Cosmas the Priest
Encyclopedia
Cosmas the Priest also known as Cosmas the Presbyter or Presbyter Cosmas, was a medieval Bulgaria
n priest and writer. Cosmas is most famous for his anti-Bogomil
treatise Sermon Against the Heretics, which, despite not being conclusively dated, is generally ascribed to the 10th century. The treatise is a valuable source on the beginnings of the Bogomil heresy
in Bulgaria, as well as on medieval Bulgarian society.
of the Bulgarian Patriarchate
. Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov theorises Cosmas must have been a high-ranking member of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and would have written his treatise under direct orders from the Bulgarian emperor. There is no data as to where in Bulgaria Cosmas was based: suppositions range from the capital Preslav
and eastern Bulgaria in general, to Ohrid
and the region of Macedonia
, and even Veliko Tarnovo
. Though Cosmas is not known to have been canonised
, he is commonly referred to as "blessed" or a "saint
" in the copies of his treatise.
The dating of Cosmas' activity and thus the writing of Sermon Against the Heretics is an extremely problematic issue. The general consensus among scholars is that Cosmas lived in the middle or the second half of the 10th century. However, individual scholarly opinions associate Cosmas' life with the first half of the 11th century and even the early 13th century. While Cosmas never mentions the date of writing of his treatise, he does leave some chronological details. Cosmas calls the Bogomil heresy "newly-appeared" and refers to the apparently popular "John, the new presbyter and exarch", whom most scholars identify with early-10th-century Bulgarian writer John Exarch
. Cosmas insists that the heresy spread during the reign of Tsar
Peter I
(r. 927–969), yet according to historian Dimitri Obolensky
he also claims Peter's rule was already over by the time of writing.
sources, and 116 excerpts or compilations, some of which are of South Slavic
origin. The earliest of the extant copies was made in the 15th century. As attested by the large number of copies, Cosmas' work was particularly popular in medieval Russia
. There, it was even used as a basis for writings against other heresies.
The treatise is recognised as the earliest and most complete work to tell of the nature of Bogomilism, its origins and its dualistic
doctrine. As Catharism originated from Bogomilism, Sermon Against the Heretics is valuable as an insight into Catharism's Balkan
predecessor. It is also an important source on life and society in 10th-century Bulgaria, which is described as suffering a major crisis, the glorious days of Peter's father Simeon the Great
(r. 893–927) long over.
Sermon Against the Heretics is divided into two sections, which may be seen as separate works due to their somewhat different topics. The first part presents details about various aspects of the Bogomil heresy and identifies a certain priest named Bogomil
as its founder (though, Cosmas claims, it was actually an act of the devil himself). The first section of the treatise is a vehement criticism of Bogomilism and its disobedient followers, whom Cosmas accuses of contributing to the degradation of Bulgarian society. As Cosmas purposefully employed around 70 quotations from Apostle Paul to debunk the beliefs of Bogomils, he was very likely aware of the sect's ancestral ties to Paulicianism
.
The second part of the treatise contains Cosmas' criticism on contemporary Bulgarian society, with particular attention to the religious and social issues of the time. While Cosmas was a staunch supporter of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church's policies against Bogomilism, in the second section he spares no criticism to that religious body's other practices. Cosmas accuses the Bulgarian abbot
s and bishop
s of greed, gluttony and neglect towards the congregation. He is also critical of hermit
s, whose popularity and influence at the time Cosmas saw as inappropriate. Cosmas hints that the emergence of Bogomilism should be blamed at least partially on the contemporary state of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
on Desolation Island
of the South Shetland Islands
in Antarctica was named in honour of Cosmas the Priest by the Antarctic Place-names Commission
of Bulgaria. The northeastern Bulgarian village of Kozma Prezviter in Omurtag Municipality
, Targovishte Province
, bears the name of the medieval writer. Until it was renamed in 1934, it was known under the Turkish
appellation Kara Chufallar. Streets in the major cities of Sofia
, Plovdiv
, Varna
and Pernik
have also been dedicated to Cosmas the Priest.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n priest and writer. Cosmas is most famous for his anti-Bogomil
Bogomilism
Bogomilism was a Gnostic religiopolitical sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Petar I in the 10th century...
treatise Sermon Against the Heretics, which, despite not being conclusively dated, is generally ascribed to the 10th century. The treatise is a valuable source on the beginnings of the Bogomil heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
in Bulgaria, as well as on medieval Bulgarian society.
Life
The little that is known about Cosmas can be extracted from the few words that he writes about himself in Sermon Against the Heretics. As was customary to medieval priests and writers, Cosmas refers to himself as "unworthy". However, he was certainly of no low rank, as in his treatise he widely criticised the high clergyClergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
of the Bulgarian Patriarchate
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
. Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov theorises Cosmas must have been a high-ranking member of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and would have written his treatise under direct orders from the Bulgarian emperor. There is no data as to where in Bulgaria Cosmas was based: suppositions range from the capital Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...
and eastern Bulgaria in general, to Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
and the region of Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, and even Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
. Though Cosmas is not known to have been canonised
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
, he is commonly referred to as "blessed" or a "saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
" in the copies of his treatise.
The dating of Cosmas' activity and thus the writing of Sermon Against the Heretics is an extremely problematic issue. The general consensus among scholars is that Cosmas lived in the middle or the second half of the 10th century. However, individual scholarly opinions associate Cosmas' life with the first half of the 11th century and even the early 13th century. While Cosmas never mentions the date of writing of his treatise, he does leave some chronological details. Cosmas calls the Bogomil heresy "newly-appeared" and refers to the apparently popular "John, the new presbyter and exarch", whom most scholars identify with early-10th-century Bulgarian writer John Exarch
John Exarch
John Exarch was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and translator, one of the most important men of letters working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. Evidence about his life is scarce but his literary legacy suggests an excellent...
. Cosmas insists that the heresy spread during the reign of Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Peter I
Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I was emperor of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969.-Early reign:Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to Maria Sursuvul, the sister of George Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very influential at...
(r. 927–969), yet according to historian Dimitri Obolensky
Dimitri Obolensky
Sir Dimitri Obolensky was born Prince Dmitriy Dmitrievich Obolensky to Prince Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky and Countess Maria Shuvalov . He was descended from Rurik, Igor, Svyatoslav, St Vladimir of Kiev, St Michael of Chernigov, and Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov...
he also claims Peter's rule was already over by the time of writing.
Sermon Against the Heretics
Cosmas the Priest's only known work, Sermon Against the Heretics, bears the full title Homily of the Unworthy Presbyter Cosmas Against the Newly-Appeared Bogomil Heresy or, in other manuscripts, Sermon of Saint Cosmas Presbyter Against the Heretics, A Discussion and an Instruction from the Books of God. It has been preserved in 25 full copies, all from East SlavicEast Slavic languages
The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. It is the group with the largest numbers of speakers, far out-numbering the Western and Southern Slavic groups. Current East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian,...
sources, and 116 excerpts or compilations, some of which are of South Slavic
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...
origin. The earliest of the extant copies was made in the 15th century. As attested by the large number of copies, Cosmas' work was particularly popular in medieval Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. There, it was even used as a basis for writings against other heresies.
The treatise is recognised as the earliest and most complete work to tell of the nature of Bogomilism, its origins and its dualistic
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...
doctrine. As Catharism originated from Bogomilism, Sermon Against the Heretics is valuable as an insight into Catharism's Balkan
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
predecessor. It is also an important source on life and society in 10th-century Bulgaria, which is described as suffering a major crisis, the glorious days of Peter's father Simeon the Great
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
(r. 893–927) long over.
Sermon Against the Heretics is divided into two sections, which may be seen as separate works due to their somewhat different topics. The first part presents details about various aspects of the Bogomil heresy and identifies a certain priest named Bogomil
Bogomil (priest)
Bogomil was a 10th-century Bulgarian priest and heresiarch, who was connected with the origins of Bogomilism. According to Cosmas the Priest the priest Bogomil first began to preach his heresy in Bulgaria in the reign of the Peter I of Bulgaria , which indicates that Cosmas must have been writing...
as its founder (though, Cosmas claims, it was actually an act of the devil himself). The first section of the treatise is a vehement criticism of Bogomilism and its disobedient followers, whom Cosmas accuses of contributing to the degradation of Bulgarian society. As Cosmas purposefully employed around 70 quotations from Apostle Paul to debunk the beliefs of Bogomils, he was very likely aware of the sect's ancestral ties to Paulicianism
Paulicianism
Paulicians were a Christian Adoptionist sect and militarized revolt movement, also accused by medieval sources as Gnostic and quasi Manichaean Christian. They flourished between 650 and 872 in Armenia and the Eastern Themes of the Byzantine Empire...
.
The second part of the treatise contains Cosmas' criticism on contemporary Bulgarian society, with particular attention to the religious and social issues of the time. While Cosmas was a staunch supporter of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church's policies against Bogomilism, in the second section he spares no criticism to that religious body's other practices. Cosmas accuses the Bulgarian abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
s and bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s of greed, gluttony and neglect towards the congregation. He is also critical of hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
s, whose popularity and influence at the time Cosmas saw as inappropriate. Cosmas hints that the emergence of Bogomilism should be blamed at least partially on the contemporary state of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Legacy
Kozma CoveKozma Cove
Kozma Cove is a 1.8 km wide cove indenting for 1.2 km the north coast of Desolation Island between the two arms of that V-shaped island situated in the entrance to Hero Bay, Livingston Island, Antarctica. The area was frequented by early nineteenth century English and American sealers...
on Desolation Island
Desolation Island (South Shetland Islands)
Desolation Island is one of the minor islands in the South Shetlands archipelago, Antarctica situated at the entrance to Hero Bay, Livingston Island. The island is V-shaped with its northern coast indented by Kozma Cove. Surface area ....
of the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
in Antarctica was named in honour of Cosmas the Priest by the Antarctic Place-names Commission
Antarctic Place-names Commission
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. The Commission approves Bulgarian place names in Antarctica, which are formally given by the President of the...
of Bulgaria. The northeastern Bulgarian village of Kozma Prezviter in Omurtag Municipality
Omurtag (town)
Omurtag is a town at the eastern foot of Stara Planina in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Targovishte Province, situated at 525 m above sea level. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Omurtag Municipality...
, Targovishte Province
Targovishte Province
Targovishte Province is a province in northeastern Bulgaria, named after its main city - Targovishte. As of December 2009, it has a population of 129,675 inhabitants.-Municipalities:...
, bears the name of the medieval writer. Until it was renamed in 1934, it was known under the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
appellation Kara Chufallar. Streets in the major cities of Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
, Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
and Pernik
Pernik
Pernik is a city in western Bulgaria with a population of 81,052 . It is the main city of Pernik Province and lies on both banks of the Struma River in the Pernik Valley between the Viskyar, Vitosha and Golo Bardo mountains.Originally the site of a Thracian fortress founded in the 4th century BC,...
have also been dedicated to Cosmas the Priest.