September 26: Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs
Physicians of the Body and Soul
Cosmas and Damian appear to have been natives of Cilicia [in modern day Turkey], although in their Passio (text BHG 378) there is a statement in which they declare: “We are from a city of Arabia.” According to the text Life and Miracles (BHG 372), their mother was named Theodote, a very devout woman who raised them in the Christian faith and with moral integrity. She taught them to read using the Bible—particularly the Psalms—as their textbook.
The two brothers practiced medicine in the Cilician port of Aegeae, located in the Gulf of Alexandretta, and later in the Roman province of Syria. They never accepted money for their services, which earned them the name anargyroi (from the Greek ἀνάργυροι), meaning “without silver” or “without money.” This attitude drew many people to the Christian faith.
The healing power they had received from God was not used only to treat human beings but also livestock. One of the most famous miracles attributed to Cosmas and Damian, according to tradition, was the replacement of a patient’s diseased, ulcerated leg with a healthy limb taken from the body of a recently deceased Ethiopian.These two men—whether brothers or perhaps friends—remained united throughout their lives until their martyrdom in Cyrrhus, northern Syria, in the early 4th century, on account of their faith in Christ.
They were complete physicians: besides curing bodily ailments, they also cared for the sufferings of the soul and mind, freed those possessed by demons, and brought peace to the tormented.
The cult of Saints Cosmas and Damian spread rapidly from East to West. By the 5th century, magnificent basilicas had been dedicated to them—in Syria, in Cappadocia, in Constantinople, in Ravenna, and in Rome. In the latter city, their church preserves a mosaic depicting them offering their crowns to Christ, led by Saints Peter and Paul.
Cosmas was a very common name during the Italian Renaissance, borne even by members of the Medici family. They are the patron saints of physicians and surgeons.