The Striking Resemblance Between St. Patrick of Ireland and Fr. Cosmas of Grigoriou
- The Orthodox Ethos Team
- Aug 1
- 23 min read
Updated: Aug 12
Reading UMP’s Apostle to Zaire: The Life and Legacy of Blessed Father Cosmas of Grigoriou along with the Life of St. Patrick of Ireland yields spectacular parallels. From a secular or academic perspective, one would assume little similarity between the life and work of a 5th century Gallic missionary and a 20th century Greek missionary in Africa. However, in the Spirit-filled Tradition found in the Holy Orthodox Church, this is not surprising. The Trinity has been revealed through Christ’s divine economy and is the same God which the Apostles preached when they evangelized the world, and the same God Who is also preached in the evangelical work of St. Patrick, Sts. Cyril and Methodius (to the Slavs), and eventually Fr. Cosmas and others. The light of God continues to illumine those missionaries of the past and the missionaries of the present while God also frequently blesses their work in direct ways. Let us look at how Fr. Cosmas is an authentic heir of these missionary gifts of the Holy Spirit which are also found in St. Patrick. We look at the following areas:
Early Asceticism
St. Patrick relates his great love of prayer in his youth, shortly after becoming a captive:
“But after I came to Ireland—every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed—the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was moved so that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many in the night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountains; and I used to get up for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm, and there was no sloth in me—as I now see, because the spirit within me was then fervent” (St. Patrick’s Confession, section 16).
Elder George of Grigoriou relates an episode from Fr. Cosmas early days at the monastery:
“I once passed by Fr. Cosmas’ little cell and saw his bed: wooden boards and on top of the boards, a little thin sheet. He didn’t even have a blanket. Having seen that, and other things, I thought that the brother had the grace of God and ought to become a monk” (Apostle to Zaire, p. 19, page numbers herein are from the 2nd edition).
Confronting the Pagan Magicians
In the life of St. Patrick we see he is seeking to uproot druidic culture’s hold over the Irish, freeing them of idolatrous superstition, eventually coming to a direct face off as described in Muirchú’s Life (Section I.20-21):
Now, while they were all eating, the druid Lucet Máel, who had taken part in the conflict on the previous night, was anxious even on that day, now that his colleague had perished, to fight against holy Patrick, and as a start he put a drop (of poison) from his cup into the goblet of Patrick while the others looked on in order to find out what (Patrick) would do.
When holy Patrick saw the kind of test to which he was being subjected, he blessed his goblet in the sight of all and the liquor froze like ice; then he turned his goblet upside down, and only the drop which the druid had added fell out. And he blessed the goblet again: the liquor resumed its natural state, and they all were greatly astonished.
And after a short while the druid said: “Let us work miracles in this vast plain,” and Patrick replied, saying: “What sort of miracles?” and the druid said: “Let us bring snow over the land,” and Patrick said: “I do not want to bring about anything against God’s will,” and the druid said: “I shall bring it about in the sight of all.”
Then, uttering some spells, he brought snow, reaching up as far as (a man’s) belt, over the entire plain, and all saw this and were astonished. And the holy man said: “All right, we see this. Remove it now.” And (the druid) said: “Until this hour tomorrow I cannot remove it.” And the holy man said: “You can do evil and cannot do good. Not so I.”
Then he blessed the plain all around, and in no time, without rain or mist or wind, the snow vanished, and the crowds cheered and were greatly astonished and touched in their hearts.
And a little later the druid, through the invocation of demons, brought a thick fog over the land as a sign (i.e. miracle), and the people muttered angrily. And the holy man said: “Remove the fog;” but again the other was not able to do so.
The holy man, however, prayed, blessed (the place), and the fog was dispelled at once and the sun shone again and all the people cheered and gave thanks.
After this contest between the druid and Patrick in the king’s presence the king said to them: “Cast your books into the water, and he whose books remain unharmed, him we shall adore.” Patrick answered: “I will do so,” and the druid said: “I do not want to undergo a test of water with him; for water is a god of his.” He had heard, no doubt, that Patrick baptized with water.
And the king replied: “Agree (to ordeal) by fire.” And Patrick said: “I am ready to do so.” But the druid did not want to and said: “This man worships every second year in turn now water now fire as his god.”
And the holy man said: “Not so; but you yourself, and one of the boys in my service together with you shall go into a divided and closed house, and you shall wear my garment and my boy shall wear yours, and so you two together shall be set on fire and be judged in the presence of the Highest.”
And this plan was accepted, and a house was built for them, half of green wood and half of dry wood, and the druid was placed in the green part of the house and one of holy Patrick’s boys, Benineus (= Benignus) by name, wearing the druid’s garb, in its dry part; then the house was closed from outside and in the presence of the whole crowd was set on fire.
And in that hour it so happened through the prayer of Patrick that the flame of the fire consumed the druid together with the green half of the house, and nothing was left intact except the chasuble of holy Patrick, which the fire did not touch.
On the other hand, happy Benineus, and the dry half of the house, experienced what has been said of the three young men: the fire did not even touch him, and brought him neither pain nor discomfort; only the garb of the druid, which he had donned, was burnt in accordance with God’s will.
And the king’s anger was aroused against Patrick because of the death of his druid, and he was on the point of attacking him, wishing to take his life; but God held him back. For at the prayer and the word of Patrick the wrath of God descended upon the impious people, and many of them died.
And holy Patrick said to the king: “If you do not believe now you shall die at once, for the wrath of God has come down upon your head.” And the king was in great fear, his heart trembling, and so was his entire city.
King Loiguire summoned his elders and his whole council and said to them: “It is better for me to believe than to die,” and having held counsel, acting on the advice of his followers, he believed on that day and became converted to the Lord the eternal God, and many others believed on that occasion.
And holy Patrick said to the king: “Since you have resisted my teaching and been offensive to me, the days of your own reign shall run on, but none of your offspring shall ever be king.”
The weeding out of witchcraft among the Africans is a prominent part of Apostle to Zaire (see various episodes in pp. 169-184). One episode (from pp. 176-178) is revealing:
I have been a priest at the Orthodox Mission in Kolwezi for nearly ten years. I currently serve at the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, and St. Paraskevi. The story that I am about to tell occurred in the month of August, 1990, in the town of Kolwezi.
Father Meletios, who is in charge of our Mission, had received a request from two Christian families to visit them in order to resolve a problem involving sorcery. The priest in charge decided to send me, inasmuch as I was Zairian and better understood my fellow countrymen’s problems.
A thirteen year-old boy from the Luba-Shaba tribe had been a sorcerer ever since the age of 7. It was his grandfather who had initiated him into the realms of black magic. This boy lived with his paternal uncle as his parents had thrown him out of the family home. An Orthodox family lived right next door to the boy’s uncle.
In the quarter where this child sorcerer lived a sorceress discovered him and said to him: “You are to be my husband and guide on the path of sorcery.” One day this sorceress sent the child out with instructions to “go in search of food”, i.e. to find a victim to kill for the Christmas and New Year (Jan. 1st) feasts. By way of “food” the child sorcerer had found his uncle at home and secretly stole an item of underclothing, which he took to the sorceress. He then went to the house of the Orthodox Christians and gave an eggplant to one child and a fish to the other. The two children ate the food because they were hungry, but experienced a strange taste and thought that they were eating raw human flesh. When the first of the children had eaten what appeared to be eggplant, he lost his mind straight away.
The uncle of this boy sorcerer is a member of a Protestant religious community called Basantu. One day, as the pastor of this community was saying the prayers, he turned toward the uncle of the child and said in front of all his followers: “Your family is not well. In your house you have a boy who is a sorcerer. The boy’s uncle then took his nephew to their “church.” There they began to pray and the child drew a string with three knots in it from his mouth. He intended to kill three people by means of this string. The pastor asked the child sorcerer what the string signified, and he replied that one of the knots was for his uncle and that the other two were for the two children of a certain family. The boy then said: “Let’s go to the house of these Orthodox Christians.” They asked to be allowed to go in. In each of the rooms where the children slept, there was a thick root planted beneath the bed which they tore up, since it was intended to exert a fatal Satanic influence on the children when they lay down to sleep at night.
The parents of the Orthodox family had thought it right in the meantime to summon an Orthodox priest. And so it came about that at Father Meletios’ request I went to see them. I called for the child sorcerer and we sat down to talk. First of all I asked his uncle: “Do you know about your nephew’s problem?”
“Yes, I’m aware that he is a sorcerer,” he said.
And I asked the child too: “Are you a sorcerer?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Hand over to me all your sorcerer’s equipment.”
The child replied: “I can’t because there is a woman who will be angry and kill me.”
I said to him: “No, she will not; if you believe in the true God you will not be killed.” His hands were bound, so I undid them and said: “Our God loves you and will help you.”
The child replied: “We perform our rites in the cemetery at the dead of night.”
“How did you begin, and how do you recruit others to your evil practices?”
“We take the underclothes or the thread of a garment belonging to the person we want to cast a spell on, to kill or to recruit to our group.”
“So if you touch somebody’s clothing you’re able to cast a spell on them; is that what you are saying?”
“Yes, it is very easy.”
“So if you took a thread or touched my garment you would be able to spellbind me?”
“No! Not you! There is a fire surrounding you which will burn me if I come near.”
I then addressed his parents: “Is your child a sorcerer?”
“Yes, he has been since the age of seven.”
“We must help him to escape from sorcery or else his life will be nothing but trouble. If today he goes into an Orthodox Christian house, tomorrow it will be somewhere else and the day after he will be in prison. And you will have to pay the State a fine and compensation to the people to whom he has caused harm.”
Lastly, I called together all the Orthodox Christians in the area, took a list of their names and performed the Office of the Lesser Blessing of the Waters (Agiasmos) followed by a reading of St. Basil’s prayers of exorcism. I then anointed the two children with myrrh from the Mother of God of Malevi, given to me by the Fathers at the Mission. Everybody was glad and gave glory to God. Since then the children have been caused no problems by demons. They attend church, confess and take communion. It should be noted that as soon as he returned home, the child sorcerer completely lost his mind.
Performing Mass Baptisms
St. Patrick’s Life has him traveling and converting people all over Ireland and he admits to having baptized thousands: “In the knowledge of this faith in the Trinity, and without letting the dangers prevent it, it is right to make known the gift of God and his eternal consolation. It is right to spread abroad the name of God faithfully and without fear, so that even after my death I may leave something of value to the many thousands of my brothers and sisters – the children whom I baptised in the Lord.” (St. Patrick, Confession, section 14).
In Apostle to Zaire we see something very similar:
“When, in the summer, the rains stopped, he went round the villages with Fr. Gerasimos and baptized the catechumens in the rivers there. A mass Baptism, whether for a few people or many, took two days.
"On the first day, those catechumens who were to be baptized were chosen and their family affairs sorted out. This was a major problem for those who had two or three wives. Before being baptized, they would have to choose which of their wives they wanted for a spouse and then marry them. They were also obliged to hand over all their magic-making equipment, because otherwise the devil would trouble them even after their Baptism.
"On the second day, there was Matins and the Divine Liturgy, at which only those who were baptized took Communion. Then they all went to the river, where there was the mass confession of faith, the espousal of Christ and rejection of Satan. They all went into the water and the priest baptized them one by one in the name of the Holy Trinity. Thereafter the newly baptized Christians went to church and partook of the Spotless Mysteries, since the priest had not yet consumed all the Body and Blood. Then the newly baptized couples were married and gifts, clothes and medicines were distributed.
"When there were a lot of people to baptize and night fell, the Mysteries were held under the headlights of the vehicle. It was easier to hold Baptisms in cities, in cruciform baptisteries, since there was electricity available, which also helped with the other services." (pp. 60-61).
Building Churches
St. Patrick and Fr. Cosmas labored, as the harvesting of souls grew successful, to build the Church where Christians were established. This work largely included the creation of local Church leadership and the building of temples of worship. For St. Patrick, his life in Tírechán’s Collectanea richly illustrates this work. One characteristic example is found in section 48:
“Patrick crossed the Shannon three times and spent seven years in the west, and from Mag Tóchuir he came to (the plain of) Dul Ocheni and built seven churches there. And he came to Ardd Sratho and consecrated Mace Erce a bishop, and he went out to Ardd Eolorgg and Ailge and Lee Benndrigi; and he crossed the river Bann and blessed the place where there is the cell of Cúl Raithin in (the plain of) Eilne, in which there was (recte: is?) a bishop; and he built many other cells in Eilne, and (crossed?) the river Bush, and in Dún Sobairche he sat on a rock which is called Patrick's Rock until now, and there he consecrated holy Olcanus a bishop, whom Patrick had fostered, and he gave him a portion of the relics of Peter and Paul and others and a veil to protect the relics; and he returned to the plain of Elne and built many churches which are owned by the Coindiri.”
For Fr. Cosmas, you see the quick success with his initial missionary journey (see Apostle to Zaire, pp. 48-51). In the first mission work Fr. Cosmas (a laymen named “John” at the time) had a zeal for building churches and God richly blessed it with success:
“In July 1975, John was in Kolwezi, Zaire. It was here that his great struggles began. Fr. Amfilohios set him the task of constructing churches in towns and villages which were within a radius of 700 kilometers. With the enthusiasm, dynamism and daring for which he was outstanding, he began the work immediately, entirely unhindered by the unknown language, Swahili, which he now heard for the first time.
“He set up work teams and began to work on the foundations of churches. The teams worked one after another. In other words, one of them did the building, then came the plasterers, others put in the doors and windows, others again did the painting and so on. Before one church was finished, another would be started. He had to finish what Fr. Amfilohios had set him to do. . . .
“All this church building required a great deal of money. The nuns of the Mission wrote letters here, there and everywhere, asking for help. And, indeed, the money came in and building work on the churches continued. In 15 months, John built 9 churches.” (pp. 48-50).
Engaging with local leadership
St. Patrick would often engage with local princes. Sometimes he would chastise their heathen ways. Other times, he proved his diplomacy by reaching agreements to build churches. We see both instances in St. Patrick’s encounter with Dáire in Muirchú’s Life, section 24:
“There was a wealthy and honoured man in the territory of Airther, whose name was Dáire. Holy Patrick asked him to give him a place wherein to worship, and the wealthy man said to the holy man: ‘Which place do you want?’
‘I am asking’, the holy man said, ‘to be given that hill which is called Druim(m) Sailech, and that I may settle there.’ He, however, did not want to give the holy man that lofty place, but gave him another place, lower down, where there is now the Burial-Ground of the Martyrs beside Armagh, and there holy Patrick lived with his followers.
After some time a groom of Dáire's came with his master’s horse to let it graze in the meadow of the Christians, and Patrick was offended by the release of the horse in his place, and said: ‘Dáire has behaved foolishly in sending brute animals to disturb the small place which he has given to God.’
The groom, however, listened as little as if he were deaf, and like one who is dumb he did not open his mouth to speak, but left the horse there over night and went away.
Next day in the morning the groom came to look after the horse and by that time found it dead. He went home sadly and said to his master: ‘Look, that Christian has killed your horse because it displeased him that his place was disturbed’, and Dáire said: ‘He also shall be killed. Go ye now and kill him.’
The very moment his men went out sudden death struck Dáire, and his wife said: ‘This death is because of the Christian. Let somebody go at once and bring us his favours, and you will be well; and let those who have gone out to kill the Christian be stopped and told to return.’
Two men, then, went out and said to him, concealing from him what had actually happened: ‘Look, Dáire has fallen ill. Give us something to bring him by which he may be healed.’
Holy Patrick, however, knowing what had happened, said: ‘Is that so?’ blessed water and gave it to them, saying: ‘Sprinkle some of this water over your horse and take it with you.’
And they did so and the horse revived, and they took it away with them, and when the holy water was sprinkled over Dáire he was healed.
After this Dáire went out to honour holy Patrick, bringing with him a marvellous bronze cauldron from overseas which held three measures, and Dáire said to the holy man: ‘Look, this cauldron shall be yours.’ And Patrick said: ‘Grazacham.’
When Dáire came home he said: ‘This man is a fool, if he has nothing better to say for a marvellous bronze cauldron of three measures but only “Grazacham”’; and then Dáire said to his servants: ‘Go and bring us our bronze vessel back.’
They went out and told Patrick: ‘We are to take the bronze vessel back.’ None the less on that occasion also holy Patrick said: ‘Grazacham, take it’, and they took it away.
And Dáire asked his companions and said: ‘What did the Christian say when you took the bronze vessel back?’ and they replied: ‘He said “Grazacham.”’
And (Dáire) answered and said: ‘“Grazacham” for the gift, “Grazacham” for its withdrawal. His saying is such a good one; with these “Grazachams”; his bronze vessel shall be brought to him again.’
And Dáire this time came in person and brought Patrick the bronze vessel and said to him: ‘This vessel shall be yours. For you are a steadfast man whom nothing can change. Besides, I give you now that piece of land for which you once asked so far as it is mine; dwell there.’ This is the city which is now called Armagh.”
Fr. Cosmas made it a point to actively achieve and maintain good relations with both local authorities and authorities beyond his local activity (Apostle to Zaire, pp. 90-92, 160). This is especially noted in the book with the heading “The Authorities’ Respect for Father Coasmas.” The short section reads:
“Blessed Father Cosmas was the only missionary in Kolwezi who opened his arms to everyone. He even enjoyed good relations with the Local State authorities. Thus every Pascha or Christmas he used to present them with a pig from his farm as a gift, both enabling them to celebrate joyfully the feast days and Father Cosmas to gain their love and concern, all to the up-building of the mission. Thus, each time he or the Christians in general were faced with some difficulty, Father Cosmas had the understanding and cooperation of the competent officials.” (p. 160).
Great Philanthropy
St. Patrick’s great philanthropy is seen in the context of him ending heathen practices. The most philanthropic of these cases was his fierce battle against slavery. He used great boldness against the power structures and individuals which participated in it. In St. Patrick’s Letter to Coroticus (section 1) this come across clearly. He opens his letter (which is a forceful rebuke) by saying:
“It is not that I would choose to let anything so blunt and harsh come from my mouth, but I am driven by the zeal for God. And the truth of Christ stimulates me, for love of neighbours and children: for these, I have given up my homeland and my parents, and my very life to death, if I am worthy of that. I live for my God, to teach these peoples, even if I am despised by some.”
Fr. Cosmas had many areas of philanthropic concern: the sick, the elderly, the prisoners, and the impoverished. Apostle to Zaire, pp. 75-78 explores this aspect. Its opening words read:
“He made no distinction between those who were baptized and those who were not. If anyone asked for help, he made all speed to offer it. Whenever they learned that Fr. Cosmas was around, they ran to meet him and seek a solution to their problems, whether these were of a material or spiritual nature.”
Sacrifice and Hardship
St. Patrick suffered many hardships in his missionary work. He relates in his Confession (see section 35) that “the merciful God often freed me from slavery and from twelve dangers in which my life was at stake—not to mention numerous plots, which I cannot express in words…”
Fr. Cosmas worked so hard in behalf of his mission flock that it brought great physical sacrifice and hardship to himself. “Because he took no care for himself, since he was so strongly built, he fell ill with sunstroke. For the rest of his life he suffered from headaches and dizziness. Despite his tiredness and his many concerns, he never failed to keep in touch with us by letter” (p. 50).
Raising the Dead
The Irish saw the power of their saint when Patrick raised a man to life. One instance was mentioned previously (“Engaging with Local Leadership”) with the local leader Dáire. However, there is even another instance in Muirchú’s Life in section I.23, subsections 4-12:
“[Macc Cuill, a local ruler] thought of killing [Patrick] and said to his followers:
"‘Look, here comes the man who seduces and perverts people, who is in the habit of performing tricks in order to deceive people and to seduce many. Let us go and set a trap for him to find out whether that god in whom he glories has any power.’
"So they set a trap for the holy man in this way: They made one of their company, who was in perfect health, lie down in their midst, covered with a cloak and pretending to be mortally ill, with the intention of testing the holy man by this deceit. They called the holy man a seducer, his miracles tricks, and his prayers black magic.
"Accordingly, as Patrick and his disciples approached, the pagans said to him: ‘Look, one of us has just fallen ill; come and sing over him some incantations of your sect, perhaps he may be healed.’
"Holy Patrick, however, knowing all their ruses and pretences, said firmly and intrepidly: ‘It would not be strange if he had been ill,’ and when the companions of the man who had feigned illness uncovered his face they found him dead.
"Dumbfounded and astonished by such a miracle, the pagans said to themselves: ‘This is truly a man of God; we have done wrong in seeking to trap him.’
"Holy Patrick, however, turned to Macc Cuill and said: ‘Why did you want to trap me?’ and the cruel tyrant replied: ‘I am sorry for what I have done. I shall do whatever you tell me to do, and now I give myself into the power of the high god whom you preach.’
"And holy Patrick said: ‘Believe, then, in the Lord my God Jesus, and confess your sins, and receive baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ And he was converted in that hour, believed in eternal God, and was baptized. And after this Macc Cuill said further:
"‘I confess to you, my holy lord Patrick, that I had planned to kill you. Pass judgement, therefore, and state how much is due for such a great and wicked crime.’
"And Patrick said: ‘I cannot judge, but God will judge. You now go down to the seashore unarmed, and leave this part of Ireland without delay, taking none of your property with you except one paltry short garment which just barely covers your body, neither eating nor drinking anything that grows in this island, with this emblem of your sin on your head, and when you have come to the sea, fetter your feet with an iron chain, throw its key into the sea, board a small boat made of a single hide, without rudder or oar, and be ready to go wherever the wind and the sea shall carry you; and on whatever shore divine Providence may land you, dwell there and practise the divine commandments.’
"And Macc Cuill said: ‘I will do as you have told me. But what shall we do about the dead man?’ And Patrick said: ‘He shall live and rise from death without pain.’ And Patrick raised him in that hour, and he came to life again in good health.
"And Macc Cuill left without saying a word and went to the sea south of Mag Inis, with the confidence of unshaken faith.”
Fr. Cosmas is not known to have raised anyone from the dead, however, his flock did witness the miracle of a young girl being raised from death. Fr. Cosmas taught the Africans the importance of trusting in the Saints and had used this example, known to them, as confirmation to encourage his faithful to seek their aid. We read in Apostle to Zaire, pp. 189-190:
“One evening in May, 1994, I had gone to the village of Musonoi about 4 km away from Kolwezi. We have a parish there of the Ss. Theodore, with a beautiful church built by Father Cosmas. I met Simeon, our catechist, and discussed parish affairs with him. I asked him to tell me whether the two Saints Theodore help them or not. He replied: ‘Yes, they help us a lot, Father. Do you see that young girl over there? She had died and the Saints brought her back to life.’ While we were talking this little girl was busy playing with other girls in the churchyard.
"‘How was she brought back to life? I would like to hear the account,’ I said to him.
"‘It was one evening, she was playing outside the church with some other children. She felt thirsty from the hot weather, and left to go home. Outside the house, right next to it, stood a large 200-litre vat half-full of water. The child climbed on top of this vat and cupped her hands to drink from it, but lost her balance and fell into the vat, and was drowned. In the meantime the other children were waiting for her to come back, but she did not.
"‘Not long afterwards her mother arrived back from the fields. The other children told her that they had no idea where their friend was. So the mother set about looking for her child and began to cry. When she went to draw water from the vat, she found her child there, already dead. Her cries and wails were indescribable. “For my part,” said Simeon, “I urged her to stay calm and to take the child into the church. If the saints so wish it, they could bring her back to life.”
"‘The mother took the child and went to the church. When they reached the door of the church the child started vomiting water through its mouth. She opened her eyes and asked her mother “Where are we going?”
"‘God’s Saints had performed their miracle. It is impossible to describe everyone’s joy. On the following day we celebrated the Divine Liturgy and gave glory to the Saints for this miracle.’”
Enduring slander
When St. Patrick was not long a bishop and beginning his work in Ireland, he relates that some of his ecclesiastical superiors slandered him with the sins of his youth. From St. Patrick’s Confession (sections 26-27).
“One time I was put to the test by some superiors of mine. They came and put my sins against my hard work as a bishop. This hit me very hard, so much so that it seemed I was about to fall, both here and in eternity. But the Lord in his kindness spared the converts and the strangers for the sake of his name, and strongly supported me when I was so badly treated. I did not slip into sin and disgrace. I pray that God not hold this sin against them. They brought up against me after thirty years something I had already confessed before I was a deacon. What happened was that, one day when I was feeling anxious and low, with a very dear friend of mine I referred to some things I had done one day—rather, in one hour—when I was young, before I overcame my weakness. I don’t know—God knows—whether I was then fifteen years old at the time, and I did not then believe in the living God, not even when I was a child. In fact, I remained in death and unbelief until I was reproved strongly, and actually brought low by hunger and nakedness daily.”
Fr. Cosmas, likewise, had slander he had to endure which even reached the ears of the Patriarch of Alexandria. In Apostle to Zaire, on pages 92-94 is the section “Bitter Experiences and Trials,” It relates a few examples given of the constant slander Fr. Cosmas had to endure. One episode is this:
“The slanderers aimed at destroying his work and turning the priests away from him. They spread the rumour that Fr. Cosmas had embezzled two million drachmas that he had been sent, that he did not concern himself with the material welfare of his priests, that he traded in precious stones, that he sent Sister Themelina to Greece to get married, and that he went to Africa in order to live comfortably on his farm. They even accused him to the then Patriarch of Alexandria, Nikolaos, as being a pig-trader and charlatan.
“When the Patriarch came to Greece in 1981, Fr. Cosmas happened to be here, too. They met, and the Patriarch said to Fr. Cosmas: “Is it you who’s involved in trading with somebody called Psathas from Kolwezi?” Fr. Cosmas calmly replied: “Come and see for yourself the work I’m doing down there. I work for the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all the property of the Kolwezi Mission officially belongs to your Patriarchate.” From then on, the Patriarch highly regarded him and loved him. He even sent him a letter congratulating him on his work.”
Warned of their own death in advance
St. Patrick was known to have been warned in advance of his death and made preparations for the Church and himself. “When, after so many miracles which have been written down elsewhere and which the world celebrates in pious language, the day of his death was approaching, an angel came to him about his death” (see Muirchú’s Life, section II.4).
Fr. Cosmas never told anyone he was warned of his death in advance, but for those around him, they had many reasons to believe that he was indeed warned (See Apostle to Zaire, pp. 101-105). One account from Basil Berberi states:
“Kolwezi: May, 1989
“… Father Cosmas has not left us. He is here, among us. He didn’t know the meaning of fatigue. When we urged him to rest more, he would answer us: ‘I will take my rest once and for all, when the Lord calls me near to Him.’
“It was as if he felt it coming. During his last days he was especially humble, constantly asking forgiveness from everyone—co-workers, priests and the assemblies of the faithful—if, as a man, he had embittered anyone at any time. He spoke continually of death and eternal life, and his homilies at the Divine Liturgy were centered on this theme. He would tease our oldest priest, Father Gerasimos (70 years old), saying: ‘I will depart this life before you.’”
They each had such a great love of their missionary field they knew they must die and be buried in the land of their labors.
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