Writtings Of Saint Cosmas Of Aitolos

Selected Passages From The Teachings of St. Cosmas

Compiled by Father Demetrios Serfes


Humbly, I am presenting to you the "Selected Passages
from the Teachings of St. Cosmas." This presentation
is taken from the Book "MODERN ORTHODOX
SAINTS, St. Cosmas of Aitolos, written by Dr. Constantine
Cavarnos. I would spiritually suggest that you obtain this book to
futher learn of the life of St. Cosmas, and this book can be
obtained from: Holy Cross Seminary Bookstore, 50 Goddard
Aveune, Brookline, Massachusetts.

N.M. Vaporis of Hellenic College in Brookline, Massachusetts
wrote a short review in regards to the life and teachings of St.
Cosmas: "Among the religious figures who have appeared among
the Greeks during the past two centuries, none has been as
universally acclaimed as Cosmas of Aitolos (1714-1779). In
addition to being given the tile "Equal to the apostles,' he is
numbered among the "Teachers of the Nation'. The honor of
introducing him to English speaking readers belongs to Professor
Constantine Cavarnos, who has written widely on subjets dealing
with the religious and philosophical concerns of the modern
Greeks."

The following are the Apolytikion, Kontakion, and Megalynarion
to St. Cosmas, and his feast day is commemorated in the
Orthodox Church on August 24th:

APOLYTIKION.
By teaching the Divine Faith, thou hast richly adorned the Church
and become a zealous emulator of the Apostles; for having been
lifted up by the wings of divine love, that hast spread far and wide
the message of the Gospel. O glorious Cosmas, entreat God that
He grants us His great mercy.

KONTAKION.
Having led an irreproachable life on Athos, like Moses thou hast
been deemed worthy of God's manifestation; wherefore truly thou
dost gladden the Church exceedingly by thy deeds and thy
God-inspired words, O Father Cosmas, having contended for
which, thou hast been adorned with a double crown.

MEGALYNARION.
Rejoice thou emulator of the Apostles, teacher and luminary of
the Church; rejoice thou divine cultivator of piety, associate of
Martyrs and peer of Angels.


Selected Passages From
The Teachings of Saint Cosmas

GOD
It is proper to begin our teaching with God, and when we finish it
to thank God - not that I am worthy to mention and utter the
name of God, but I am sure that God suffers me to do so through
His great and infinite compassion.

God, the all-good and most merciful, my brethren, is one, and
whoever says that there are many Gods is a devil. He is triune:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; yet one nature, one glory, one
kingdom, one God. He is all light, all joy, all compassion, all love.

This All-holy Trinity we pious Orthodox Christians glorify and
worship. He is the true God, and all other so-called gods are
demons. And it is not we along that believe, glorify, and worship
the Holy Trinity, but angels, archangels, and all the heavenly
hosts, as numerous as the stars of the heavens and the grains of
the sand of the sea unceasingly praise in hymns and worship and
glorify this All-holy Trinity. Again, out of their love for the Holy
Trinity men and women as numerous as the stars of the heavens
and the grains of the sand of the sea spilt their blood, and as many
renounced the world and went to the deserts and led a life of
spiritual endeavor, and still as many lived in the world with
temperance and virginity, fasting, prayer, almsgiving and other
practices; and all went to Paradise and rejoice forever.

LOVE
If we want to fare well in this life and to go to Paradise, and to
call our God love and father, we must have two loves: the love for
God and the love for our neighbor. It is natural for us to have
these two loves, and contrary to nature not have them. Just as a
swallow needs two wings in order to fly in the air, so we need
these two loves, because without them we cannot be saved.

Let us have love for God and for our fellow men. Then God
comes and brings us joy and implants the eternal life in our hearts,
and we fare well in this life and also go to Paradise, there to
rejoice forever.

Fortunate is the man who has these two loves in his heart, that for
God and that for his brethren. He surely has God; and whoever
has God has every blessing and does not bear to commit sin.
Again, wretched is the man who does not have these two loves.
Surely he has the devil and evil, and always sins. God, my
brethren, asks us to have these two loves. As He Himself says in
His Holy Gospel: "On these two commandments hang all the law
and the Prophets." Through these two loves all the Saints of our
Church, men and women, attained sainthood and won Paradise.
Whoever has blessed love, firstly for God and secondly for his
fellow Christian, becomes worthy of receiving the Holy Trinity in
his heart.

If you wish to be saved, seek no other thing here in this world as
much as love.

Know my brethren that love has two characteristics, two gifts.
One of them is to strengthen man in what is good and the other is
to weaken him in what is evil. I have a loaf of bread to eat; you
do not have. Love tells me: Do not eat it alone, give some to your
brethren and you eat the rest. I have clothes; love tells me: Give
one garment to your brother and you wear the other one. I open
my mouth to accuse you, to tell you lies, to decieve you; but at
once I remember love and it deadens my mouth, and does not
allow me to tell you lies. I stretch out my hands to take what
belongs to you, your money, all your possessions. Love does not
allow me to take them. Do you see, my brethren, what gifts love
has?

Those of you who earn your bread by means of your toil and
sweat should rejoice, because that bread is blessed; and if you
give a little of it as alms it is reckoned as much. But those who live
by means of injustice and grasping should mourn, for what you
thus acquire is cursed; and if you give alms out of these they do
not benefit you at all, being fire that consumes you.

The Martyrs won Paradise through their blood; the Ascetics,
through their ascetic life. Now you, my brethren, who have
children, how will you win Paradise? By means of hospitality, by
giving to your brothers who are poor, blind, or lame

HUMILITY
The Christian needs two wings in order to soar upward and attain
Paradise: humility and love. When the first order of angels fell
from angelic glory and became demons, the other nine orders
humbled themselves and worshipped the All-Holy Trinity, and
remained in their place and rejoice forever. We, too, my brethren,
must reflect what an evil thing pride is - that it cast down the dcvil
from angelic glory and he will always burn in Hades - and that
humility kept the angels in Heaven, and they rejoice perpetually in
the glory of the Holy Trinity. Let us then, my brethren, aviod
pride, because it is the first daughter of the devil, is a path that
leads to Hades; and let us have humility, because it is angelic, is a
path that leads to Paradise.

CONFESSION
If you want cure your soul, you need four things. The first is to
forgive your enemies. The second is to confess thoroughly. The
third is to blame yourself. The fourth is to resolve to sin no more.
If we wish to be saved, we must always blame ourselves and not
attribute our wrong acts to others. And God, Who is most
compassionate, will forgive us.

FASTING
We who are pious Christians must fast always, but easpecially on
Wednesday, because the Lord was sold on that day, and on
Friday, because He was crucified on that day. Similarly, it is our
duty to fast during the Lent seasons, as the Holy Spirit illumined
the holy Fathers of the Church to decree, in order to mortify the
passions and humble the body. Moreover, if we limt the food we
eat, life becomes easier for us. Fast according to your ability,
pray according to your ability, give alms according to your ability,
and always hold death before the eyes of your mind.

VIRGINITY
Just as we humans prefer gold to sliver, so the Lord indeed likes
marriage, but likes virginity more, in order to show you that if you
can preserve your viginity and become a monk, or if you are a
woman a nun, you are fortunate and thrice blessed, you are free
from worldly things, you are like an angel. However, if you want
to preserve your virginity, you must put as the first foundation the
non possesion-of-property (Aktemonsyne) and must discipline
your body with fasts, prayers, vigils, and hardships in order to
humble the flesh. Also, you must flee from the world... There is no
other way for the monk to be saved except by withdrawing far
from the world.

WOMAN
God created woman equal with man, not inferior.

My Christian, you must love your wife as your companion, not
consider her as your slave, for she is a creature of God, just as
you are. God was crucified for her as much as for you. You call
God Father, she calls Him Father, too. Both of you have the
same Faith, the same Baptism, the same Book of the Gospels, the
same Holy Communion, the same Paradise to enjoy. God does
not regard her as inferior to you.

KEEPING SUNDAY
Do not separate yourselves from Christ and from the Church. Do
you hear the priest ringing the bells? Rise at once, wash
yourselves, and go to church. Attend the Orthros (Matins)
attentively and likewise the Divine Liturgy. We should not work
or do business on Sunday. The profit that you gain on Sunday is
curse... Keep Sunday as a day dedicated to God.

THE JESUS PRAYER -ALSO KNOWN AS "THE PRAYER
OF THE HEART"
This prayer should never be absent from you: Lord Jesus Christ,
Son and Logos of the living God, through the Theotokos and all
the Saints, have mercy upon me, Thy sinful and unworthy
servant." (This is the actual Jesus Prayer: "O LORD JESUS
CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY UPON ME, A
SINNER.") Always say this prayer both with your mouth and
with your mind, day and night, wherever you may be, whether
eating, walking, working, or sitting. Always meditate on it, as it
benefits you a great deal., frees you here from every evil, delivers
you there from eternal Hell, and renders you worthy of going to
Paradise, our heavenly country.

MEDITATION ON DEATH
There is no better teacher than death.

Have death before your minds: the time when you will leave this
unreal world and will go to the other one, which is eternal.

LIFE AFTER DEATH
We who are pious Christians must henceforth not weep for the
dead like the impious and the unbelievers, who do not hope in the
resurrection. This world, my brethren, is like a prison. When must
man rejoice? When he enters the prison or when he is being
liberated from the prison? It seems to me, when enters the prison
he must weep and be sad, and when he comes out of the prison
he must rejoice. Therefore, my brethren, do not grieve for the
dead, but if you love them do what you can for their souls; offer
liturgies, memorial services, fasts, prayers, alms.

(Editors notes: CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!)

TEACHING OF THE SCRIPTURES
Heed all the thoughts of the Holy Gospels, because they are all
diamonds, treasures, joy, delight, eternal life. The existence of
many churches neither preserves nor strengthens our faith to the
proper extent and in the proper manner, if those who believe in
God are not enlightened by the Old and the New Testament.

I have found the words and the commandments of Christ pure,
holy, true, splendid, brighter than the sun; and whoever believes in
Christ and calls Him God and lives in accordance with His
teaching, contained in the Holy Gospels, is fortunate and
thrice-blessed.

The Holy Spirit illumined firstly the holy Prophets, and they wrote
the Divine Scripture; seondly, He illumined the holy Apostles; and
thirdly, He has illumined the holy Fathers, and they have explained
the books of our Church, in order that we may know how to
conduct ourselves.

Our Faith has been made secure by wise and learned Saints, who
both explained the Holy Scriptures precisely and have enlightened
us through their divinely inspired discourses.

(Source: Modern Orthodox Saints I, St. Cosmas Aitolos)., by (Dr.)
Constantine Cavarnos., INSTITUTE FOR BYZANTINE AND MODERN
GREEK STUDIES., Belmont, Massachusetts., pp.81-94.)