Cosma and Damiano are patrons of doctors, surgeons and pharmacists. They took care of the sick for free and for this they were martyred under Dioclezano. For this they are called medical saints. Their cult is widespread, in Italy, especially in the central south. In Bitonto (Bari) the sanctuary dedicated to them attracts thousands of pilgrims every year.
the biography
On the life of Cosma and Damiano the news is scarce. It is known that they were twins and Christians. Born in Arabia, they dedicated themselves to the care of the sick after studying medical art in Syria. But they were special doctors. Pushed by a higher inspiration, in fact they did not pay for. Hence the nickname of Anàrgiri (Greek term which means “without silver”, “without money”). But this attention to the sick was also a very effective instrument of apostolate.
A mission that cost the life of the two brothers, who were martyred. During the kingdom of Emperor Diocletian, perhaps in 303, the Roman governor made them behead.
It happened in Ciro, a city close to Antioch of Syria where martyrs are buried.
Another narrative attests instead that they were killed in Egea of Cilicia, Asia Minor, by order of the Governor Lisia, and then translated to Ciro.
Cult
The cult of Cosma and Damiano has been certified with certainty since the fifth century. Already shortly after death: dedication of churches and monasteries in Constantinople, Asia Minor, Bulgaria, Greece, Jerusalem.
Their fame came quickly in the West, starting from Rome, with the oratory dedicated to them by Pope Simmaco (498- 514) and with the basilica wanted by Felice IV (526-530).
Their two names, then, were pronounced infinite times, under all the skies, every day starting from the 6th century, in the canon of mass, which after the apostles recalls twelve martyrs, closing the list precisely with their names: Cosma and Damiano. The cult for the two saints, passed from the East to Europe, “remained extraordinarily alive to the whole Renaissance, Giving rise to one of the richest iconography of the West, especially in Italy, France and Germany ».
More than a thousand years after their death, the name of one of them is given to what the Florentines will call father of the homeland: Cosimo de ‘Medici the old man. And the house calls to illustrate the life of the two holy artists as the artists such as the Blessed Angelico, Filippo Lippi and Sandro Botticelli.
The three dates for the anniversary
The sources on the life of Saints Cosma and Damiano are not fully concordant with each other, despite having many common aspects, but report three different traditions: a tradition “Asian”originating in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire; a tradition “Romana” affirmed above all in Syria; a tradition “Arab”which however spread above all in Western Europe (Rome).
The three traditions of their life were also included in the context of the Greek liturgical books, and to each tradition the specific holiday was indicated: the “Asian” tradition on 1 November, the “Roman” tradition on 1 July, the “Arabian” tradition on 17 October.
The Catholic tradition instead established liturgical memory on September 27th (probably the day of the dedication of the Roman basilica, according to the traditional calendar still used for the Tridentine mass), however Paul VI moved it to September 26, making it the optional cult. The Orthodox Church set for their commemoration on 1 July, October 17 and November 1st, depending on the various local costumes.
