Saint Cosmas the Hymnographer, Bishop of Maiuma

The parents of Saint John of Damascus took in a Christian orphan named Cosmas, who had been left without parents at a young age. They raised him together with John. Cosmas studied under a monk, also named Cosmas, and upon reaching maturity, he withdrew to the monastery of Saint Savva the Sanctified, where he took monastic vows and labored in piety. During the period of iconoclasm, he urged Saint John of Damascus to defend the holy icons and composed inspired troparia and canons for church services. Later, he was appointed as the bishop of Maium, where he worked diligently for the good of his flock. Saint Cosmas peacefully reposed in the Lord, reaching a ripe old age around the year 787.