Kosmas was born in the
Greek village of
Mega Dendron near the town of
Thermo in the region of
Aetolia. He studied
Greek and theology before becoming a monk after a trip to
Mount Athos, where he also attended the local
Theological Academy. After two years Kosmas left Athos. He studied
rhetoric in
Constantinople for a time. He called upon Christians to establish schools and learn
Biblical Koine Greek, so that they might understand the Scriptures better and generally educate themselves. After the
Orlov Revolt of 1770 in the
Peloponnese (which was provoked by the
Orlov brothers with the support of
Catherine II of the
Russian Empire), Kosmas started to preach in what is now Southern
Albania, Kosmas was also viewed with suspicion by officials of the
Venetian Republic, then in its final stages of decline, which ruled parts of the territory where he was active. For example, in 1779 he is said to have visited the Venetian-ruled town of
Preveza and founded there a Greek school, which would be the only school of the city during the 18th century – an act which the Venetian authorities might have considered as undermining their rule. The Venetians' suspicions are attested in spy reports about Kosmas preserved in the Venetian archives. In contrast, Kosmas had considerable support from other Christians and even from some Turks. In his sermons Kosmas often refers negatively to the
Jews. Nevertheless, in one of his preachings he stated specifically that: "Those who wrong Christians,
Jews or Turks (could refer to Muslims in general) would be paid back for the injustice they committed". One effect of his preaching was to transfer the holding of the weekly
bazaar (fair) from Sunday to Saturday, which brought economic losses to Jews – barred by their religion from engaging in business on
Sabbath. Some researchers believe that for that reason, Jews in Epirus were involved in his conviction by the Ottoman authorities. Accused of being a Russian agent, he was seized by Ottoman authorities. On 24 August 1779, he was executed at
Kolkondas,
Fier District, near the mouth of the
Seman river (in present-day Albania). There were no formal charges brought against him, nor was he put on trial before being executed – leading to various theories, persisting up to the present, about who might have wanted him dead. ==Legacy==