Cosmas and Damian

This morning's Station Church was that of Saints Cosmas and Damian, two more saints mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer. [You may have noted that I keep referring to this First Eucharistic Prayer. It is also known as the "Roman Canon," which is not surprising since so many of the saints named within it are martyrs and noted Christians of the early Church at Rome.]

Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers who were skilled in the field of medicine, and (as an act of charity) never accepted fees from their patients. They, along with St. Luke, are patron saints of physicians and surgeons. The brothers were not actually Romans. Their origin is Arabia, and they studied medicine in Syria. They were apprehended during the persecution of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the very first years of the 4th century, and survived attempts on their lives by means of drowning, burning, and crucifixion. Finally, they were beheaded. These were tough brothers!

Their remains were taken to Syria for burial, and subsequently brought to Rome. Their church is located in the Roman Forum, adapted from an ancient temple. The great mosaic in the apse shows Christ descending on a cloud, flanked by Peter, Paul, Cosmas, Damian, and Popes Felix IV and Theodore. The figures of Peter, Paul, Cosmas and Damian are not labeled, so I'll leave it to you to decided which one (below) is Cosmas and which one is Damian.  Peter and Paul are the figures in white, closest to Jesus. Usually Peter is portrayed as a bit older than Paul, so I'll posit that Peter, with white hair, is on our right (Jesus' left).