O Day of St. Cosme and Damian is a date present in the liturgical calendar of Catholicism, being celebrated on September 26th. São Cosme and São Damião were twin brothers who became known for being doctors who did not charge for their services. As Christians, they were martyred.
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Summary about the Day of St. Cosme and Damian
- Officially, the Day of Saint Cosme and Damian is celebrated, in Catholicism, on September 26th.
- São Cosimo and Damião were twin brothers who became famous for being doctors who did not charge for their services.
- They were arrested, tortured and martyred for being Christians.
- Their cult spread, with emphasis on the actions of Pope Felix IV and Justinian I.
- The veneration of saints arrived in Brazil in the 16th century, being brought by the Portuguese. Here there was strong syncretism of this cult with the African matrix religions.
The life of Cosimo and Damião
Cosimo and Damião went two Christians who lived in the third and fourth centuries d. Ç.
and were imprinted in the history of Christianity. Eventually they became objects of veneration and canonized, making them saints. They are currently known as patrons of doctors and pharmacists.Not much is known about their lives, but Christian tradition holds that they were Twins brothers that were born in the third century d. C., in the Saudi Arabia. were from a noble and very christian family, with the devotion of their mother, Theodata, openly contributing to the religiosity of all their children. Cosimo and Damião had other brothers.
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The twin brothers' real names were Act and Passion, and in adult life they became doctors who worked in Asia Minor, region of Asia which today corresponds to Turkey. It was the brothers' medical practice in the form of charity that made them revered figures.
Cosimo and Damião healed the sick wherever they went and attributed their medical gifts to God. Their works and their devotion to Christianity contributed to some of their patients converting to that religion. Some of his deeds were supposed to be miracles.
Cosimo and Damian's fame spread to Asia Minor, including the rumor that they were Christians. For the context, probably the beginning of the fourth century d. C., the fact of being Christians was a great risk, as the Roman emperor at the time,Diocletian, was a devotee of the traditional pagan religion of the Roman Empire. Therefore, there was a great persecution of Christians.
The rumors about Cosimo and Damião reached Lysias, ruler of Cilicia. He then brought the doctors to meet him and the arrested by confirming that they were indeed Christians. the brothers went tortured, but not backslidden.
As Cosimo and Damião did not deny the Christian faith, they were sentenced to death. Religious tradition has it that they survived a drowning attempt, emerged unscathed from a large bonfire and they also survived stoning, crucifixion, and not being wounded by arrows thrown at they. However, this is understood by historians as legend.
Ultimately, they would have been killed when the Roman authorities decided to decapitate them, which probably could have happened in 303, although there is no proof of this.
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Veneration to Cosimo and Damião
We do not know exactly when the veneration of Cosimo and Damião began, but it is believed that it took place shortly after the death of the brothers. Your consolidation happened in the sixth century, and one of those responsible for this was Justinian I, emperor Byzantine. He decided to build basilicas for the holy brothers.
This was supposedly because he had been cured of an illness after receiving an intercession in the name of Cosimo and Damião. So he built a basilica in Cirrus, a city in Syria, where the remains of doctors were buried, and in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.
the pope of the catholic church Felix IV he also decided to build a basilica in honor of the brothers, inaugurating it at the end of the fifth century. The inauguration would have taken place on September 27, 500. This pope would have contributed to consolidating the cult of Cosimo and Damian among Catholics, spreading it throughout the Europe Western.
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São Cosme and Damião in Brazil
The cult of São Cosme and Damião arrived in Brazil in the 16th century, and this is attributed to the Portuguese presence in Brazilian territory. This is evidenced by the construction of the Main Church of São Cosme and São Damião, in Igarassu, Pernambuco, in the year 1535. It is also known that the devotion to Cosimo and Damião in Portugal strengthened after the eleventh century.
The veneration of the holy brothers took place here on the day september 27th, a date that was also followed in other places of Catholic influence. However, a change in the Church's liturgical calendar was made in 1969, causing the Day of St. Cosmas and Damian to be celebrated in the september 26th.
This change, although official, was not followed by many devotees, who still celebrate the date on the 27th. The cult of Cosimo and Damião went through a strong syncretismreligious in Brazil, the two saints are also associated with African-based religions, such as candomblé and umbanda.
In African-based religions, São Cosme and Damião came to be identified with Ibeji, an orixá composed of two twin brothers seen as children's protectors. Religious syncretism meant that the celebration of the Day of Saint Cosme and Damião was marked by the distribution of sweets and gifts to children.
Image credits
[1] AlexNow and Shutterstock
[2] Massimo Todaro and Shutterstock
by Daniel Neves
History teacher
