Skip to content
Thursday, November 12
Prophet Ahijah the Shilonite
Sinaxarion

Venerable Martyr

Kosmas the Agiannanite

of St Anne Skete

A hesychast of St Anne Skete, beheaded at Constantinople for confessing Christ in 1760; canonized.

Feast
December 3old style December 16
Reposed
176018th century
Place
Skete of St Anne (Great Lavra), Mount Athos
Order
Martyrs

Life

Kosmas the Agiannanite was a hesychast of the Skete of St Anne on Mount Athos who received a martyr's death at Constantinople in 1760. He is honoured as a holy venerable martyr; canonized, he is commemorated on 3 December.

No details of his origins or life have survived. The Greek synaxarion tradition and the book of Moses the Athonite say only that after a long life of stillness and prayer in the skete he was kindled by divine love, went to Constantinople, preached Christ, exposed the error of the unbelievers and received the crown of martyrdom. He was beheaded. The prohegumen Makarios, in his description of the Great Lavra of 1757, mentions him as Kosmas the Spartiote and says that he was beheaded at Constantinople for confessing Christ; the 1780 edition places his suffering in 1760.

The Skete of St Anne, from which he came, gave the Church several holy venerable fathers and new martyrs. His memory is kept on 3 December.

Commemorated the same day December 3