The Saintly Sister Showdown was not for the faint of heart! When the votes were counted, Clare of Assisi proved too strong for Benedict’s sister. Clare marches on with a commanding 68.77% to 31.23% victory over Scholastica, and the pride of Assisi claims her spot in the Saintly Sixteen! 🌹✨

But that was yesterday…

Today the Apostles & Allies region brings us a matchup of holy duos! 👥🔥

On one side, the miracle working healer brothers Cosmas and Damian, famous for treating the sick and asking for nothing in return. On the other, the New Testament power couple Priscilla and Aquila, the original ministry team who taught, traveled with Paul, and helped build the early Church. ⛪

Two pairs. Four saints. One spot in the Saintly Sixteen.

Which duo will dance their way forward?

You decide! Read the blog, watch the video, and cast your vote! 🗳️

Cosmas and Damian

One “occupational hazard” of being a Lent Madness Celebrity Blogger is when you start researching your appointed saints only to discover the phrase “little is known about the lives of [insert saint name here].” However, despite discovering that dreaded phrase, there is much to learn about twin brothers Cosmas and Damian.

Cosmas and Damian were born around 270 CE in Arabia to a Christian mother (later sainted herself) and a pagan father. Their mother Theodota raised Cosmas and Damian and their three other brothers in the Christian faith. Cosmas and Damian grew up to become skilled doctors. They became known for performing their work without a fee. The brothers operated as doctors living by the command Jesus gave in Matthew 10:8: “Freely have you received, freely give”. This mode of operation, guided by their Christian faith, was what contributed to Cosmas and Damian evangelizing those whom they were treating.

Their actions spoke louder than their words. Cosmas and Damian reportedly developed cures for a variety of ailments, including blindness and paralysis. Much after their death, a 15th-century Italian physician said that Cosmas and Damian should be credited with the creation of opopira, a mix of sugar, water, and honey, that was used in their curing of paralysis. When Diocletian became Roman emperor, he enacted reforms that led to many Christians being targeted, including Cosmas and Damian, because Diocletian wanted to eliminate Christianity from the Roman Empire. Cosmas and Damian were given an opportunity to denounce their Christian faith. When they refused, they were tortured and sentenced to death, enduring being hung on a cross, stoned, and arrows being flung at them, and ultimately death by beheading, along with their three other brothers. Their remains were first buried in Constantinople, which is in modern-day Istanbul, Turkey (any fans of They Might Be Giants out there? #iykyk) but what are reported to be their skulls are now in Madrid, Spain after making stops in Rome, Italy and Bremen, Germany. Well-traveled for sure!

Upon their death, veneration of Cosmas and Damian spread quickly in both the Eastern and Western churches. Churches bearing their names exist in many countries, and they are celebrated with feast days in both Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christian denominations, including the Anglican church, in late September. They are the patron saints of physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, twins, blind people, and others. There are many artistic renditions of the twin brothers where they are pictured holding various medical instruments, which you can look up on your own, or vote these twins through to further rounds to see these pieces of art of these faithful twin brother doctors.

— Kathryn Nishibayashi

Collect for Cosmas and Damian

Merciful God, we thank you for your servants Cosmas and Damian, who freely shared your word and gave healing and comfort to your people. Give us grace to follow their example of compassion and faithful witness, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Priscilla and Aquila

Just about every Christian has flirted with this question: If I were in the early church, would I have had the courage to spread the Gospel even in the face of death? When we pose this question, we often think of the apostles themselves. What would I have done in the shoes of St. Stephen? St. Paul? St. Peter? But the early church was spread not solely through the words of the apostles. It also grew through the acts of other Christians, many whose names were lost to history, who offered their own gifts in the name of Jesus, and who were instrumental in the formation of our faith. We are fortunate to have a record of two of these giants of the faith, Aquila and Priscilla.

Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned 6 times throughout the New Testament, with half of those being in the book of Acts. They are first mentioned as exiles from Rome after Emperor Claudius’s decree expelling Jews, and Paul meets them in Corinth. From Corinth, they travel to Ephesus, where they subsequently plant their ministry and seemingly remain there for the rest of their lives. We know from scripture that they were massively important to the apostle Paul, as he maintained correspondence with them for the rest of his life. They were tentmakers by trade and trusted to teach the word of God to the community around them. Because of their teaching, Apollos was able to travel to Achaia and cultivate a prominent ministry. Priscilla and Aquila were fearless and devout in their faith, using the gifts God had given them to further assist the church wherever they were, and truly embodied wholehearted devotion and fire from the Holy Spirit that was, is, and will continue to be active in the church.

The gifts God bestows upon his people are vast.  Priscilla and Aquila are scriptural proof that the work of God on earth does not happen in a vacuum, and even the most prominent among us rely on the help, prayer, and effort from those surrounding them to carry out the work of our Lord. Going forward in this Lenten season, let us reflect on the gifts we bring to the holy table, but more importantly, how we can use those gifts to help those around us best use their own for the betterment of the Church.

— Danny Pettit

Collect for Priscilla and Aquila

God of grace and might, who gave to your servants Aquila and Priscilla gifts of zeal and eloquence to make known the truth of the Gospel: Raise up, we pray, in every country, heralds and evangelists of your kingdom, so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.