Sfinții Cosma și Damian, doctori fără de arginți - modele de slujire și tămăduire a celor suferinzi și iconografia lor
Saints Cosmas and Damian, the Unmercenary Physicians – Models of Service and Healing of the Suffering, and Their Iconography

Author(s): Marcel Muntean
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion, Pastoral Theology, Eastern Orthodoxy
Published by: Ideas Forum International Academic and Scientific Association
Keywords: Saints Cosmas and Damian; Holy Unmercenaries; iconography; sculpture; painting; mosaic;
Summary/Abstract: Three groups of saints who were also brothers, Holy Unmercenaries (physicians who healed without payment) Cosmas and Damian are celebrated by the Christian Church throughout the annual calendar. Specifically, the Orthodox Church honors each of them on distinct days. The first group, on November 1, were from Asia Minor (Mesopotamia). The second group were considered martyrs and were stoned to death in Rome, being commemorated on July 1, while the third group, also martyrs, are remembered on October 17 and hailed from Arabia. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates their memory on September 26. Their veneration began as early as the 4th century when the first churches and monasteries were erected, particularly in Constantinople, Rome, and other regions. During church services, they are invoked as intercessors for the healing of the suffering in the Sacrament of Holy Unction. They are also called upon to aid the sick in several special prayers, such as those for patients before surgery or for any ailing person, including those who cannot sleep. A particularly important role is held by the liturgy on their feast day, the Akathist hymn (troparion and kontakion), which summarizes their lives, martyrdom, and benefactions. The Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian are depicted in the iconography dedicated to them (icons, frescoes, altarpieces, mosaics, sculptures etc.), which can be found in both the Eastern and Western Churches. In iconography, Dionysius of Furna details their appearance as young men, with hair above their ears, balding heads, slightly curly hair, and pointed beards – those from Rome; those from Asia were also young, with the early growth of a beard; while those from Arabia had darker skin, with the early growth of a beard, and wore turbans on their heads. The study presents several places of worship, such as the one in Rome from the 6th century and the one in Kastoria, altar paintings, sculptures like those signed by Donatello and Michelangelo, more precisely, Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli and Raffaello da Montelupo, as well as a series of mosaics, icons, manuscripts, and others from the 6th to the 20th century.

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