Saints Cosmas & Damian, Martyrs
Ss. Cosmae et Damiani Martyrum
Saints Cosmas and Damian, brothers and physicians who healed the sick without payment for the love of Christ, sealed their charity by a martyr’s death and are venerated as patrons of doctors and the healing arts.
Saints Cosmas and Damian were brothers who, by the constant tradition of the Church, practised the art of medicine and gave their lives in witness to Christ during the persecutions of the early centuries. They are venerated as among the most honoured of the early martyrs of the East, and their fame spread quickly through the whole Church, so that their names were inscribed in the Canon of the Mass and churches were raised in their honour at Rome and in many places.
The holy physicians
Tradition relates that Cosmas and Damian were skilled in the healing of the body, and that they exercised their art among the sick with such charity that they would take no payment for their services, ministering to all who came to them for the love of God and seeking the salvation of souls together with the cure of bodies. For this reason they have long been surnamed the “moneyless ones,” the holy physicians who healed without reward; and by their generous charity they drew many to the faith of Christ.
When persecution came upon the Christians, the two brothers were seized and called upon to deny their Lord. Steadfast in faith, they refused, and after enduring sufferings they were put to death for the name of Christ. The particular details of their passion belong to early tradition rather than to the certain record of history; but their martyrdom and the early and widespread veneration paid to them are firmly established, and the Church has honoured them among her martyrs from ancient times.
Their veneration
So great was the devotion of the faithful to Saints Cosmas and Damian that their names were placed in the Roman Canon among the holy martyrs whose intercession is invoked at the altar, and they have ever been counted among the chief patrons of physicians, surgeons, and all who care for the sick. Their feast is kept on the twenty-seventh of September.
The collect of their feast asks that we who keep the heavenly birthday of the holy martyrs Cosmas and Damian may be delivered by their intercession from all the dangers that threaten us. In these two brothers the Church honours men who used their skill not for gain but for charity, who served the sick as they would serve Christ himself, and who completed their lives of mercy by the witness of martyrdom.
The Collect
Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God: that we who keep the heavenly birthday of thy holy Martyrs Cosmas and Damian, may by their intercession be delivered from all the dangers that beset us.
Præsta, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut, qui sanctórum Martyrum tuórum Cosmæ et Damiáni natálitia cólimus, a cunctis malis imminéntibus, eórum intercessiónibus, liberémur.
Patronage
They are venerated as patrons of physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, and all who care for the sick, and their names are inscribed in the Canon of the Mass.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar they are observed on the same day, 27 September, as an optional memorial.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian?
Their feast is kept on 27 September in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast. The modern calendar likewise observes them on 27 September, as an optional memorial.
Who were Saints Cosmas and Damian?
They were brothers and physicians who, by ancient tradition, healed the sick without taking payment, for the love of Christ, and who were martyred for the faith in the early centuries. They are venerated among the most honoured of the early martyrs and are named in the Canon of the Mass.
Why are they patrons of physicians?
Because tradition remembers them as skilled doctors who exercised their art freely and charitably, ministering to the sick without reward and seeking the good of souls together with the healing of bodies. For this reason they have long been invoked as patrons of physicians, surgeons, and all who care for the sick.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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