PRAY TO THEM IF YOU HAVE INSOMNIA, AND ALSO WHEN CONSECRATING WATER! Tomorrow we celebrate the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian!
Members of this honorable family lived devoted to God until the end of their lives. They lived and died in the Lord in the 5th century.
TL;DR
- Cosmas and Damian were spiritual brothers, not related by blood.
- Cosmas, a physician in Alexandria, healed people with both medicine and faith, stressing repentance for spiritual and physical health.
- During Diocletian's persecution, Cosmas moved to Arabia and became a monk.
- John, a Roman officer, met Cosmas in Arabia, and they became close companions in spiritual practice.
- They traveled to Canopus to encourage a Christian woman, Athanasia, and her three daughters, who were being tortured for their faith. Athanasia and her daughters were eventually martyred.
- Cosmas and John were subsequently captured, tortured, imprisoned, and finally beheaded in 311 AD.
- These holy martyrs performed numerous miracles both during their lives and after their deaths.
- Their relics were moved to Rome during the reign of Emperor Arcadius.
- They are specifically invoked for help with insomnia, during the consecration of water, and during the sacrament of anointing the sick.
- The troparion praises them as an unshakeable rock and asks for their prayers to thwart evil plans and strengthen the empire.