We know Saint Nicholas as Nicholas of Myra, as the Wonderworker of Bari, and some devout Christians even refer to him as a Russian saint or, anachronistically, as a Turkish saint. Yet he is one and the same Saint Nicholas. In a similar, though quite different, way, Saints Cosmas and Damian came to be known as the Arabian, the Asian, and the Roman Saints, so that over time many believers came to regard them as three distinct pairs of saints. It is a remarkable example of Divine Providence, by which an apparent historical divergence became the very means of their universal veneration throughout the Church.
Cosmas and Damian
Dr Augustin Sokolovski
The Holy Unmercenary Physicians Cosmas and Damian were doctors who treated the sick without accepting payment, and God glorified them with the gift of miraculous healing. For this reason, the Church recognizes the Unmercenaries as a distinct rank of sanctity. Their veneration became so profound that the names of Cosmas and Damian, together with those of the other Holy Unmercenaries, entered the most ancient liturgical prayers of the Church, the Sacrament of Holy Unction, and the petitions for the sick. Their troparion begins with the Gospel command: “Freely you have received; freely give.” The grace of God is itself a gift bestowed freely. This is how they have remained forever in the living memory of the Church.
According to tradition, the saints were brothers. They were born in Arabia, educated in Syria, practiced medicine in Cilicia, and there suffered martyrdom for Christ. Through the writings of the great Father of the Church, St. Theodoret of Cyrrhus (393–457), their local veneration became universal. Churches dedicated to them were built in Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Edessa, and many other cities, while countless testimonies of healing made Cosmas and Damian among the most beloved saints of early Christianity.
A unique feature of their veneration is that their feast is celebrated three times each year. Over the centuries, this gave rise to the widespread misconception that there were three different pairs of saints: the Arabian, the Asian, and the Roman Cosmas and Damian. In reality, they are one and the same holy martyrs. These different titles reflect not different persons, but different chapters of their earthly life and posthumous veneration: their homeland, the place of their ministry and martyrdom, and the city where their cult achieved universal prominence.
There is a profound spiritual meaning in this. After the Arab conquests, the city of Cyrrhus, where the saints’ relics had rested, fell into ruin. Yet their memory did not disappear; on the contrary, it spread throughout the entire Christian world. Having lost their earthly home, they found a home in the memory of the whole Church. Human memory may forget a saint’s earthly origin, but the grace of God multiplies gratitude toward His saints. Thus, the three annual commemorations of Cosmas and Damian became not a division of their memory, but a witness to its universal fullness.
“The Light from the East”—this is how the ancient Church came to describe them. That light has not grown dim. To this day, the faithful turn to the Holy Unmercenary Physicians for the healing of body and soul, while their witness reminds us of a simple Gospel truth: goodness freely given knows no boundaries.