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Saints Cosmas and Damian, the Unmercenaries: healing without payment
The Church honours Saints Cosmas and Damian, the Unmercenaries and wonderworkers, who came from Asia. Their parents were a model of Christian married life. When their mother Theodote was widowed, she devoted herself to raising her two sons in the Christian faith. The brothers showed great intelligence and diligence, studied many sciences, and took up medicine in particular.
They practised medicine as an act of charity toward their neighbour: they healed the sick, especially the poor, without taking payment, and so were called Anargyroi, those without silver. Many patients they healed wanted to thank them, but the saints refused thanks and answered with the words of Scripture: blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God for ever and ever (Revelation 7:12).
All praise, the post explains, belongs to God alone. The brothers served their neighbour in humility all their lives, died peacefully, and were buried at the place called Ferema.
Main points
- Cosmas and Damian came from Asia and were raised by their widowed mother Theodote in the Christian faith.
- They studied many sciences and practised medicine as charity, healing the poor without payment, which earned them the name Unmercenaries.
- They refused thanks from healed patients, answering with Revelation 7:12, that all glory belongs to God.
- They served their neighbour humbly all their lives, died peacefully, and were buried at Ferema.