By Bishop Gregorios of Mesaoria
Our Church today celebrates the memory of Hieromartyr Eutychius, who was a disciple of St. John the Theologian and sacrificed his life for his struggle to proclaim the Gospel.
We also celebrate the memory of the New-Hieromartyr Cosmas of Aitolia, Equal of the Apostles, who deserved to receive the honour of the Teacher of the Greek Nation.
Saint Cosmas was born in the Greek village Mega Dendron near the town of Thermo in the region of Aetolia and lived in Greece under Ottoman rule.
At the age of twenty, he went to Mount Athos, where he attended the local Theological Academy. He then became a monk and was ordained priest in the Philotheou monastery in Mount Athos.
Believing strongly in teaching and awakening the enslaved Greeks and receiving the blessing of Patriarch Sophronius of Constantinople, he began to proclaim the Gospel at first in the churches of Constantinople and the surrounding villages, then in Thrace, in Macedonia, in Epirus, on the Aegean Islands and the Ionian Islands. He was proclaiming the need for dedication to the Orthodox Tradition and Greek education and knowledge.
He called upon Christians to establish schools throughout Greece under Ottoman rule. Flag of Saint Cosmas was the Life-giving Cross of Jesus Christ.
The wonders he worked are innumerable aw well as his teachings and prophecies many of which refer to the liberation of Greece and to modern scientific discoveries.
On August 24, 1779, Saint Cosmas of Aitolia was executed at Kolkondas, Fier District, near the mouth of the Seman river (in present-day Albania), at the behest of Ahmet Kurt Pasha, Ruler of Berat.
The work and the martyrdom of St. Cosmas reaffirm that the Church is the mother of us all. She is the affectionate mother who takes care of her children throughout the ages. The Church is Christ Himself for eternity.