haralampopoulosjc wrote: ↑Tue 12 August 2025 6:37 pm
I would like to know more about the reputation of Bishop Cozma Lostun among the BOSVR. He was unjustly excluded from the synod in the 1980s, and he ended up joining with my synod, which at the time was under the presidency of Blessed Andreas of Athens. Here is an old entry from a defunct website of our synod regarding our relations with Bishop Cozma..
Hello and good day!! Ahh yes Bishop Cozma. I will be honest, I am not as privy or 100% knowledgable on his Situation and his later Life however I do know some things. When he was a very young adult, he wanted to follow close to our beloved Saint, Holy Hierarch Glicherie who at the time was a Hieromonk so he became a Monastic of the Church and would on and off see Saint Glicherie when he could and when he was not administering to others or speaking with others such as Holy Hierodeacon David Bidascu whom Saint Glicherie was very close with as friends. After Saint Glicherie was appointed a Bishop, he was made a Hieromonk and then later an Abbot of Slatioara and then Bishop in 1978. Bishop Cozma very much admired the Holy Hierarch and was there for much of his Life.
Given the Situation that barely any of our Clergy could exit the Iron Curtain, we did get very minor moments where we managed to get some Clergy to go across it and enter Greece. We had very limited knowledge but first saw Metropolitan Kallistos and his Synod and entered into Formal Communion with him which wasn't an issue with any of us. He even came to Slatioara to concelebrate as well which was good. After Metropolitan Kallistos passed, Leadership went towards Metropolitan Cyprian and given we were still kinda closed off, we continued the Relations as it were despite a few with minor Skepticism and hearing some Rumours. In 1984 Bishop Cozmas was one of them who said he was a skeptic and should remain out of Communion with him but he went as far as to say the entire Synod was Heretical (This was some left to go back to what would be GOC Kallinikos). By this point as well, he was being accused of harvesting Money for the Synod and a few other accusations and actually letting a Fire Spread abit more than it could have, which broke out at Slatioara Monastery due to, what some may see, his dissatisfaction with the Holy Synod. Whether the latter part is true or not, I can't say though I would lean no because of the fact he went on to write letters to the Communist President Nicolae to get Police and Investigators involved so he can be proven right. As you can see, that will probably raise some goosebumps among Clergy and Monastics in Slatioara Monastery though nothing came up of this Letter to the Governemnt.
In our view, HSR wasn't holding to Cyprianite in their Confession of Faith and we even stated this during the early 2000s when his Thesis was becoming more known to the public. Mind you, we had not as much Information of what goes on in Greece 24/7 esp in the 1980s and 1990s but nonetheless when our Bishops vetted them and inquired this about them, Bishop Ambrose of Methone and Bishop Auxentios (Who to this day also explain this) told us that their Confession of Faith wasn't Cyprianite and held to an Orthodox Confession and Faith, which they presented and showed us, and explained that the Thesis was simply a Thesis, not a Dogma. It was initially a more behind the doors Synodal Discussion in the HSR which Metropolitan Cyprian mingled with and talked about however the Holy Synod came into an agreement to put it to the side and conclude that their current COF was correct and they will stick to it. As for any accusations leveled on Metropolitan Cyprian which is more private is up to debate, I am only explaining how Clergy of our Church views the Situation generally here on the matter of HSR.
At this point in 1985, Bishop Cozma started to be shunned away and restricted from Slatioara Monastery along with communications with Saint Glicherie who was essentially bed ridden before his passing in the same year. At the same time he went back to his Native Village in the Saru Dornei Commune and sent a Letter to Bishop, later Metropolitan, Silvestru accusing him of trying to hijack the Synod and change it's Ecclesiology, though many found the accusation quite ridiculous especially knowing Metropolitan Silvestru who was commited to holding a Solid Confession of Faith. Bishop Cozma was also put on temporary suspension from the Episcopacy in the same year, however he was not defrocked or anything as of yet, for causing some ruckus and acting out abit and a few other things that accumulated and in the same year also began plans for Constructing his new Dornelor Monastery which wasnt completed until 1990. By 1989, almost every one sees him as a disgruntled kind of rogue Bishop who didnt want to relax himself and chat with the Synod anymore so he announced his Seperation from Slatioara.
From there Bishop Cozma was kind of on his own and had very little Clerical support. In 1999, after having a Stroke and having troubles moving, he heard of Saint Glicherie's incorrupt relics and recognized him as a Saint and even tried to go to venerate his Relics but he didnt manage to due to his Condition so he recognized Saint Glicherie as a Holy Saint. One of the most notable People who was with Bishop Cozma since the 1990s was the Nephew of Metropolitan Vlasie, Archimandrite Iosif. He would help to build and take care of the Monastery and even become the Abbot until after his passing in 2002, and the nafter a few years he went to be under the Omophorion of Metropolitan Vlasie and eventually become one of the Bishops of the Holy Synod.
As for Bishop Cozma, well there is the Story with him and what happened and etc. We still have his Grave Stone still standing at Dornelor Monastery to this Day as far as I know and I can't say I agree with the decisions though Im sure People were understanding of his concerns and such. Im not here to cast stones at him per say and I could have missed some things that my Priest didn't tell me or Information about him from my Synod but generally this is what transpired.
