Cosmas of Aetolia - Legacy

Legacy

In 1813 Ali Pasha, the de-facto independent Muslim Albanian ruler of Ottoman Epirus - who was no friend of the Greeks but an adherent of realpolitik in religious matters and an enemy of the Sultan - managed to have a church built near the site of Cosmas' execution, in which the remains of Cosmas were placed. Ali Pasha went as far as having a date of celebration set in Cosmas' honor. Some other Muslims disliked Ali Pasha's "giving too much honor to a gkiaouri", to which the Pasha reportedly replied: «Bring me a Muslim like him, I would kiss his legs.».

Later, in 1984 the remains were transferred to the Archaeological Museum of Fier. Other relics of the saint are kept in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, where some irredentist Northern Epirotes pray for the annexation of Northern Epirus to Greece. Although a hellenizer, Saint Cosmas of Aetolia is still highly regarded by Orthodox Albanians for the message that he gave.

There are numerous popular religious texts attributed to St. Cosmas. Best known are the five "Didaches" and the "Prophecies". There survive, however, no original manuscript of these texts written personally by St. Cosmas, and none can be dated with certainty. His writings are known only from second or third-hand transcriptions. It is believed that these texts are based on Cosmas' preachings but are written and copied mostly after his death and in many cases modified and added to by the copiers.