Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs at Rome

Cosmas and Damian were brothers born in Rome who trained as physicians and treated the sick, people and animals alike, without taking payment. For this the Church calls them “unmercenaries”. They went about Rome and the nearby villages healing and speaking of Christ. According to the account retold by St Dimitry of Rostov, they were denounced to the emperor Carinus and refused to sacrifice to the gods; the emperor, the story says, was struck with a twisted neck and recovered when he promised to believe. The same account tells that their own former teacher in medicine, jealous of their fame, led them into the hills to gather herbs and stoned them to death. They are remembered c. 284.