Day 23 − Thursday, 3rd Week of Lent - Sts Cosmas and Damian

Today I would like you to meet two of my favorite saints, the patron saints of physicians, Saints Cosmas and Damian (along with St. Luke). They have been following the pilgrimage and looking forward to meeting you. You will find them amazing friends to have along with us. Always nice to have a doctor in the house, and here we get two for one! Call on them when you are ill, and just see how attentive they can be!

Cosmas and Damian are Saints of the Roman Canon, mentioned in the Commemoration of the Living:

"Above all we venerate the memory of the glorious ever-virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, of blessed Joseph, her spouse, your blessed Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John . . . . . Linus, Cletus, Clemens, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian and all your Saints."

Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, physicians, during the last half of the 3rd century. They practiced in the seaport of Aegeae, in the Roman province of Syria. They accepted no payment for their services, which led to them being called Holy Unmercenaries and were instrumental by their service in many conversions to the Christian faith. They were arrested by the governor of Cilicia in Turkey during the Diocletian persecution because of their Christian faith and their fame as healers. Emperor Diocletian favored the worship of the pagan Olympian gods, so he had issued a series of edicts condemning Christians, with the goal of eliminating Christianity from the Roman Empire.

Right: Polish Icon of Sts Cosmas and Damian

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMHS_ss_Damian_i_Kosma_XVII_w_p.jpgBy Przykuta (Przykuta) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Left: Sts. Cosmas and Damian transplant a leg - Renaissance illustration

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABeinwunder_Cosmas_und_Damian.jpg

They were credited with a number of miracles during their lifetime, the most miraculous event was the removal of a Syrian patient's cancerous leg, and the replacement grafting of a leg from a recently deceased Ethiopian.

During the persecution of Diocletian, Cosmas and Damian were arrested, and ordered under torture to recant their faith, however, according to legend they remained true. They were first hung on a cross, then stoned, they were shot full of arrows, and finally beheaded. Their 3 younger brothers Anthimus, Leontius and Euprepius, inseparable from them throughout life, shared in their martyrdom.

Below: The Crucifixion, Stoning, and shooting with arrows of Sts. Cosmas and Damian - By Fra Angelico

www.wga.hu, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7283070

The painting below depicts the martyrdom of all 5 brothers.

The Martyrdom of Sts Cosmas and Damian - by Fra Angelico

"CosmasDamianfraangelico" by Original uploader was Polylerus at en.wikipedia - Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/was here.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CosmasDamianfraangelico.jpg

Facade of the Church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian in the Imperial Fora, taking advantage of already existing structures.

«SsCosmas Damian» av Nina Aldin Thune - no.wikipedia, Bilde:SsCosmas_Damian.jpg. Lisensiert under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SsCosmas_Damian.jpg

You're going to be amazed! Just wait . . .

The 6th century apse is absolutely stunning!

Church of Sts Cosmas and Damian across the ruins of the ancient Imperial Fori in Rome

By daryl_mitchell from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada - Santi Cosma e Damiano, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40680924

Front of the Basilica, built into the ruins the Forum

By David Castor (user:dcastor). Public domain. Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25887373

The would-be Emperor, Maxentius, later defeated by Constantine at the Battle of the Milvan Bridge, had this temple on the right dedicated to his son Romulus, who was divinized after his death. It was later incorporated into the basilica of Sts. Cosmas and Damian.

Right: Temple of Romulus in the Roman Forum

By xiquinhosilva from Cacau - 09760 - Rome - Temple of Romulus, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30177900

Above: Fresco of Pope Felix IV presenting a model of the Church to Sts. Cosmas and Damian following its restoration and re-dedication.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pope_Felix_presents_church_to_Cosmas_and_Damian.jpg

It was not much of a temple really, but more of a vestibule opening into a hall of Vespasian's Forum of Peace, which is now the church of Sts. Cosma e Damiano (Cosmas & Damian). The doors are original from the Imperial period. In 527, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, donated the library of the Forum of Peace and the Temple of Romulus to Pope Felix IV. The pope joined the two buildings to create a basilica which was re-dedicated to the brothers, Sts. Cosmas and Damian. It was meant to make a statement of contrast between the Christian Faith and the ancient pagan cult of the two brothers Castor and Pollux, who had been worshipped in the nearby Temple of Castor and Pollux.

Below: The Temple of Romulus in front of the Basilica of Cosmas and Damian

By Anthony M. from Rome, Italy - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1136266

Temple of Romulus incorporated into the Basilica of Cosmas and Damien

By xiquinhosilva from Cacau - 09768 - Rome - Temple of Romulus, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30177911

Madonna and Child inside the Temple of Romulus

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A1250325_Foro_-_tempio_di_Romolo_-_Madonna_in_trono_con_Cosma_e_Damiano.JPG

Above: The Temple of Romulus with the Basilica of Sts Cosmas and Damian in the back. Also the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina on our left.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APanLargeRomeForum%2C_sepolcretum.jpg

The apse was decorated in the 6th century with a Roman-Byzantine mosaic, representing the Parousia, or Second Coming of Christ at the end of time.

Above: Apse and Altar - Second Coming of Christ

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACosmedamiao9b5.jpgBy Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys) (taken by Ricardo André Frantz) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Above: Apse Mosaic - Peter and Paul Present the Martyrs to Christ

"ApseCosmasDamianChrist". Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ApseCosmasDamianChrist.jpg#mediaviewer/File:ApseCosmasDamianChrist.jpg

«Ss.C D.2» av Nina Aldin Thune - no.wikipedia, Bilde:Ss.C_D.2.jpg. Lisensiert under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ss.C_D.2.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Ss.C_D.2.jpg

«Ss.C D.3» av Nina Aldin Thune - no.wikipedia, Bilde:Ss.C_D.3.jpg. Lisensiert under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ss.C_D.3.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Ss.C_D.3.jpg

See the streams of Living Water that flow from the feet of the Lamb who was slain? Remember the story of the Samaritan woman at the well when Jesus asked her for a drink? "Jesus answered, and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst forever: but the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting. The woman said to Him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor continually return here to draw." We, too, must drink deep of this living water . . . . .

Jesus is going to Jerusalem; he knows what awaits him there. Yet the Scriptures tell us: "Now when the time grew near . . . he steadfastly set his face toward Jerusalem." No hesitation, no lingering, but in the appointed time to reach his destiny, the perfect sacrifice of Self to the Father's will. We are on the road to Jerusalem with Jesus . . . . .

Side chapels - By Dguendel - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39158944

Frescoes above the side chapels

By Migue lHermoso Cuesta - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31693305

The Cloister

By Dguendel - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39158790

The Cloister

By Migue lHermoso Cuesta - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31693308

Devotion to Sts. Cosmas and Damian spread far and wide.

Right: Cosmas and Damian are depicted here with the arms of the medieval guild of barber-surgeons. Carved into a capital - Carmes monastery in southwestern France - 15th century

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:French_-_Double_Capital_Depicting_Saints_Cosmas_and_Damian_(Guild_of_Barber-Surgeons)_-_Walters_27572.jpg

Blessed Sts. Cosmas and Damian, you were healers of bodily ailments through your dependence on the Lord. Freely you were given the gift of healing and of conversion, and freely you gave back to your fellow men. Pray for us. We also wish to heal others, and bring to them the Living Water that heals souls. Lord Jesus, give us this Living Water, that we may never thirst, but be fountains of Living Water to all we meet, even as your servants and sons, Cosmas and Damian were so long ago.

The collect church or today is San Marco al Campidoglio

Tomorrow we get to spend the day again with dear old St Lawrence. As always, I am sure he will have a lot to share with us. It will be good to see our old friend again.

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