Kosmas the Aetolian

Description

Saint Kosmas was a light-bearing apostle of the Gospel, in the dark years of Turkish slavery. The Church of Christ, to honor his struggle and contribution, named him Isapostolos.
Agios Kosmas was born in the village of Taxiarchis in the province of Apokoros, which is located near the village of Megalo Dendro Nafpaktia, in 1714 AD, to pious parents, who raised him in the education and admonition of the Lord.At the age of twenty, he went to Mount Athos, to study at the newly founded school of Vatopedi. St. Kosmas was originally called Konstantinos and after his graduation, he went to the Philotheu Monastery, where he became a monk (1759 AD) and then Hieromonk and received the name Kosmas.The Saint, knowing that the Nation was in danger, did not calm down and burned night and day with the desire to go out and teach the enslaved Greeks the Holy Scriptures.But he considered himself humble and unable to bear such a burden. By divine revelation, he went to Constantinople, where he met his brother Chrysanthos, who was a teacher. He gave him some rhetoric lessons, which would help Cosmas in preaching. Then, after receiving the permission of Patriarch Seraphim, he literally plowed Greece, teaching the “ragiades” the word of God.Thus, Saint Kosmas first preached in Constantinople and then went to Aitoloakarnania. With a new license he visited the Dodecanese and Mount Athos. He then toured Thessaloniki, Veria, all over Macedonia, reached Chimara, returned to Southern Epirus and from there ended up in Lefkada and Kefallinia. He also went to Zakynthos, Corfu and again to Northern Epirus.From wherever he passed, he built schools, churches, and multitudes of people gathered and “sucked” the “nectar” of his holy teaching.Finally, the envy of the Jews, in cooperation with the Turks, resulted in the hanging of the Saint in Kolikondasi, in the lands of Northern Epirus in 1779 AD. His remains were thrown into the waters of the river Apsos.Despite the stone tied around his neck, the relic floated. He was found by priest Markos and buried in the monastery of Theotokou Ardonitsa B. Epirus, where he was found.The canonical act of recognizing him as a saint was done by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on April 20, 1961 AD. A sequence and a life were written by Osios Nikodimos the Agiorite, Sapfeirios Christodoulidis, Thomas Paschidis and the monk Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis. Many younger writers dealt with the life and work of the great saint.Numerous images, copper engravings, paintings and drawings reveal the honor and gratitude of the Genus for the brilliant star of Mount Athos.His words were prophetic, full of divine grace and simplicity. Once he said to the inhabitants of a certain village: “I came to your village and preached to you. So it is only fair that you pay me for my trouble. Maybe with money? What should I do with them? My payment is for you to put God’s words in your heart, to gain eternal life.”