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Encyclopedia > Cosmas and Damian
The Beheading of Cosmas and Damian, by Fra Angelico
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The Beheading of Cosmas and Damian, by Fra Angelico
The Shrine in St. Peter in Munich containing the skulls of Cosmas and Damian. Note, that their skulls are also in Madrid.
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The Shrine in St. Peter in Munich containing the skulls of Cosmas and Damian. Note, that their skulls are also in Madrid.

Saints Cosmas and Damian (died c. 303) were twins and early Christian martyrs, born in Cilicia, or in Arabia, 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, and as Cosimo in Italian. Il Beato Fra Giovanni Angelico da Fiesole (the Beatified Friar John the Angelic of Fiesole) (Vicchio di Mugello, Florence 1395 – Rome 1455), better known in the English-speaking world as Fra Angelico (the Angelic Friar), or in Continental Europe as Beato Angelico (the Blessed Angelic One) was a famous painter... Events Diocletian launched the last major persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire; Hierocles was said to have been the instigator of the fierce persecution of the Christians under February 24 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire. ... Fraternal twin boys in the tub Twin births occur in most species. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for their convictions or religious faith, such as during the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. ... Cilicia as Roman province, 120 AD In Antiquity, Cilicia (Ki-LIK-ya) was a region, and often a political unit, on the southeastern coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), north of Cyprus. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... Iskenderun, formerly known in the west as Alexandretta or previously as Scanderoon, is a city in the Turkish province of Hatay. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia (also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia today) is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the The Encyclopedia Press, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. // History The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11... The word faith has various uses; its central meaning is similar to belief, trust or confidence, but unlike these terms, faith tends to imply a transpersonal rather than interpersonal relationship – with God or a higher power. ...


During the Diocletian persecution, 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, they stayed true to their faith through a series of gruesome tortures that did not harm them, and finally suffered execution by beheading. Antimo, Leonzio and Euprepio, their younger brothers, who were inseparable from them throughout life, shared in their martyrdom. Emperor Diocletian Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (245?–312?), born Diocles, was Roman Emperor as Diocletian from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305. ... Beheading. ...


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


As early as the 4th century, churches dedicated to the twin saints were established at Jerusalem, in Egypt and in Mesopotamia. Theodoret records the division of their relics. Their relics, deemed miraculous, were buried in the city of Cyrus in Syria (CE). Churches were built in their honor by Patriarch Proclus and by Emperor Justinian I (527-565), who sumptuously restored the city of Cyrus and dedicated it to the twins, but brought their relics to Constantinople, where following his cured ascribed to the intercession of Cosmas and Damian, Justinian, in gratitude also built and adorned their church at Constantinople, and it became a celebrated place of pilgrimage. At Rome Pope Felix IV (526-530) rededicated a basilica in the Forum of Vespasian in their honour, formerly the Library of Peace (Bibliotheca Pacis). Much rebuilt but still famed for its 6th-century mosaics illustrating the saints. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Jerusalem (31°46′N 35°14′E; Hebrew: (help· info) Yerushalayim; Arabic: (help· info) al-Quds) is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meter. ... Sumerian list of gods in cuneiform script, ca. ... Theodoret (393 – c. ... Saint Proclus (d. ... Justinian I depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the St. ... Map of Constantinople. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2. ... Felix IV was Pope from 526 to 530. ... View of the Neapolitan Crib of the Basilica from the Palatine Hill. ... The Imperial Forums consist of a series of monumental fora (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The forums were the heart of the late Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire. ...


Their skulls are venerated in the convent of the Clares in Madrid, where they have been since 1581, the gift of Maria, daughter of Emperor Charles V. They had previously been removed from Rome to Bremen in the 10th century, and thence to Bamberg (Matthews). Additionally, their skulls are also enshrined in the church St. Michael in Munich. According to the inscription, the shrine was manufactured in Bremen around 1400 and brought with the relics to St. Michael in 1649 by Maximilian I of Bavaria (born about 100 years later in 1756). Charles (February 24, 1500 – September 21, 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor (as Charles V) from 1519-1558; he was also King of Spain from 1516-1556, officially as Charles I of Spain, although often referred to as Charles V (Carlos Quinto or Carlos V) in Spain and Latin America. ... Munich and the Bavarian Alps Munich (German: München (pronounced listen) is the largest city and capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria. ... Bremen may mean: Bremen (city), the city in Germany itself Bremen Airport Bremen (state), which comprises the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven Archbishopric of Bremen, a historical state to the north of the city Duchy of Bremen, a historical state created on the secularization of the archbishopric in 1648 Bremen... Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria. ...


Their feast day in the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints was 27 September but has been moved to 26 September as an optional commemoration. The Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate the feast of Saints Kosmas and Damian on 1 July, 17 October, and 1 November, and venerates three pairs of saints of the same name and profession. Cosmas and Damian are regarded as the patrons of physicians and surgeons and are sometimes represented with medical emblems. Little is known of the non-Roman Kosmas and Damian except that they lived similar lives to those in Rome or Cilicia. The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ... September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ...


In Brazil, the twin saints are regarded as protectors of children, and 27 September is commemorated by giving children bags of candy with the saints' effigy printed on them. In Isernia, near Naples, they served as phallic saints and were invoked for fertility. September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ... Isernia is a town and comune in the southern Italian region of Molise, 41°46N, 14°14E at 423 m (1388 ft) above sea level. ... Naples panorama Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. ... Phallic saints were actual saints or local deities who were invoked for fertility; more than vulgar representations of the phallus, phallic saints were benevolent symbols of prolificacy and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and especial worship among barren women and young girls. ...


See also

Early Christian physician, born in Arabia who along with his brother Saint Damian, practiced the art of healing in the seaport of Ægea (modern Ayash) on the Gulf of Iskanderun. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
saints cosmas and damian (992 words)
Cosmas and Damian are patron saints of physicians and pharmacists, they are invoked in the Canon of the Mass, and their feast day is Sept. 26.
Cosmas and Damian kneel in the foreground of this large, nearly square panel; Cosmas gestures out to the viewer, while Damian, his back turned, remains in rapt contemplation of the divine Child.
Cosmas and Damian had been adopted as patron saints by the Medici, the most powerful family in 15th century Florence, perhaps motivated by a play on words -- the family surname, Medici, means "doctors" in Italian, and Cosimo=Cosmas.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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