Among the saints and martyrs of the Early Church, few were more widely praised than the twin doctors Saints Cosmas and Damian. Their ministry to the sick and valiant witness to the Christian faith is a great example for Catholics of any age.
Here are seven things to know about the lives and legacy of these great followers of Jesus Christ, the physician of souls.
1. The twins were born in third-century Arabia and later established their medical practice in the port city of Aegeae on the southern coast of modern-day Turkey.
2. Inspired by their Catholic faith, the brothers refused payment for their services and were given the title, Anargyroi, “the silverless,” for their charity and generosity.
3. During the period of persecution under Roman Emperor Diocletian, the local prefect Lysias arrested Cosmas and Damian and tortured them so they would recant their faith. However, the twins miraculously survived drowning, burning at the stake, and stoning, before they were ultimately beheaded.
4. Many miracles are attributed to the saints, such as curing blindness and fever, and the miraculous transplantation of a cancerous leg.
5. Devotion to the martyred physicians quickly spread spread throughout the Church, leading to the construction of shrines and churches in their honor, from Constantinople to Salisbury.
6. Saints Cosmas and Damian have been commemorated in the Church’s liturgical celebrations for millennia. Their names are listed in the Roman Canon and the Litany of the Saints.
7. Saints Cosmas and Damian are the patron saints of surgeons, physicians, twins, and against sickness.
Prayer for the intercession of Saints Cosmas and Damian
O glorious martyrs of Christ,
Saints Cosmas and Damian,
you gave your lives for the love of God,
benefiting your fellow man, and crowning your martyrdom
with an open and loyal profession of your faith.
You taught us to love God above all things,
and to love our fellow man as ourselves,
professing always, and without fear,
the religion of Jesus.
Augmenting amongst the faithful populace many miracles,
you are glorious indeed.
Through your intercession,
which brings about deliverance of these miracles,
we pray to you for your aid in all things.
May your patronage never be far from us
in the illness of our body and soul.
Oh great protectors,
Saints Cosmas and Damian,
assist us with your love and free us from all evils.
Amen.