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 member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and an important hymnographer in the East. He is venerated as a saint by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Life

Cosmas () was born in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, modern-day Syria, but he was orphaned at a young age. He was adopted by Sergius, the father of John of Damascus (ca.676 - 749), and became John's foster-brother. The teacher of the two boys was an elderly

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

n monk, also named Cosmas (known as "Cosmas the Monk" to distinguish him), who had been freed from slavery to the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

by John's father. John and Cosmas went from

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, where both became monks in the lavra-type monastery of Sabbas the Sanctified 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 . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

. Cosmas left the monastery in 743 when he was appointed Bishop of Maiuma, the port of ancient Gaza. He outlived John by many years and died in great old age.

Works

As a learned prose-author, Cosmas wrote commentaries, or ''

scholia Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient a ...

'', on the poems of Gregory of Nazianzus. He is regarded with great admiration as a poet. Cosmas and John of Damascus are considered to be the best representatives of the later Greek classical hymnography, the most characteristic examples of which are the artistic liturgical chants known as " canons". They worked together on developing the Octoechos. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Cosmas has been called "a vessel of divine grace" and "the glory of the Church." He composed the solemn canons for Matins of

Lazarus Saturday Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches) refers to the moveable feast before Palm Sunda ...

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the 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. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

, the Triodes (canons with only three Canticles) which are chanted during

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

, the first canon of the Nativity (based on a Nativity sermon by Gregory the Theologian), 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 Church service, religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of ...

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''), sung regularly at Matins, the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

and other services. The hymns of Cosmas were originally intended for the Divine Services of the Church of Jerusalem, but through the influence of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

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 is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

, it is October 25 of the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

) and in Greek Church on October 14 Julian, it is October 27).

Notes

Bibliography

*Collections of hymns, varying in number, are attributed to Cosmas, and may be found in Jacques-Paul Migne, ''

Patrologia Graecae The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (''PG'', or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an Collection (publishing), edited collection of writings by the Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volum ...

'' (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

Kosmas the Hagiopolite
Icon 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 Syrian Christian saints

Life

Works

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links