SAINT COSMAS OF AETOLIA

A few days before the Great Commemoration of the Beheading of John the Baptist, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saint Cosmas of Aetolia. The seemingly absurd and tragic death of both enlighteners sounds a prophetic warning to our time.

1 Saint Cosmas of Aetolia is venerated by the Orthodox Church as equal to the apostles. In addition to preaching the Word of God and evangelization, he was an ascetic, spiritual teacher, benefactor, elder and prophet.

2 Born in 1714, he completed his earthly journey in 1779, devoting himself entirely to the revival of the Orthodox faith in Greece and Albania, and educational work in the territory of the Ottoman Empire. He was canonized by the Church of Constantinople in 1961.

3 The life of Saint Cosmas is extremely interesting. Many books have been written about him. According to his official status, Saint Cosmas was a hieromonk. He became a priest and monk on Mount Athos. Then he left Athos to preach. At the age of forty-five, the Patriarch of Constantinople allowed him to engage in Christian educational work and preach the Word of God.

4 The biography of Saint Cosmas is usually considered in the context of the Ottoman Empire. However, this state was not completely isolated from Europe. Enlightened Greeks often turned to the West, hoping to find support and inspiration there. Saint Cosmas was a younger contemporary of the French philosopher Voltaire, exactly twenty years younger than him. He died ten years before the French Revolution, outliving Voltaire by a year. As is known, Voltaire, one of the “patriarchs” of the Enlightenment, was an ardent anticlerical. Thus, speaking about the “Catholic Church”, he called for “crushing the loathsome thing”. He wanted to weaken the Church through education. Saint Cosmas sought to strengthen her.

5 In his prophetic approach, Saint Cosmas emphasized the Christian character of education. He founded more than two hundred schools and many other educational institutions. Where the authorities did not allow him to open schools, he simply erected a large cross “in an open field” and taught and preached himself. In his sermons he tried to use simple Greek, and not the refined language of the hierarchs of that time, which brought him especially close to the people.

6 The memory of Saint Cosmas is celebrated on the day of his exodus, which took place exactly five days before the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist. There is a striking similarity between him and John. Just as John proclaimed the Messiah but was killed by order of Herod, who wanted to please the daughter of Herodias, Cosmas, a great preacher, elder and prophet, was hanged. His ill-wishers reported him to the authorities and slandered him. The real reason for this was that in his sermons he called Sunday trading “a sinful business.” “There is no salvation outside the market” is the unofficial motto of our time. With his martyrdom, Saint Cosmas reveals the tragic consequences of this “advertisement”.