Kosmas the Zographite

Kosmas the Zographite or Kozma Zografski (Bulgarian: Козма Зографски) was a medieval Bulgarian saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Saint Kozma was born in the second half of the 13th century in Tarnovo, the capital of the Bulgarian Empire, to a noble family. He received solid education and was fluent in Greek language.^[1] His family wanted to marry him but he desired to become a monk and eventually left for Mount Athos. He went to the Bulgarian Zograf Monastery but eventually retired to a rock cell that he carved himself in the vicinity of the monastery.^[1] He lived there as an ascetic until his death on 22 September 1323.^[1][2]

His hagiography was written in Greek and translated into Bulgarian by protohegumen Euthymius in 1802.^[2] According to the hagiography, Kozma Zografski was able to see spirits hidden from the sight of men.^[1] The feast day of Kozma Zografski is 22 September.

• Андреев (Andreev), Йордан (Jordan); Лазаров (Lazarov), Иван (Ivan); Павлов (Pavlov), Пламен (Plamen) (2012). Кой кой е в средновековна България [Who is Who in Medieval Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). Изток Запад (Iztok Zapad). ISBN 978-619-152-012-1.

Primary sources

• I. Dujčev, ‘La Vie de Kozma de Zographou’, Hilandarski Zbornik, 2 (Belgrade, 1971), 59–67 (Slavic text of his Life)
• F. Halkin, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca, I (Brussels, 19573), p. 136, no. 393, 393b. (Greek text of his Life)