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The two saints we honor on September 26 shared more than a profession.
Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, born in Arabia in the middle of the third century, and physicians who practiced medicine but never took any fees from their patients. In the Orthodox Church, they are known as the anargyroi, which is Greek for “moneyless ones.” Countless cures were credited to the brothers. One famous story says they were able to graft the leg of a recently deceased man onto a patient whose leg had become ulcerated.
Since they did not hide their Christian faith, around 287 they were arrested during the persecution of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Brought before the governor of Cilicia, they were tortured and beheaded in Cyrrhus, Syria. A basilica was built in their honor, and veneration of the two spread through the Christian world.
A second church was built in honor of Cosmas and Damian in…
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