Saints Cosmas and Damian (Died about 287 AD) (Excerpts from article - “Saints in Triplicate”- 6/15/2015)

Often times the can be filled with many confusing and dubious stories. Saints Cosmas and Damian are one such example. Why? Because in the Eastern Orthodox calendar, there are:

Three different pairs of brothers, who are twins, with exactly the same names and titles, and who were all physicians. of Saints Cosmas and Damian, 17th century, Historic Museum in Sanok, 1. Pair one is said to have been born in and martyred. Poland 2. Pair two is said to have been born in Arabia and martyred. 3. And the final pair of brothers and physicians is said to have been born in Asia Minor, which is the oldest of the three. This pair was the twin sons of Theodote and died of natural causes.

To confuse matters further, all three pairs of twins are given the title ΑΝΑΡΓΥΡΟΙ in Greek. Which means “Without silver”, meaning that they did not accept payment for their medical services, and all were known for multiple, miraculous healings.

Unfortunately, the ranks of Eastern Orthodox saints have never really been critically examined and have never had, an investigative office, such as the Bollandists in the Roman , so the lives of saints commemorated by Eastern Orthodox can be confusing at times. As a result, the Orthodox church recognizes each pair of brothers as separate from each other, and thus, celebrates them accordingly.

Some modern scholars believe that these three sets of physician brothers, may have in fact been the same original pair, in triplicate, but with differing biographies; which had been added to over time. They believe the same pair of saints came about, because churches in different locations, came to assume that “their” Cosmas and Damian were different than the Cosmas and Damian commemorated elsewhere and because many of the documents about the lives of the saints were lost during tumultuous periods in history, people only had oral tradition to fall back on with regards to early church history, so conflicting stories ensued. ------Saints Cosmas and Damian are listed in the Roman Catholic and the . Some of the earliest representations of Saint Cosmas and Damian are preserved in twenty found in the Monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai. Founded in 527AD, it is the oldest operating Christian monastery in existence today. Isolated in the Sinai desert, the Monastery escaped waves of iconoclasm that led to the destruction of thousands of holy pictures, over a period of one hundred years.

Though it is commonly known as Saint Catherine's, the actual name of the monastery is the Monastery of the Transfiguration. It is sometimes also known as the Monastery of the Burning Bush, because it was built at the supposed site where Moses is believed to have seen the Burning Bush. (See the Video about this amazing monastery at our parish website’s UPPER ROOM or watch it in the “Upper Room” in the narthex after Mass)

A prayer requesting the intercession of Saints Cosmas and Damien for those in a medical profession: O My Jesus, Saints Cosmas and Damien were twins who became excellent doctors. They refused payment for their medical care because they believed that when they treated patients, they were also caring for You. By conveying great love, they won the hearts of their patients as they taught them about the Faith. I ask them to pray for my special skills so that I may use them for Your glory. I also ask them to pray for all those in the medical field and help them to grow in generosity of spirit. Please bring conversion to the unsaved and teach Christians to serve You through their professional lives. Saints Cosmas and Damien, pray for us. Amen.