officially proclaimed a Saint by theOrthodox Church of Constantinople on 20 April 1961. The memory of isapostolos Cosmas of Aetolia is honoured on August 24, the date of his martyrdom.

Life

He was born in the Greek village Mega Dendron near the town of Thermo in the region of Aetolia. He studied Greekand Theology before becoming a monk after a trip toMount Athos where he also attended the localTheological Academy.

After two years he left Athos. In 1760 he was authorized by Patriarch Serapheim II (who had marked anti-Ottoman tendencies) to begin missionary tours in the villages ofThrace - later extended to what would form the areas of both West Greece and Northern Greece. The Patriarch had been reportedly worried at the an increasing rate of Christians converting to Islam in these areas.

Over sixteen years, Cosmas established about 250 schools.^{[citation needed]} He called upon Christians to establish schools and learn Biblical Koine Greek, that they might understand the Scriptures better and generally educate themselves.

After the Orlov Revolt of 1770 in the Peloponnese (which was provoked by the Orlov brothers with the support of Catherine II of the Russian Empire), Cosmas started to preach in what is now SouthernAlbania, then under the rule of Ahmet Kurt Pasha, governor of the Pashalik of Berat.

His preachings had aroused the opposition of the rich and powerful and others who felt their position threatened, such as the kotsampasides (Greek "village elders" whose power and influence was bound up with the Ottoman power).^[1]

Cosmas was also viewed with suspicion by officials of the Venetian Republic, then in its final stages of decline, which ruled parts of the territory where he was active. For example, in 1779 he is said to have visited the Venetian-ruled town of Preveza and founded there a Greek school, which would be the only school of the city during the 18th century - an act which the Venetian authorities might have considered as undermining their rule.^[2] The Venetians' suspicions are attested in spy reports about Cosmas preserved in the Venetian archives.

In contrast, Cosmas had considerable support from other Christians and even from some Turks.

In his sermons Cosmas often refers negatively to the Jews. Nevertheless, in one of his preachings he stated specifically that:«Those who wrong Christians, Jews or Turks would be paid back for the injustice they committed».

One effect of his preaching was to transfer the holding of the weekly bazaar (fair) from Sunday to Saturday, which brought economic losses to Jews - barred by their religion from engaging in business on Sabbath. Some researchers believe that for that reason, Jews in Epirus were involved in his conviction by the Ottoman authorities.

Accused of being a Russian agent, he was seized by Ottoman authorities. On August 24, 1779 he was executed at Kolkondas, Fier District, near the mouth of the Seman river (in present day Albania). There were no formal charges brought against him, nor was he put on trial before being executed - leading to various theories, persisting up to the present, about who might have wanted him dead.

Legacy

In 1813 Ali Pasha, the de-facto independent Muslim Albanian ruler of Ottoman Epirus - who was no friend of the Greeks but an adherent of realpolitik in religious matters and an enemy of the Sultan - managed to have a church built near the site of Cosmas' execution, in which the remains of Cosmas were placed.^[3] Ali Pasha went as far as having a date of celebration set in Cosmas' honor. Some other Muslims disliked Ali Pasha's "giving too much honor to a gkiaouri", to which the Pasha reportedly replied: «Bring me a Muslim like him, I would kiss his legs.».

Later, in 1984 the remains were transferred to the Archaeological Museum of Fier. Other relics of the saint are kept in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, where some irredentist Northern Epirotes pray for the annexation of Northern Epirus to Greece.^[3] Although a hellenizer, Saint Cosmas of Aetolia is still highly regarded by Orthodox Albanians for the message that he gave.^[3]

There are numerous popular religious texts attributed to St. Cosmas. Best known are the five "Didaches" and the "Prophecies". There survive, however, no original manuscript of these texts written personally by St. Cosmas, and none can be dated with certainty. His writings are known only from second or third-hand transcriptions.^[4] It is believed that these texts are based on Cosmas' preachings but are written and copied mostly after his death and in many cases modified and added to by the copiers.

References

1. ^ Tassos A. Mikropoulos, "The Muslim Presence in Epirus and Western Greece", [1]
2. ^ Sakellariou M.V.:"Epirus, 4,000 years of Greek history and civilisation", Ekdotikē Athēnōn, 1997,ISBN 978-960-213-371-2, p. 306
3. ^ ^a b c Elsie, Robert (2000). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology, and folk culture. New York University Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-8147-2214-8 9780814722145. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
4. ^ Eustathiou G. (2010) Father Kosmas Aitolos and the homiletical approach of his teaching, p. 12-16. Aristotle University of Thessalonike, School of Theology, reviewed by Prof. D. Koukoura. In Greek language with English abstract.
5.