This truly God-given man, teacher, and preacher, Cosmas, a native of Aetolia, from a small village called Megadendron, was the son of noble parents. Raised and instructed by them, according to the apostle's words, "in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" ( Eph. 6:4 ), this young lover of Christ, at nearly twenty years of age, began studying grammar under the guidance of Archdeacon Ananias Dervishan. But since the Vatopedi school on Mount Athos was renowned at the time, Cosmas, along with many of his fellow students, transferred to Vatopedi. There he completed his grammar studies under the tutelage of his teacher, Panagiotis Palamas, and then learned logic from the teacher Nicholas Tsartzoulius of Metsova, who, along with the learned Eugenius, directed the school there. Cosmas then still bore the secular name of Constans, but even in his secular attire he was already adorned with the splendor of monastic life, sparing no effort and accustoming himself to the perfection of asceticism. But that glorious school, after the teachers had been removed, unfortunately became deserted again. Then the good Constans, leaving there, went to the holy monastery of Philotheus. There he was first tonsured a monk and, with all zeal, excelled in the labors of monastic life. Then, when the monastery needed a priest, through the strong conviction and petition of the fathers, he was ordained a hieromonk.
Even as a layman, the blessed one had long harbored a strong desire in his heart to use all he learned to benefit his fellow Christians, and he often said: "What a great need my Christian brethren have of God's word!" Therefore, scholars should not seek the homes of lords, nor the courts of nobles, nor squander their learning for wealth and fame, but rather, to attain heavenly reward and unfading glory, they are most obligated to teach the common people, who live in great ignorance and rudeness. But despite all this desire, despite the fiery zeal burning in his heart for the benefit of many, he also recognized the difficulty of apostolic preaching, and, as a humble and modest man, he did not dare undertake this undertaking without first understanding God's will. Why, wanting to find out whether his intention was pleasing to God, he opened the Divine Scripture and immediately encountered the apostolic saying: “Let no one seek his own, but each one his neighbor’s” ( 1 Cor. 10:24 ), that is, let everyone seek not what is useful for himself, but what would benefit his brother.
Having established this, he revealed his intention to the spiritual fathers and, having received their permission, set off for Constantinople to meet with his brother, the teacher Chrysanthus, from whom he began to learn the distinctive rhetorical art of effective discourse. Here he announced his intention to the reverent bishops and didaskaloi, and hearing that all unanimously urged him to undertake this divine task, he obtained written permission from Patriarch Seraphim II. The blessed one began preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, first in the churches and villages of Constantinople, then traveled to Nafpaktos, Vrachori, Misolonghi, and other places, and from there returned to Constantinople. Then, having sought the advice of the then Patriarch Sophronius and having received his permission and blessing again, he began to preach the word of the Gospel with even greater fervor and zeal. He visited nearly all the Danubian principalities and, having taught Christians to repent and perform deeds worthy of repentance, returned to the Holy Mountain in the summer of 1775. Visiting the monasteries and hermitages there, he preached to the fathers and spent some time reading the divine patristic books. But since the love with which his heart (as he himself repeatedly expressed to many fathers) burned for the benefit of Christians, he could not linger any longer, he departed from the Holy Mountain and, beginning with the villages in its vicinity, continued preaching in Thessalonica, Verria, and almost all of Macedonia. He traveled through the regions of Himara, Acarnania, Aetolia, as far as Arta and Priveza, and from there he sailed to the islands of Saint Maura and Cephalonia. Wherever the blessed one passed, there was a great concourse of Christians who listened with tenderness and reverence to the grace and sweetness of his words, which was accompanied by moral correction and spiritual benefit. His teaching, like that of the fishermen, was extremely simple, calm, and gentle, which undoubtedly proved that it was filled with the grace of the gentle Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Especially on the island of Cephalonia, this holy teacher, by sowing divine teaching, produced great, soul-beneficial fruit.
Meanwhile, God from above assisted him and confirmed his words with signs and wonders, just as He had once confirmed the preaching of His holy apostles. On that island there was a poor tailor whose right hand had been withered and useless for many years. Flocking to the saint, the craftsman begged for healing. The blessed one advised him to come and listen reverently to the sermon, and then God would have mercy on him. The withered man heeded this advice and barely listened to the saint's sermon before being completely healed the next day. Another paralytic, hearing of this extraordinary occurrence, commanded that he be brought there on a bed during the blessed one's sermon, and within a few days he was completely healed, glorifying God and thanking the saint. And in the fortress of Asse there was a nobleman who suffered from a severe ear affliction, such that for many years he had been almost deaf. Arriving with reverence and faith where the saint was teaching, he soon began to hear clearly and from that time on felt no illness. In Cephalonia there is a village called Kourouni. Passing by this village in the summer, the saint felt thirsty and asked for water from a nearby dry well. The locals said there was no water in the well, but out of obedience, they went and retrieved some mud and earth with water from the bottom of the well and brought it back. The saint, taking it into his mouth, drank a little, and from that time on, to his astonishment, the well began to flow with pure water, and was always full, winter and summer, even becoming a cure for many ailments.
Because of the multitude of people, which no church could accommodate, Cosmas was forced to preach outside the villages, in the fields. Therefore, he had the custom of announcing in advance where he wished to stop and preach. A large wooden cross was prepared and erected there. Then, having secured a pulpit near the cross, Cosmas would ascend it and teach. After finishing his sermon, he would take the pulpit with him wherever he went, and the cross remained in place as a constant reminder of his preaching. And wherever these crosses were erected, God subsequently performed many miracles. Thus, in the midst of the Argostolian marketplace, on the same island of Cephalonia, near a cross left by the saint, a miraculous spring of water was revealed, never lacking in water.
From Cephalonia, the blessed one crossed to the island of Zakynthos, accompanied by more than ten ships filled with devout Cephalonians. But here, this blessed preacher met with little success, and so his teaching was short-lived. From there, he returned to Cephalonia and went to Coryphae, where he was honorably received by all, especially by the local prince. Since a great multitude from other villages had gathered there to hear the saint's preaching, the city's leaders, fearing that envy would be aroused in others, began to urge him to leave quickly. Therefore, in order not to be the cause of temptations and unrest among the people, Cosmas moved from there to the mainland of Albania, to a village called "Forty Saints", and there he began to teach Christians, visiting places where there was more gross ignorance, where piety and Christian life were in danger of being completely lost, where people indulged in many evil deeds: murder, theft and thousands of other lawlessness, and with their vices they gradually became sometimes worse than the wicked. In such savage and hardened Christian hearts, Saint Cosmas sowed the seed of God's word and, with the assistance of God's grace, reaped many great fruits: he made the fierce meek, the thieves kind, the merciless and merciless merciful, the irreverent reverent, the ignorant and those who understood nothing divine he taught and encouraged to attend holy services—in short, he brought those hardened in sin to sincere repentance and correction. Therefore, everyone began to say that a new apostle had appeared in their time.
By his instruction, schools were established everywhere, in both large and small villages, where children were taught sacred scriptures free of charge, thereby strengthening them in faith and piety and guided to a virtuous life. By his persuasion, the rich purchased more than four thousand large copper fonts and, in constant commemoration of himself, distributed them among churches for the proper baptism of Christian children. Likewise, Cosmas persuaded all who had the means to buy patristic books, Christian teachings, rosaries, small crosses, head coverings, and combs. He distributed books as gifts to those who knew how to read or promised to learn; he gave head coverings (of which over forty thousand were purchased) to women so that they could cover their heads; he gave combs to people who promised not to shave their heads and to live virtuously, as Christians; He distributed rosaries and crosses (of which more than fifty thousand were purchased) to the common people, ordering everyone to pray for the depositors.
Blessed Cosmas was accompanied by up to forty or fifty priests. When he intended to move from one region to another, he ordered the Christians to first confess, fast, and keep vigil with many burning lamps. For this purpose, he had wooden candlesticks prepared, each capable of holding up to a hundred candles. These candlesticks could be disassembled and carried with him from one place to another. All the candles were distributed free of charge; the priests performed the blessing of oil; all the Christians were anointed; and finally, Cosmas preached a sermon. And since the people followed him in large numbers, two or three thousand at a time, in the evening he ordered several sacks of bread and cauldrons of boiled wheat to be prepared at each place where the people were to gather. Then they set out on their journey, and thus everyone enjoyed the prepared food and prayed for the living and the dead.
God, in Albania as elsewhere, worked many miracles through the blessed one. A certain Turkish official, spurred on either by Jews or a demon, conceived such a hatred for the saint that one day, mounting a horse, he charged after him, intending to overtake and harm him. But the horse threw the Turk to the ground as it ran, and he injured his right leg. Returning home, he found his son dead. Repenting, he sent a letter to the saint, asking his forgiveness. The first Aghi of the Filiates set out to see the saint and hear his sermon. It was summer, and they camped overnight in the middle of a field. Around five o'clock at night, they saw a heavenly light, like a cloud, covering the place where the saint was staying, as they themselves told the Christians. Therefore, in the morning, coming to the saint, the Aghi, not only with their lips, but with their whole hearts, asked him to pray for them. Another Turkish official suffered from a severe calculus. Hearing of the saint, he sent his servant to invite Cosmas to come and pray for him, hoping that through the saint's prayer, God would heal him. The saint refused to go, claiming to be a sinner. The Turk sent a second servant with a vessel of water and told him to ask the saint to bless it. Then the saint, seeing the Turk's great reverence, gave him two commandments: not to drink vodka and to distribute a tenth of his wealth to the poor. The Turk promised to fulfill these. Cosmas blessed the water, the sick man began to drink it, and within forty days he was completely healed, and after that he gave great alms.
Opposite Fanari, at a place called Lukurisi, the Turk who owned the place, seeing the cross—placed by the saint according to the aforementioned custom—that is, he was preaching there, took it and carried it home with the intention of making two bedposts out of it in the gatehouse of his vineyard. Suddenly—miracle!—the Turk was overcome by a terrible shock: unable to stand on his feet, he fell to the ground, thrashed about for a long time, foaming at the mouth, gnashing his teeth like a madman. Finally, two passing Turks raised him up, and when he came to, he immediately realized he had suffered God's wrath for his audacious attempt to seize and carry off the precious cross. So he went and set it back where it had stood before, and every day he came to kiss it with great reverence. Later, when the holy teacher Cosmas passed by that place another time, the Turk came to him to worship, told him about the miracle in the presence of everyone and humbly asked for forgiveness.
Because the saint rebuked women who wore finery and urged them in his teachings to discard all adornment, some of them began wearing black. A wealthy woman in Koritsa had a son and adorned his head with numerous silver coins and other unnecessary ornaments. The saint repeatedly advised this woman to distribute all these ornaments among her poor children if he wanted her son to live, but the woman disobeyed. Finally, Cosmas told her: "If you don't remove the child's finery, you will soon lose him." But since she disobeyed the saint this time, the next day she found her son in bed and only then realized that God had punished her for her disobedience.
Wherever he went, the saint taught Christians not to trade or work on Sundays, but to attend church and listen to the holy service and the word of God. Those who disobeyed the saint in this regard were admonished by God with various punishments. Thus, in a place called Chalcis, an hour's journey from Arta, a merchant dared to trade on a Sunday, and suddenly his hand became paralyzed. Having come to the saint and asked his forgiveness for his sin, he was healed within a few days. Similarly, in Parga, a worker wanted to sell his work on Sunday and lost the use of his hand as a result. But after confessing his sin to the saint and listening to his instruction, he received forgiveness and healing of his hand.
Blessed Cosmas, in his teachings, repeatedly stated clearly that he was called to preach the Gospel by Jesus Christ Himself and that he would shed his blood out of love for the Lord. Finally, his prediction came to pass. And it happened in the following way: this apostolic teacher never opened his mouth against Jews, neither in Thessaly, nor in Kastoria, nor in Ioannina, nor in other lands where Jews lived, but taught only Christians to maintain truth and submit to the authorities given by God. The Albanians themselves, coming to where the saint taught in the open fields, heard this from his lips and proclaimed him a man of God. Therefore, when this good report reached him, Kurt Pasha summoned Cosmas to his presence, and the saint's discourse pleased the Pasha so much that he ordered the very pulpit, which, as mentioned above, the saint had built for himself to teach the people, to be upholstered in velvet. But just as in previous centuries the wicked race of Christ-hating Jews had always shown extreme malice toward Christians, so now the God-hating Jews living in Ioannina, unable to tolerate the preaching of the faith and Gospel of Jesus Christ, told the Pasha that Saint Cosmas had been sent and was deceiving Turkish subjects by inviting them to Russia. But Divine Providence this time spared Cosmas from such a deadly slander, and the Christians suffered only significant damage to their property. However, from that time on, Saint Cosmas began to denounce the Jews' wickedness and implacable hatred toward Christians. And when it was clearly proven that everything the Jews had accused the saint of before the Pasha was pure fabrication and blatant slander, he returned to Ioannina. Here, first, he convinced the Christians to move the day of general commerce from Sunday to Saturday, which caused great losses to the Jews. Second, he proclaimed the Jews to be open enemies, ready to do any harm to Christians at any time. Third, he forbade Christians to wear long tassels on their heads and anything else they bought from Jews, and he insisted that deicides desecrated everything they sold to Christians, and therefore nothing should be bought from Jews. Irritated by this, the Jews went to Kurt Pasha, gave him a large sum of money, and asked him to take the saint's life. Pasha, after consulting with his hodja ,, he decided to kill Cosmas through his agency, which he accomplished in the following manner: the saint had a custom, whenever he arrived anywhere, of first obtaining permission from the local bishop and his deputies, and also of sending one of the Christians to the civil authorities for permission, after which he could preach without hindrance. Thus, having arrived in an Albanian village called Kolikontasi, he obtained permission from the local bishop. Having inquired about the whereabouts of the civil authorities and learned that the chief local ruler, Kurt Pasha, was in a village called Berati, twelve hours' journey away, and that this pasha's hodja lived nearby, he sent to the latter to ask his permission and began teaching. However, not content with this, he sought an opportunity to see the hodja himself and ascertain his disposition. The Christians tried for a long time to restrain Cosmas, saying he had never done this before and had never personally approached the Hagarene leaders to ask their permission, but they were unable to restrain him. Declaring that he would not change his mind, the saint took with him four monks and one priest who could serve as a translator and went to the hodja. The hodja pretended to have a letter from Kurt Pasha ordering Cosmas to be sent to the pasha for an interview, but in the meantime, he ordered his men to keep the saint under guard and not allow him to leave the courtyard until he was sent to the pasha. Then this blessed teacher realized they intended to kill him, and for this he glorified and thanked the Lord Christ, who had granted him the opportunity to crown his apostolic preaching with martyrdom. Addressing his fellow monks, he spoke with the words of the Psalm: “We came through fire and water, and you brought us out into rest” ( Ps. 65:12).), and all night long, praising the Lord in psalms, without a sign of sorrow at the thought of losing his life, he showed a joyful face, as if he were going to joy and rejoicing. As soon as day broke, seven Hagarenes took him and mounted him on a horse under the pretext of presenting him to Kurt Pasha. But when, after two hours' journey, they arrived at a large river, they announced to him Kurt Pasha's order to put him to death. The saint joyfully heard this decree and, kneeling, began to pray to God, thanking and glorifying Him for granting him the mercy, out of love for the Lord, to now sacrifice his life to Him, something his soul had always desired. Having completed the prayer, he stood up, made the sign of the cross across all four corners of the world, and prayed for all Christians. Then the torturers, having seated him by a tree, wanted to tie his hands, but the saint refused, declaring he would not resist, and instead crossed his hands, as if bound. Then he placed his sacred head against the tree; the torturers tied a rope around his neck and strangled him, while his holy soul ascended to heaven. Thus, blessed Cosmas, this venerable adornment of the world, both as an equal-to-the-apostles and as a holy martyr, was deemed worthy to receive a double crown from the Lord in his sixty-fifth year, on August 4, 1779.
Having stripped his venerable body, the Hagarenes dragged him away and, with a large stone around his neck, threw him into the river. Upon learning of this, Christians soon came to search for the saint's relics. They lowered nets into the river and tried other means, but they were unable to find them. Three days later, a pious priest named Mark, from the Ardevuz Monastery of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos near the village of Kolikontasi, crossed himself and set out in a small boat to search. Soon—miraculously!—he saw the holy relics floating above the water, and the saint, as if alive, standing upright. Mark immediately approached the relics, embraced them, and pulled them from the water. As he lifted them, much blood flowed from the saint's honeyed lips into the river. Covering the relics with his cassock, the priest transferred them to the aforementioned Monastery of the Mother of God and reverently buried them behind the holy altar.
After the saint's death, the following occurred: Kurt Pasha, deeply repenting of having been deceived and having killed an innocent and peace-loving man for vain gain, ordered the monks accompanying the saint to be released to the aforementioned Monastery of the Mother of God, where he assigned them to remain. The monks, arriving there, found the saint's relics buried. To further verify his martyrdom, they, along with other priests and Christians, dug up the coffin and found that although they had been in the river for three days, like Jonah in the whale's belly, they showed no signs of decay, but rather emanated a fragrant fragrance, and the saint seemed to be at rest. Having reverently kissed these holy remains, the monks reburied them.
At that time, a possessed woman happened to be there. She had followed the saint from far away during his life and desired healing. As soon as she saw the saint's tomb open, the demon violently shook her, and soon afterward she was completely healed, glorifying God and the saint. One of the Hagarenes who had killed the saint took his kamilavka and, returning to the hodja, placed it on his head, mocking the saint. At that very moment, he became possessed, threw off his clothes, ran around, and shouted that he had killed the ascetic. Upon learning of this, the pasha ordered him to be thrown into chains, and there, in torment, he breathed his last.
In the aforementioned village of Kolikontasi, after delivering his final sermon, the saint left a cross planted in the ground there, as was customary. After his death, Christians saw a heavenly light shining over this cross every night. Therefore, on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the priest and people came there in a procession, took the cross, and placed it behind the altar, near the saint's tomb, as a constant reminder of the miracle.
When the saint's disciples, having received complete freedom from the pasha, uncovered the saint's relics, some of them took portions of these relics with them and carried them to various places, and from these holy relics many sick people received healing. This was especially astounding on the island of Naxia, where two of the saint's disciples, having come with news of his suffering and presented themselves to the head of the local school, Hieromartyr Chrysanthus, the brother of the holy martyr, brought with them several hairs from the saint's beard. At this time, a woman in the so-called New Village (Neochorn), who was suffering from a most serious and fatal illness, reverently received these hairs and suddenly felt a supernatural power within herself, and soon, through the prayers of the holy martyr Cosmas, she received perfect health. Through his prayers, may we also be deemed worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven! Amen.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Zhitija_svjatykh/afonskij-paterik/49_1