Every day in the Orthodox calendar is a holiday. For hundreds of years, many righteous people have been canonized in the Church, the remembrance of whom has become an integral part of the daily church tradition, and November 14 in this case is no exception. On this day, the church celebrates the memory of the host of saints.
On November 14, the Russian Orthodox Church glorifies several saints, but the most famous among them are the unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Assia.
The date of birth and date of death of the miracle workers is not known for certain, but presumably they lived no later than the 4th century AD. The brothers came from Assia - that is how part of Asia Minor was called in former times.
The history of the holy unmercenaries
The father of Cosmas and Damian was a Greek pagan, the mother was a Christian. The brothers lost their parent early, so the upbringing of the boys completely fell on the shoulders of their mother Theodotia. After the death of her husband, she decided not to remarry and devote her life to God. Theodotia did not break this oath until the end of her life: she was a zealous Christian, spent her days in prayer and solitude, and diligently tried to fulfill all the commandments. For such a pious life, Theodotia was numbered among the saints.
From her earliest years, Theodotia tried to instill in children all Christian values. At an early age, she gave them to be taught to read and write to a man known to be particularly fearful of God. One of the components of the training was the study of the Holy Scriptures. In addition, the brothers also improved in medical science, diligently studying it and learning about the various properties of plants.
Gift of healings
For such love and compassion for people, the Lord sent the saints the gift of healing. All the suffering came to them and, regardless of social status and wealth, received healing. The brothers never took money or any other token of gratitude for this. They firmly decided that the grace received from God for free should also be given to those around them.
The biography says that there was no end to the miracles and healings that the brothers worked, but only 12 cases of them are given.
Their all-consuming love extended not only to humans, but also to animals: the brothers often looked for helpless creatures who needed medical help. So once the brothers found a camel in a deserted place, cured it and set it free.
First, Cosmas peacefully reposed, after a while Damian also departed to the Lord. At the burial place of the unmercenaries, a church was built, into which people soon began to flock, asking the miracle workers for healing.
One of the most famous temples dedicated to Assian miracle workers is located in Moscow on Maroseyka Street.
In addition to Cosmas and Damian of Assia, the Russian Orthodox Church also venerates the martyrs Cosmas and Damian of Arabia. According to legend, the brothers from Arabia also practiced medicine, but the days of their memory (and, accordingly, someone's name day) are celebrated on other days.
