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Unmercenary3rd century

Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Asia

3rd century

Also known as the Anargyroi · Cosmas and Damian of Mesopotamia · sons of Theodota

Brother physicians of Asia Minor, sons of the pious Theodota, who healed both people and animals freely for the love of Christ, taking no payment, and reposed in peace; the chief of the Holy Unmercenaries.

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Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Asia
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Commemorated as

The Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Asia

Come to them for
Healing

Life

Cosmas and Damian of Asia were brother physicians of Asia Minor who treated the sick without accepting any payment, and who came to be reckoned the foremost of the Holy Unmercenaries (Anargyroi, the "silverless ones"). According to their life, they were raised by their widowed mother, Theodota, who brought them up as Christians after their pagan father died during their childhood, instructing them by her own example and by the sacred texts she shared with them.

Trained as physicians, the brothers were celebrated for healing illnesses of body and soul by prayer, extending their care even to animals, and refusing all fees in keeping with the command "freely have you received, freely give." Unlike the two other pairs of physician-saints who bear the same names, those of Rome and of Arabia, who died as martyrs, the brothers of Asia reposed in peace and were buried together at Thereman in Mesopotamia, where many miracles were afterward attributed to their intercession. They are commemorated on November 1.

Customs & Traditions

Unmercenary physicians who healed without payment, invoked for illness of body and soul and honored as patrons of doctors and the sick; churches of the Holy Unmercenaries keep their patronal feast, and it is a name-day for Kosmas and Damianos.

Timeline3 momentsReadHide
  1. 3rd centuryUpbringing by TheodotaAfter their pagan father died in their childhood, the brothers were raised as Christians by their mother, Saint Theodota, in Asia Minor (some accounts name Mesopotamia as their homeland).
  2. 3rd centuryMinistry of free healingBoth trained as physicians and became known for healing the sick, and even animals, by prayer, taking no payment for their care.
  3. 3rd centuryRepose and burial at TheremanThe brothers reposed in peace and their relics were interred together at Thereman in Mesopotamia.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

The Unmercenary Physicians

The brothers practiced medicine as a work of mercy rather than a trade. Their life records that they received the gift of healing and applied it freely, declining all fees, so that they became widely known as unmercenary healers; the Greek term anargyroi, "without silver," attached to them and to the broader company of physician-saints who followed the same rule.

A defining episode concerns a gravely ill woman named Palladia, whom other physicians had given up. After she was healed through the brothers' care, she sought privately to give Damian three eggs "in the Name of the Holy Life-Creating Trinity," and he accepted them out of reverence for that Name. When Cosmas learned of the gift, he took it as a breach of their vow to accept nothing, and on his deathbed asked that his brother not be buried beside him. According to their life, after both had reposed a camel they had once healed spoke with a human voice, explaining that Damian had accepted the gift in honor of God's Name and not out of greed, and so the brothers were laid to rest together.

Three Pairs of the Same Name

The Church distinguishes three separate pairs of unmercenary physicians named Cosmas and Damian, each with its own commemoration. The brothers of Asia, sons of Theodota, reposed in peace and are kept on November 1. The pair of Rome are commemorated on July 1 and are recorded as having been martyred under the emperor Carinus (283-285). The pair of Arabia, who practiced at Aegeae in the Roman province of Cilicia, are kept on October 17 and are recorded as having been arrested and beheaded with three companions, Leontius, Anthimus, and Eutropius, during the Diocletian persecution.

Veneration

Numerous miracles were attributed to the brothers' intercession after their repose. One account relates that they appeared to deliver the wife of a man named Malchus from an assailant, after which they came to be honored as protectors of marriage and the household. Their veneration spread widely, including into Russia, and they are invoked as patrons of physicians and of the sick.

Member of2 groupsReadHide
Saints Cosmas and Damian with their Mother Theodota
Household
Synaxis of the Holy Unmercenaries
Commemorated together · Oct 17
Family2 relativesShowHide

Cosmas and Damian commemorated here are themselves the twin brothers, raised by their widowed mother after their father's death.

Their mother, who raised them as Christians after their father's death and is herself commemorated as a saint.
Saint Theodotamother of Cosmas and Damian
A pagan who died during the brothers' childhood; not named in their life.
Their father
not commemorated
Companions1 figureShowHide
To whom, in the tradition of the widow's oxen, they directed her for the healing of animals.
Modestosof Jerusalem
Related Saints10 saintsShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

A distinct pair of unmercenary physicians of the same names, martyred under Carinus, commemorated July 1.
Martyrs Cosmas and Damianof Rome
A distinct pair of unmercenary physicians of the same names, martyred at Aegeae in Cilicia, commemorated October 17.
Martyrs Cosmas and Damianof Arabia
Fellow unmercenary physician and healer.
Great Martyr & Healer Panteleimon
Priest and teacher among the unmercenary healers.
Hieromartyr Hermolaus and Martyrs Hermippus and Hermocrates
Physician-martyrs numbered among the Holy Unmercenaries.
Unmercenaries Cyrus and John
Physician who served the sick without payment.
Saint Sampsonthe Hospitable of Constantinople
Wonderworker invoked alongside the unmercenary healers.
Tryphon
Modern physician-saint and archbishop.
LukeArchbishop of Crimea
An unmercenary physician numbered in their rank, who healed without payment and died a martyr.
Unmercenary Thallelaios and Martyrs Alexander and Asterios
A fellow Unmercenary physician who healed without taking payment.
Unmercenary Physician Diomedes

Browse similar saints by calling and place.

More Holy Unmercenaries16More Physicians30More Healers130More Wonderworkers205More Asia Minor361
Ideas for Celebrating This Day5 ideasShowHide

Ways to honor the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian.

  • Tell how these physician-brothers healed the sick and took no payment ("Unmercenaries"), and make the feast about kindness without expecting anything back — a chore done for free, a gift given secretly.
  • Pray for the sick in the family and for doctors, nurses, and caregivers; older children can send a card to someone ill.
  • Assemble and bless a family first-aid kit, or put together care packages for a clinic, shelter, or a housebound neighbor.
  • Do a free act of service in the neighborhood — help an elderly person, tidy a shared space — imitating the brothers' free healing.
  • Learn that they are patrons of doctors and of Christian charity, and thank a healthcare worker you know.
Sources: Synaxarion
Commemorated together

Every name we commemorate

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Has its own entry — click to openCommemorated within the group — no separate page
CosmasUnmercenary physicianCommemorated within this group
DamianUnmercenary physicianSons of Theodota; healers who accepted no payment.Commemorated within this group