Saint Cosmas of
Maiuma, also called Cosmas Hagiopolites ("of the Holy City"), Cosmas of Jerusalem, Cosmas the Melodist, or Cosmas the Poet (d. 773 or 794), was a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
and an important
hymnographer
A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...
in the East. He is venerated as a saint by the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Life
Saint Cosmas ( el, Κοσμάς) was born in Jerusalem, but he was orphaned at a young age. He was adopted by
Sergius, the father of
St. John of Damascus
John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and a ...
(ca.676 - 749), and became John's foster-brother. The teacher of the two boys was an elderly
Calabrian monk, also named Cosmas (known as "Cosmas the Monk" to distinguish him), who had been freed from slavery to the
Saracens by St. John's father.
John and Cosmas went from
Damascus to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, where both became monks in the
Lavra
A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern ...
(monastery) of St.
Sabbas the Sanctified
SabasPatrich (1995). (439–532), in Church parlance Saint Sabas or Sabbas the Sanctified ( el, Σάββας ο Ηγιασμένος), was a Cappadocian Greeks, Cappadocian Greek monk, priest and saint, who was born in Cappadocia and lived mainly ...
near that city.
[''Byzantine Music and Liturgy'', E. Wellesz, ''The Cambridge Medieval History: The Byzantine Empire, Part II'', Vol. IV, ed. J.M. Hussey, D.M. Nicol and G. Cowan, (Cambridge University Press, 1967), 149.] Together they helped defend the Church against the heresy of
iconoclasm
Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
.
Cosmas left the monastery in 743 when he was appointed Bishop of
Maiuma, the port of ancient
Gaza.
He outlived St. John by many years and died in great old age.
Works
As a learned prose-author, Cosmas wrote commentaries, or ''
scholia
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...
'', on the poems of St.
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...
. He is regarded with great admiration as a poet. St. Cosmas and St. John of Damascus are considered to be the best representatives of the later Greek classical
hymnography
A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...
, the most characteristic examples of which are the artistic liturgical chants known as "
canons". They worked together on developing the
Octoechos
Oktōēchos (here transcribed "Octoechos"; Greek: ;The feminine form exists as well, but means the book octoechos. from ὀκτώ "eight" and ἦχος "sound, mode" called echos; Slavonic: Осмогласие, ''Osmoglasie'' from о́с ...
.
Saint Cosmas has been called "a vessel of divine grace" and "the glory of the Church." He composed the solemn canons for
Matins
Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning.
The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated b ...
of
Lazarus Saturday
, observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians
, date = Variable
, date =
, date =
, date =
, relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday
, frequency=Annual
Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Ea ...
,
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
, the Triodes (canons with only three
Canticles
A canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a hymn, psalm or other Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy.
Catholic Church
...
) which are chanted during
Holy Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
, the first canon of the
Nativity (based on a Nativity sermon by St.
Gregory the Theologian
Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...
), and is known for his finest work, "''Canon for Christmas Day''".
Altogether, fourteen canons are attributed to him in the
liturgical book
A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.
Christianity Roman Rite
In the Roman Rite of the Catholic C ...
s of the Orthodox Church.
[Tsai, op. cit.] His most well-known composition is "More honourable than the cherubim…" (which is included in the ''
Axion Estin
''Axion estin'' (Greek: , Slavonic: Достóйно éсть, ''Dostóino yesť''), or It is Truly Meet, is a megalynarion and a theotokion, i.e. a magnification of and a Hymn to Mary used in the Divine Services of the Eastern Orthodox and ...
''), sung regularly at Matins, the
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...
and other services.
The hymns of St. Cosmas were originally intended for the
Divine Services
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers.
In t ...
of the
Church of Jerusalem, but through the influence of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
their use became universal in the Orthodox Church. It is not certain, however, that all the hymns ascribed to Cosmas in the liturgical books were really his compositions, especially as his teacher of the same name was also a hymn writer.
The Eastern Orthodox Church observes his feast on October 12 (
Julian Calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
, it is October 25 of the
Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
) and in Greek Church on October 14 (julian, it is October 27).
See also
*
Sts. Cosmas and Damian, 3rd-century martyrs
Notes
Bibliography
*Collections of hymns, varying in number, are attributed to Cosmas, and may be found in Jacques-Paul
Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...
, ''
Patrologia Graecae'' (P.G.), XCVIII, 459-524, and in Christ-Paranikas, ''Anthologia graeca carminum christianorum'' (Leipzig, 1871), 161-204.
*For the above-mentioned ''scholia'' on the poems of Gregory of Nazianzus, se
Cardinal Angelo Mai ''Spicilegium Romanum'', II, Pt. II, 1-375, and Migne, P.G., XXXVIII, 339-679.
*In general, see Krumbacher, ''Gesch. der byzantinischen Literatur'' (2d ed., Munich, 1896), 674 sqq.
*Alexander P. Kazhdan - Stephen Gero, “Kosmas of Jerusalem: a more critical approach to his biography,” ''Byzantinische Zeitschrift'' 82 (1989), pp. 122–132.
External links
Cosmas the Hymnographerarticle from Orthodox Wiki (with
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
)
Kosmas the HagiopoliteIcon and brief life
entry for October 12 in the ''Prologue from Ochrid'' by Bishop
Nikolai Velimirovich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmas Of Maiuma
8th-century deaths
8th-century bishops
8th-century Byzantine monks
8th-century Christian saints
Byzantine hymnographers
Year of birth unknown
8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
8th-century writers
Christians from the Umayyad Caliphate
Melkites in the Abbasid Caliphate
People from Damascus
Eastern Orthodox saints
Roman Catholic saints