Tag: Ss. Cosmas and Damian

Ss. Cosmas and Damian

On July 1, we celebrate the memory of two holy men that are included in a special category of sanctity in the Byzantine Church: Unmercenary Healers, Ss. Cosmas and Damian. There were man who did a special service for the Christian faithful: they served the physical needs of those afflicted by illnesses, and cared for them without recompense. They were images of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Physician of Souls and Bodies. Indeed, they were more than simply doctors who healed bodies, but they were wonder-workers who brought spiritual healing through the grace of God, fulfilling the Lord’s command, “Freely you have received; freely you are to give. (Matthew 10:8)” They were holistic healers of the whole human person.

We sing today: “You first showed yourselves to be good doctors by cleansing all our sicknesses by faith, then you took up the spiritual battle, and divinely drove away the spiritual illnesses of corruption.” (Sticheron at Psalm 140, Tone 1).

Unmercenary healers always come in pairs. This is a sign of both our oneness in Christ and our need for mutual support. For one to live as a true hermit in solitude was rare, and it still needed the permission and support of a spiritual father. Two men struggling the ascetical life together for mutual support was very common in monastic life. Of course, there was then also the community life of men and women living in community in the search for the presence of God. Cosmas and Damian lived in Rome in the third century.

Other unmercenary healers were: “Antipas, Charalampius and Blaise, the most honored bishop martyrs; Spyridon and Modestus, the all-splendid luminaries of the Church; the three pairs of divinely wise saints Cosmas and Damian, who shared the same names and the same ways; Cyrus and the glorious John; the divine Panteleimon and Hermolaus; Diomedes and Sampson; together with Mocius, Photius and Anicetas, Artemius, Thalalaeus and Tryphon.

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

Saints Cosmas and Damian

Saints Cosmas and Damian were twins born to Christian parents in Arabia, in the third century. They lived in the region around the border between modern day Turkey and Syria. …[The brothers] were physicians who were renowned for their skill as well as their refusal to charge for their services. Before beside manner was a “thing”, they had a loving and respectful way, and for this reason, they were called by the Church “unmercenary physicians” (Anargyroi in Greek).

Their charity and Christian witness won many converts to the faith and earned them a place of prominence in the Christian communities of Asia Minor. Therefore, when the Diocletian persecutions began in the latter half of the third century they were of some of the first to be sought out for execution.

In 287, they were captured and ordered to deny their faith in Christ. They refused and underwent a series of tortures, including Crucifixion, from which, miraculously, they remained unscathed. The torturers, weary of what they realized was the impossible task of forcing apostasy from their mouths, finally beheaded them both. (DA, edited)

Saints Cosmas and Damian, help us to live our faith and be people of virtue, pray for us.
Saints Cosmas and Damian, pray for our medical professionals.