Saints Cosmas and Damian Medal Necklace – Patron Saints of Doctors and Pharmacists

Saints Cosmas and Damian, Patron Saints of Doctors and Pharmacists

Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, born in the third century and trained as physicians in what is now Syria. They practiced medicine in Cilicia, treating anyone who needed care, Christian, Jewish, or pagan, and refused payment from every one of them. Their contemporaries gave them a title that stuck for the next seventeen centuries: the Unmercenary Healers, physicians who healed for free. That generosity converted as many people as any sermon could have. It also drew the attention of Roman authorities during the persecution under Diocletian, and the brothers were eventually arrested, tortured, and martyred for their faith around 287 AD. Devotion to them spread quickly across the early Church, and they remain, to this day, one of the only sets of twin physicians ever recognized as saints.

A Gift For...

• A doctor, nurse, surgeon, or medical student
• A pharmacist or pharmacy technician
• Twins, especially two who share a career or calling
• Anyone entering the medical field, for a white coat ceremony or graduation
• A confirmation candidate drawn to a life of service and healing
• A Saints Cosmas and Damian's Day gift on September 26, for any medical professional in your life

A Confirmation Gift for Cosmas or Damian

For a confirmation candidate headed toward medicine, or already working in it, these are about as direct a match as the calendar offers. Engrave a name and confirmation date, and let their example of selfless care do the rest.

The Saints Cosmas and Damian Medal

This medal depicts the twin brothers standing side by side, each holding the tools of his calling, a bottle for Damian's work as an apothecary and a mortar and pestle for Cosmas's work as a physician, their crosses marked plainly on their robes, their halos radiating outward. The natural gold or silver of the metal forms the illustration itself. Black ink is applied to the pendant surface and the metal shows through as the image. A shatterproof liquid glass coating seals the surface. The result has a depth and precision that printed medals don't achieve. 

Personalization and Engraving

The optional engraving on the reverse is rendered in Tangerine cursive, two lines, up to 20 characters each. Many choose a name and a graduation or licensure date, while others engrave a simple word like "healer" or "service."

Saints Cosmas and Damian's feast day is September 26, and for over a thousand years afterward, doctors and pharmacists across Europe continued to invoke two brothers who, by every historical account, never once sent a bill.