Sts. Cosmas and Damian
Nothing is known of their lives except that they suffered martyrdom in Syria during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian.
A church erected on the site of their burial place was enlarged by
the emperor Justinian. Devotion to the two saints spread rapidly in both
East and West. A famous basilica was erected in their honor in
Constantinople. Their names were placed in the canon of the Mass
(Eucharistic Prayer I) , probably in the sixth century.
Legend
says that they were twin brothers born in Arabia, who became skilled
doctors. They were among those who are venerated in the East as the
"moneyless ones" because they did not charge a fee for their services.
It was impossible that such prominent persons would escape unnoticed in
time of persecution: They were arrested and beheaded.
Nine centuries later, Francis of Assisi (October 4) rebuilt the dilapidated San Damiano chapel outside Assisi.
No comments:
Post a Comment