Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/September 26

Saints Cosmas and Damian (Κοσμάς και Δαμιανός) (died ca. 303) were twins and early Christian martyrs, born in Cilicia, or in Arabia (CE), who practiced the art of healing in the seaport of Ægea (modern Ayash) in the Gulf of Iskanderun, then in the Roman province of Syria. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, they accepted no payment for their services, which led them to be nicknamed anargyroi or The Silverless. It is said that by this, they led many to the Christian faith. Cosmas' name is rendered as Côme in French, as Cosimo in Italian, as Cosme in Portuguese, as Козма (Kozma) in Serbian and Bulgarian or as Kozman in Coptic.

During the persecution under Diocletian, Cosmas and Damian were arrested by order of the Prefect of Cilicia, one Lysias who is otherwise unknown, who ordered them under torture to recant. However, according to legend they stayed true to their faith through a series of gruesome tortures that did not harm them, and finally suffered execution by beheading. Anthimus, Leontius and Euprepius, their younger brothers, who were inseparable from them throughout life, shared in their martyrdom.

Their most famous miraculous exploit was the grafting of a leg from a recently deceased Ethiopian to replace a patient's ulcered leg, and was the subject of many paintings and illuminations.

Attributes: depicted as twins, beheaded, or with medical emblems
Patronage: surgeons, physicians, protectors of children, barbers, pharmacists, veterinarians
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