----------------------
Saint Kosmas the
Aetolian as a Missionary
+Metropolitan Augustinos (Kantiotes) of
Florina[1]
1.
Introduction.
A holy anniversary has
recently been celebrated in Greece: this past 24th of August marked the passage
of 180 years from the very day on which a glorious son of a Northern Epirian
village on the shore of the Apsus River, next to the city of Veratios, finished
the course of his life as a martyr. His very name - Kosmas that Aetolian
(1714-1779) – continues to stir us even today.
Newspapers and
periodicals of both the Capital and the provinces published articles marking
this anniversary, however, as one journalist has remarked, most of these do not
paint a true picture of Saint Kosmas. Each attempts to shade the picture
according to his own preferences, thoughts, and sentiments so that the ideas of
worldly circles have found expression through the mouth of the saint: were he
alive today to hear these things, the saint would be distraught, seeing that the
meaning of his struggle had been so manipulated and distorted. For example,
because in some exceptional case the saint allowed the materials from a
destroyed church to be used in order to erect a school, the conclusion has been
drawn that Saint Kosmas did little more than destroy churches in order to build
schools. Who did this? He who, if he commended learning, did so solely as an
aid to moral and religious man's formation, saying that the school ought to open
the way to the Church, to monasteries? Thus any school which lacks a religious
foundation, which does not have as its foundation the great commandment of love
- love of both God and neighbor – but which is instead cold, indifferent, an
enemy of the true faith, this school has become destructive, it has fallen away
from its true end, and is dynamite to the foundation of Orthodox community. As
the Saint has prophetically said, "Great evils will come to humanity through
those who are well read." In another case, because Saint Kosmas sought to stop
the flow of sin and immorality, checking the lack of compassion and the
injustice exhibited by the wealthy and those in the community who held high
offices, some drew the conclusion that the Saint was nothing more than a social
reformer, suggesting that he was simply engaging in class conflict, rousing the
weak against the strong. In yet another case, because he checked certain
shortcomings of the clergy, and even of the hierarchs, there were those who
concluded that Saint Kosmas was against the hierarchy. Since he spoke in the
language of the people – thus say the proponents of the 'vernacular' language –
Kosmas was a demotikistis,[2] who thought that the world would be saved through
language! Finally, judging from certain of his sayings and actions, others said
that he was an agent of foreign powers, of the Muscovites, and that he was in
league with Orloff and his movement (1770). This accusation was used against
him primarily by his enemies the Jews.
How limited was their
understanding of Saint Kosmas! Saint Kosmas was certainly a multi-faceted
personality, like a multi-faced diamond. Each face of this spiritual diamond,
however, reflected the same light; the unfading light of the Resurrected Lord.
At the depths of his being, Saint Kosmas was purely spiritual, purely
evangelical, and purely metaphysical; he was an ambassador of God, an apostle of
Jesus Christ. He was a true missionary, fulfilling the commandment of the Lord
to, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,"[3] a commandment which has yet to
be fulfilled in many corners of the earth. How many millions of people await
new evangelists!
If we are to grasp the
full meaning of Saint Kosmas' mission we must turn to look at the era in which
he lived and what he did; we must, in other words, look at the historical
context within which his missionary activities took place, as well as what he
did and how he did it.
2.
Context.
The century within
which St Kosmas lived and suffered martyrdom was one of great trial for the
Orthodox Faith, for Christianity in the East. Satan, to use the expression
found in the Gospel, held the sifter and was sifting the Christians of that era
(Luke 22:31).[4] His tools, the lesser and greater rulers of the Ottoman
Empire, all fanatical followers of Mohammed, pressured Christians to abandon
their faith in a variety of ways.
With little cause
these rulers seized thousands of Christians, putting them in prison. The
iron-clad doors of these dreadful jails would only open to free prisoners once
they had denied their faith and shown themselves to have embraced the religion
of their false prophet. In addition, heavy taxes, difficult to bear, and which
had to be collected no matter what, were laid on the shoulders of Christian
slaves. From these there existed only one means of escape – conversion; in
other words, he who was free of these taxes was he who had converted. The
eunuchs of the Sultan's palace snatched the most beautiful young Greek girls
from the arms of their mothers and entrapped them in dens of debauchery - the
notorious harems. Officers of the Ottoman army rounded up the Christian's
healthiest and most intelligent children in order to make them Janissaries.[5]
Under such pressures,
weaker characters broke: not only individual, but even whole families and
villages, together with their priests abandoned their faith. It is no
exaggeration to suggest that many Turks living in the wealthiest areas of Asia
Minor today are the direct descendants of Christians who betrayed their faith.
The ever-memorable Chrysanthos, Archbishop of Athens, and former Metropolitan of
Trebizond, writes, "...none of Turkish descent are found in the whole area
surrounding Trebizond, nor even within the more expanded circumference of
Chaldia. All of these (Turks) are Greeks, descended from Greeks. All of these
people, as a whole, renounced their faith." Islamification proved particularly
serious in Macedonia and Epirius, but above all in Albania where the number of
Christians was reduced from 550 thousand to 50 thousand – and even these stood
in danger of falling away. Those who remained stable in the faith of the
Fathers met with harsh persecution, often spilling even the last drop of their
blood in martyrdom: during this catastrophe in Asia Minor, Christians were like
marked sheep.[6] In all, the number of these new martyrs totals 2.5
million.
At the end of the 18th
century (concerning which we have been speaking), a most ferocious beast, Sultan
Mustafa IV, appeared on the forefront of history. He conceived of a satanic
plan for a new Babylonian exile, to move, in other words, all of the Christians
from Greece into the Middle East, to Mesopotamia, and to settle in their place
violent peoples – the Abkhazians, the Cicussians, and the Kurds. Had this plan
been successfully carried out it would have meant the complete annihilation of
Christian Greece.
The sons of Satan
conceived of a plan for the complete eradication of the Orthodox Christian world
and sought to execute it. The most-high God, however, who planted the tree of
Orthodoxy that it might flower and bear fruit, and that under its shadow the
weary and heavy laden of all ages might find rest, did not allow these plans to
come to fruition. For this task God chose the right tools, breathing a spirit
of zeal, of holy enthusiasm, of self-denial, of courage, and of wisdom into
certain souls, and sending them out as new apostles, and evangelists wherever
the faith was in danger. One of these tools selected by Divine Providence was
Saint Kosmas.[7]
3. St. Kosmas in historical
context.
Where was Saint Kosmas
during this dark period of the Orthodox Church's history? He lived in the
desert of the Holy Mountain, having taken up the monastic life in Philotheou
Monastery. Oh, how beautifully he spent those days of his life! Psalmody,
vigils, the reading of the Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers,
conversations with holy brethren and spiritual guides, and, above all, communion
with the Heavenly Father through noetic prayer. These things created an ideal
spiritual climate which was reminiscent of the summit of Mount Tabor. Here he
was far from the noise of the world, from the tempest which raged in the cities
and villages of the Orthodox. As far as he was, however, the heartbreaking
cries, the lamentations of the countless Christians who suffered various forms
of martyrdom reached his ears. Sorrowful news arrived each day, telling of the
havoc Satan was wreaking everywhere, but especially in Macedonia, Epirus, and
Albania. Orthodox Christians were abandoning their faith, trampling on the
Lord's cross and bowing before the crescent moon of Mohammed. Saint Kosmas was
unable to remain indifferent in the face of all this. In solitude he began to
think: "Am I to remain here on the summit of a mountain, immune to the torment
and suffering while those in the foothills, in the villages and cities, are
suffering martyrdom? Should I not be rushing to their aid? Yes, I help them
from here by my prayer, since praying for others with faith and a pure heart is
equal to contending for the faith, but in the case of such harsh trials is not
some active participation required? Do those in prison not stand in need of
visitation? Do those brethren who are afflicted not need personal contact, a
comforting word, some small advice, some display of mercy - one tear shed in
solidarity with those who are suffering - are these not invaluable contributions
to the struggle for the faith? Am I capable of such a mission? Will I be a
help, or will I just cause more harm? Do I have the strength to withstand the
temptations of the world? Is there a danger that I will lose my own soul trying
to save the souls of others? What am I to do, Most High? 'Cause me to know, O
Lord the way wherein I should walk'".[8]
Saint Kosmas wrestled
with his thoughts. Now in agony, he had reached his life's Gethsemane as
happens to every man who is called to undertake a significant mission in the
world. A bitter cup has been prepared for him. In his anguish, the voice of
God provided him with an answer to his question. Opening the Scriptures, his
gaze fell on a line from Saint Paul which read, "Let no man seek his own, but
every man another's wealth".[9] The line cast heaven's light on his heart; it
was as if the Holy Spirit was saying, "Kosmas! Think not solely of your own
spiritual advantage, but also of that of your brothers. This requires that you
leave your hermitage, take up your walking stick and launch yourself into the
great tasks of leading souls to the Gospel.
The illumination which
he received through this scriptural saying alone was not enough to satisfy Saint
Kosmas, however. He desired to see if he had properly understood the Holy
Spirit's advice. He sought out the advice of spiritual fathers, and even traveled to Constantinople to visit Patriarch Seraphim, expressing to him his
innermost thoughts and desires. The Patriarch approved his plan and provided
him with written permission to preach. Now convinced through the voice of his
conscience through the voice of the Scriptures, through the advice he received
from spiritual fathers, that he was called to work for the salvation of souls,
Saint Kosmas departed for his mission. To battle Lucifer, to battle the beast
on his own ground, to awaken the oppressed conscience, to console, to wipe away
tears, to rouse the mind, to stir the emotions of the faithful, to stop the wave
of Islamification, to exalt the horn of the Orthodox Christians, and ultimately
to fall in defense of the faith: behold, Saint Kosmas'
mission!
4. Saint Kosmas'
Method.
Saint Kosmas would
indeed fulfill this important mission; through this faithful servant of God
consciences were awoken, minds were roused, emotions were stirred, and the wave
is Islamification was stopped. How did he do this? What was his method? What
means did he use to fulfill his holy aims?
Preaching
One might ask, 'What
kind of preaching'? Did he employ the kind in which the preacher tries to wow
his audience through rhetorical devices and fireworks? What kind of preaching?
The kind where the preacher employs lofty language, inaccessible and
incomprehensible to most people? What kind of preaching? The kind which is
continually speaking of social problems and never turns its attention to the
most central of matters, the kingdom of the heavens? No! Saint Kosmas'
preaching bore the mark of genuine apostolic preaching. First, that which the
Apostle Paul said concerning himself together with the remaining apostles, that,
"we also believe, and therefore speak,"[10] is fully applicable to this holy
man. Saint Kosmas believed in all the saving truths of the Orthodox faith. "I
have read much concerning the Jews, the impious, the heretics and the atheists.
I have studied the depths of wisdom. This I understand to be true: the faith
of the Orthodox alone - to believe and to be baptized in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit – this alone is good and holy. To conclude I tell
you this: you ought to rejoice in the fact that you are Orthodox Christians and
weep for the impious and the heretics who are in darkness." He preached this
faith with impressive simplicity, with such simplicity, in fact, that even
children were able to understand him. He preached with emotion. He preached
with tears. He preached in the shadow of the Cross. He cut the spiritual bread
into small pieces and distributed it to all just as the priest distributes Holy
Communion, the precious body and blood of the Lord, with the holy spoon. The
one who preaches the Gospel truly undertakes a holy work. United to God through
prayer, he knew how to communicate to the souls of his listeners for whom his
words represented spiritual elation. Even today, whoever reads his teachings,
which were preserved by his disciples, feels as if he has been grasped by a
spiritual power, lifted up above the earth, and transported to some spiritual
and immaterial world on the wings of eagles, on the wings of angels. Such was
the impression that this simple preaching – simple but yet endowed with the
power of the Holy Spirit – created. Thus, with tears in their eyes his
listeners entreated him to remain with them and speak again, while thousands of
laymen and clergy followed him great distances, not wanting to be deprived of
such a precious preacher of the Gospel, such a director of souls.
Teaching
Individuals
Saint Kosmas did not
rely on his preaching alone, though it reached thousands of hearers. In
imitation of Paul, the leader of the apostles, who giving a brief apology for
the work of the apostles in Ephesus said, "by the space of three years I ceased
not to warn every one night and day with tears,"[11] and following the God-man
who beside the Well of Sychar had an audience of one lone soul, the Samaritan
woman, Kosmas taught each person individually, as much as it was possible.
During the period of his missionary work, he came into contact with people
living in a variety of conditions. He conversed with the poor, but also with
the rich and those who held office at that time. He even held conversations
with men of other religions. This he did with one sole aim: to enlighten, to
save, to draw each soul out of darkness and towards the glorious light. He had
a great talent for speaking to souls; he was able to communicate with ease and
precision. He also held the secret to answering each person with what was
useful and necessary for him particularly, and for informing the mind, and
comforting the heart. As a well-experienced doctor, he correctly diagnosed
spiritual illnesses and prescribed the right medicine in its proper
dosage.
Let us here make
mention of two anecdotes taken from his years as a missionary. Besieged by an
illness which no doctor could cure, a certain Bey turned to the Saint for
help.[12] Saint Kosmas listened to him with great attention and after some
thought said, "Listen to me! If you want to be cured the first thing you must
do is stop drinking raki (for the Bey was an alcoholic),[13] second, in
proportion to the evil that you have done, you must now do good, and third, you
must ever be giving charity - at least one-tenth of your goods." The Bey was
worried, particularly on account of the first medication prescribed by the
Saint, i.e., that he cease from drunkenness and from the consumption of
alcoholic drinks, but in the end consented. After demonstrating that he has
heeded this advice, he was cured and thus became an admirer of the Saint.
On another occasion he
met a band of thieves, the leader of which (followed by his band) approached to
kiss his hand. Such devotion breathed even within these savage natures!
Seeing this devotion, the Saint offered them spiritual instruction and the
thieves were moved by his advice. What was the result? Laying down their
weapons, some left to take up the monastic life, lamenting the evil they had
done, while others went on to live a quiet life in the world, amongst those
Christians from whom they had previously stolen.
On many occasions, he
would call upon one of his listeners in the middle of one of his homilies,
entering into a dialogue with him. He did this with the aim of learning through
his questions if, or to what extent, his listeners kept the royal commandment,
the commandment of love, if they possessed love for God and neighbor. "I
want," he would say, "to test your love, to see if it is genuine."
Groups
Saint Kosmas did not
want that which he had taught through his homilies and personal conversation to
be forgotten after his departure; he did not want the valuable seed of truth
which he had planted in those who came to hear him to be uprooted by the evil
spirits, leaving nothing behind in their memories. He wanted this divine
teaching to be guarded in the depths of his listeners' existence that they might
continually be reminded of their moral and religious obligations. To this end
he called on them to gather together somewhere and, instead of discussing
useless and vain things, discuss his homily, or some passage of the Holy
Scriptures which he had interpreted. "Now, since I have come here and toiled,
is it not proper that I receive some consolation, some payment? What payment do
I seek? Money? What would I do with it? By God's grace I have no sack, no
house, no second cassock; the stool which I have belongs to you. It represents
my grave. This grave has the authority to teach kings, patriarchs, bishops,
priests, men, and women, young and old, and the entire world. If I were to
travel about for money, I would be crazy and foolish. What is my payment, then?
It is for you to sit five or ten together and discuss the divine teachings, to
put them inside your heart so that they may bring you eternal life...Now if you
were to do these things and put them in your mind, my labor would seem to me to
be nothing. But if you don't do them, I shall leave saddened with tears in my
eyes."[14]
The Radiance of his
Love
Saint Kosmas did not
want his listeners to stop on the theoretical level, at the beneficial
discussion of the Scriptures and other religious books, in the dry fulfillment
of their basic duties as Christians. He did not want their faith to be dead.
He wanted their faith to be alive, a motivating power behind all that is
beautiful and good in the world. He wanted the faithful to play a leading role
in every good work; he wanted those who heard his homilies to carry out all of
the Lord's commandments, from the greatest to the smallest, that they might be
found worthy to be called 'blessed'. "[B]lessed are they that hear the word of
God, and keep it."[15]
Following in the
footsteps of the Apostle to the Gentiles, who, writing to his faithful disciple
Titus, advises him to continually exhort the faithful to good works: "And let
ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not
unfruitful."[16] Thus the Saint too, having the heart of a father, continually
urged his listeners to do good works. He felt the pain of others; he suffered
together, and was crucified together with the Lord's people, who daily suffered
a myriad of crucifixions. He felt the needs of the Christian community – both
spiritual and material – as if they were his own and heard the cries of pain
issuing from those who were experiencing hardship. Moved by the sight of human
sorrow, the Saint, spoke artfully, plucking the heartstrings of his listeners,
inspiring sympathy in them, rousing philanthropic sentiments in them like no
other and moving them to work for the common good.
What did this man not
do for the benefit of the Greek nation!
First, the young
Christian women serving as wet-nurses to the tyrants' children in the palaces of
the Beys and Pashas were in constant danger of being lured away from the faith
through various temptations, or of being lead into debauchery, and therefore of
being lost completely. Saint Kosmas succeeded in convincing many Turks to
release such women from their service by telling them that they would insight
the wrath of Uranus on account of their debauchery and their mingling with women
of foreign religions, and that their race would thus be wiped off the face of
the earth. "Where," he asked, "has your former glory gone? Are you not the
ones who under Sulayman conquered lands as far away as Vienna? Your debauchery
had humbled and destroyed you. Repent, cast out the Christian women you have in
your palace." On the other hand, he advised Christian women not to become
wet-nurses to Turkish children lest they suffer the same fate as the hen who
hatched the viper's eggs in the Aesopian fable.[17] According to Vasileios
Zotos, author of The Dictionary of all the Saints of the Orthodox Church, some
1500 Christian wet-nurses who had been serving in the palaces of the Pashas and
the Beys were set free as a result of the Saint's activities.
Second, the villages
of Epirius, Macedonia and Albania did not, for the most part, have baptismal
fonts, and thus their infants were not receiving proper baptism.[18] Saint
Kosmas was shocked by this sin, i.e., that Orthodox children were not being
baptized canonically and thus convinced the wealthy Greeks of Constantinople,
Ioannina, and other Hellenic cities to donate money in order to have baptismal
fonts crafted. As a result, 4000 copper-plated baptismal fonts were made and
sent to all the village churches which did not have them.
Third, a great number
of starving, half-dressed orphans, whose heroic fathers had been killed by the
Turks, were found wandering the streets during this period. What could be done
for these forgotten victims of the nation's tragedy? Here again the love of a
caring father worked wonders. In his teachings he strongly encouraged all
Christians, particularly those couples which had no children, to take into their
families one or two orphans. He encouraged them to do so irregardless of their
financial status and as a result the rich blessing of God was visited upon their
homes. Oh, how many orphans and poor children were saved as a result of the
fatherly interest shown by this missionary preacher!
Fourth, from his
touring the Greek countryside Saint Kosmas concluded with deep sorrow that there
were virtually no schools to be found that Greeks might attend. Nearly all of
the Christians, both men and women, were illiterate; one could, in fact, count
on the fingers of a single hand the number of people in each village who were
able to read and write. He spoke to the people with fervor concerning the
great worth of education, of the necessity of Christian education, and of the
how the next generation ought to be brought up, things which would later lead to
the miracle of the revolution in 1821. "Open schools!" he cried everywhere,
"Study, learn letters to the extent that you are able, my brothers. If you are
unable to learn, fathers, have your children study and learn Greek instead since
everything in our Church is in the Greek language. If you do not learn Greek,
my brothers, then you will not understand that which our Church confesses.
Better it is for you to have a Greek school in your village than for you to have
springs and rivers, for when your child learns letters then he can truly to be
called a man. The school opens churches; the school opens monasteries."[19]
As a result of the
Saint's activities, some 210 Greek schools were erected, and 1100 other smaller
schools began to function at which Greek children were taught to read and
write. A light – the light of Christian education, lit by the Saint himself -
was cast upon a people who sat in darkness of ignorance. One lone man stood in
for the Ministry of Education which remained inoperative during
Turkokratia.
Where did the Saint
find the sum of money needed to fund the construction and day-to-day operation
of these schools, one might ask? He had no money of his own; like Christ he was
poor and had nothing of his own. "I, my brothers," he said, "by the grace of
our Lord and God Jesus Christ, the Crucified One, I have neither purse, nor
house, nor chest, nor another cassock than the one I am wearing. And I still
beseech my Lord to never allow me to acquire until the end of my life a purse,
for if I ever begin to take money, I have immediately lost my brethren. I
cannot serve both; it is either God or the devil."[20] And yet this monk who
possessed nothing of his own managed to collect such huge amounts of money for
his work. How did he do this? Listen and I will tell you! During his travels,
this missionary preacher, he noticed that women, no matter what their financial
status, loved luxury, dressing in silken clothing, wearing rings, bracelets,
earrings, chains, and ribbons of gold in their hair. Great wealth rested on the
fingers, chests and heads of wealthy women; they were adorned with vanity!
Saint Kosmas put a stop to this adornment. Through his teaching against such
luxury, he persuaded Christian women to give up all this useless treasure, this
gold, this silver, the precious stones for the good of the nation, for the
establishment and operation of schools and, what wonder, they gave it all up!
These treasures which he collected, then, represented the very beginning of a
special fund, a fund from which alms might be given. The aforementioned author
(V. Zotos) lifts up his voice to the most-high God in praise of these women who,
at the moment they heard the Saint preach hastened to offer their expensive
adornments, in praise of these admirable women as well as the Saint's other co-laborers, offering the following moving words: "Merchants, builders,
iconographers, teachers, priests, monastics and those living in the world
followed the Saint's teachings, facilitating the work of establishing schools
and churches. We sing, 'Memory Eternal' to those women of Epirius who built 210
schools from the money attained from their jewellery and who endowed them with
the extra which they had. A thousand times 'Memory
Eternal'!"[21]
Fifth, by means of his
fiery preaching the Saint managed to end the practice of opening the markets on
Sunday, seeing that these were moved to Saturday (a fact which caused the Jews
great sorrow, and lead them to bear a hatred-unto-death for him). He taught the
importance of Sunday like no other, heaping burning coals on those who profaned
it. He wanted Christians to love labor, to be ever cultivating the earth, and
particularly to be planting trees. "Those who do not love trees and plants will
live in poverty."[22] On account of the emphatic recommendation of the Saint,
thousands of wild trees were grown and eventually bore fruit.
5. Prophesies and
miracles.
Saint Kosmas' great
influence cannot be entirely explained without taking into account another
important element which contributed significantly to the tremendous progress he
made in his missionary work. This element is exactly that which is noted at
the end of Saint Mark's gospel: "And they [the Apostles] went forth and
preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with
signs following. Amen"[23] And signs followed the Saint's teaching for he has
not only the gift of speech, but also the gift of working miracles and
prophesying concerning the future.
6.
Conclusion.
Beloved! What a
missionary – a missionary "equal to the Apostles" as the hymnographer who wrote
his service writes – Saint Kosmas was shown to be. Honoring his holy memory,
let us give thanks to the Lord for this new luminary of the Orthodox Church, and
let us also ascribe honor to those people who cooperated in Divine Providence,
in the development of this great missionary figure of the later times. Let us
first ascribe honor to his devout parents, who from his infancy nourished him
with the pure milk of Orthodoxy, then to his teachers, to the wise Evgenios of
Bulgaria, to his spiritual fathers and brethren on Mount Athos amongst whom he
trained to become a true struggler for the faith. Finally, let us ascribe honor to the Patriarchs Seraphim and Sophronios of blessed memory, who
encouraged him in his missionary work and furnished him with letters commending
him to all the bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
This last aid was
inestimable since without the permission and commendation of the Patriarchate,
Kosmas would not have been able to circulate freely in Turkish-occupied Greece.
This immediately brings the thought to mind: if Kosmas lived in our day, would
he have received such support from the hierarchy of the contemporary Church? It
is our fear that this apostolic man, who did not sugar-coat the weaknesses of
those in ecclesiastical authority, but rather checked vice wherever he saw it
(even if it was in Episcopal or Patriarchal courts), would not have been granted
permission to preach. He would have been sentenced to return to the monastery
of his repentance as a troublemaker and a threat.
Any who would cast a
glance at the life of the contemporary Church would sigh bitterly at the lack of
missionary figures like Saint Kosmas the Aetolian. If he tries to find the
reason for this lack, he will find a multitude of causes; one of these, in my
own view, is that the missionary inclinations of pure servants of the Gospel do
not only receive no support in our day, but are condemned. They are condemned
first and foremost by those who ought to be supporting them. This is a
sorrowful observation.
[1] This article may
be found under the title "Ὁ Ἱεραπόστολος" in Metropolitan Avgoustinos' book,
"Κοσμᾶς ὁ Αἰτωλός", 29-50. (ed.) Translation by Fr John Palmer.
[2] One who is an
advocate of simplified Demotic Greek as opposed to the more complex
katharevousa. (ed.)
[3] Matthew 28:19
(ed.)
[4] "Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat..." (Luke
22:31). (ed.)
[5] The Janissaries
were an elite infantry unit which served as bodyguards to the Sultan.
(ed.)
[6] "For Thy sake we
are slain all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter" Psalm
43:23 (ed.)
[7] We write here that
Saint Kosmas was one of these tools since, beside the Saint, other preachers of
lesser ability and spiritual radiance had also been raised up for the salvation
of the people. According to certain historical information another five
heiromonks, burning with the fire of divine zeal, joined the mission. Of these,
however, only the heiromonk Naum (and the most remarkable of all, Kosmas) never
returned to base of his mission, having met a martyric death at the hands of the
Muslims in Serbia.
[8] Psalm 142:8
(ed.)
[9] 1 Corinthians
10:24 (ed.)
[10] 2 Corinthians
4:13 (ed.)
[11] Acts 20:31
(ed.)
[12] 'Bey' is the
title given to a local governor in the Ottoman system of administration.
(ed.)
[13] Raki is an
anise-flavoured hard alcohol which is popular in the Balkans.
(ed.)
[14] From Saint
Kosmas' First Teaching. (ed.)
[15] Luke 11:28
(ed.)
[16] Titus 3:14
(ed.)
[17] There was a hen
who had no nest of her own. One day she found some little eggs in the field.
'Dear me!" said the kind-hearted old hen. "Here are some little eggs and nobody
to care for them! I will take care of them myself." So she sat upon them for
several days and kept them warm. By-and-by little snakes began to peep out of
the eggs. "Hiss, hiss!" said the little snakes. "Bad luck! bad luck!" cried the
hen. "I should say bad luck," answered a swallow from the tree top. "It is a
good thing to be kind-hearted. But it is well to be sure what kind of people you
are helping." "O what shall I do?" wept the hen. "The best thing you can do now
is to get out of their way before they bite you," answered the swallow. And away
he flew, saying, "What fools hens are!" See Pratt-Chadwick, Mara Louise.
Aesop's Fables (Educational Publishing Company, 1892), 38-39.
(ed.)
[18] Saint Kosmas
describes what is meant by uncanonical baptism in the following passage found in
Seventh Teaching: "Holy priests, you must have large baptismal fonts in your
churches so that the entire child can be immersed. The child should be able to
swim in it so that not even an area as large as a tick's eye remains dry.
Because it is from there (the dry area) that the devil advances, and this is why
your children become epileptics, are possessed by demons, have fear, become
unlucky; they haven't been baptized properly." (ed.)
[19] See Saint Kosmas'
Fifth Teaching. (ed.)
[20] See Saint Kosmas'
First Teaching (ed.)
[21] Zotos,
Vasileios. The Dictionary of All Orthodox Saints. 620.
[22] From Saint
Kosmas' Prophesy Ninety-Six. (ed.)
[23] Mark 16:20
(ed.)
Commemorated on May 2
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