E07076: The so-called 'Roman' Martyrdom of *Kosmas and Damianos (brothers, physician martyrs of Syria, S00385) is written in Greek, probably around the 5th or early 6th century somewhere in the East.

The 'Roman' Martyrdom of Kosmas and Damianos (BHG 376-377)

Summary:

§ 1: The most glorious of all the lives of the martyrs is that of Kosmas and Damianos, who were physicians that had received a heavenly grace, with God always by their side helping them in their work. Whether they are attempting to heal people or animals, the power of Christ always aids them, as they fulfil his commandment 'freely you have received, freely give' (δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε). They also sell their ancestral property for the benefit of the poor. For their work they accept no reward, save that whoever was being healed would believe in Christ, who was the one truly accomplishing the cures through his servants.

§ 2: The envious one [i.e. the Devil], unable not to suffer in seeing Kosmas and Damianos accomplishing all these things day after day, causes certain envious people to slander the saints to the emperor Karinos, reporting all their good and virtuous deeds as though something wicked. Agreeing with the slanderers, the emperor orders that the saints be brought before him.

§ 3: The emperor's men reach the village where the saints reside and ask the people about their whereabouts, declaring that they have been reported to the emperor as having abandoned the traditional religion and as performing deceptive magic tricks through some alien name. Upon hearing this, unwilling to lose their benefactors, the people bid the saints hide until the emperor's wrath passes. Kosmas and Damianos wish to fulfil their martyrdom and present themselves to the emperor, but the people of all the surrounding villages come together, abduct them and hide them in a secret cave.

§ 4: The people oppose the emperor's envoys, arguing that the saints have done nothing wrong and do not deserve to be harmed. The envoys, however, are unwilling to agree to this since they are under orders. Unable to locate the saints, they instead take men and women from the villages as prisoners and bring them before the emperor.

§ 5: The saints are unaware of these events, since they remain in the cave, fasting and praying. Upon hearing that the emperor's men have taken hostages in their place, they leave the cave and run to catch up with them, giving themselves up in return for the release of the prisoners.

§ 6: The following day Kosmas and Damianos are brought before the emperor, who questions them about their deeds, suggesting that they deceive and corrupt the people under the pretence of charity, and urging them to repent and return to the worship of the gods.

§ 7: The saints deny that they deceive people with trickery, explaining that they are following the commandments of the Saviour. They refuse to acknowledge the soulless idols of the pagans as gods, and exhort the emperor to abandon them and turn to Christ.

§ 8: Karinos retorts that he did not summon the saints in order for them to engage in rhetoric, but to sacrifice to the gods. The martyrs assert that they offer sacrifice only to the Lord, the one true God. The emperor attempts again to persuade them, threatening them with torture, but the saints command him to 'turn away in shame' (ἀποστράφηθι κατῃσχυμμένος), and at once the emperor's neck turns around leaving his face looking backwards, rendering him helpless.

§ 9: The onlooking crowd is astonished and glorify God. They all convert to Christianity and plead with the saints for the emperor to be healed. Karinos too removes his purple cloak and casts it upon the martyrs, and declares that he too believes in God, begging them to save him. The saints urge him to believe in Christ with all his heart. The emperor declares his faith, and Jesus heals him. The emperor gives thanks to God together with the people, and gives orders for the idol temples to be destroyed. The saints are allowed to return home.

§ 10: The saints' compatriots have heard of the events leading to the emperor's conversion, and receive them back with great joy. Kosmas and Damianos go on living in their home country, healing people, administering to the poor and preaching. Their labours bear fruit and the number or believers grows.

§ 11: After a while, the evil one who had attempted to trump the saints' virtue through Karinos, sets against them another adversary, their instructor (ἐπιστάτης) in the art of medicine, who is envious of their success.

§ 12: The jealous instructor, like another Cain, asks the saints to join him in collecting medicinal herbs on a nearby mountain, and they follow him like lambs to the slaughter. He has both of them engage in the work of gathering the herbs, and when they are distracted, he murders them one after the other by throwing stones at them. He then hides the bodies in a nearby aqueduct (ἀγωγός). Thus the saints were consummated.

Text: Deubner 1907, 208-217.
Summary: N. Kälviäinen.