St. Bartholomew |
Feastday: August 24
St. Bartholomew, 1st. century, one of the 12.
All that is known of him with certainty is that he is mentioned in the synoptic gospels and Acts as one of the twelve apostles. His name, a patronymic, means "son of Tolomai" and scholars believe he is the same as Nathanael mentioned in John, who says he is from Cana and that Jesus called him an "Israelite...incapable of deceit." The Roman Martyrology says he preached in India
and Greater Armenia, where he was flayed and beheaded by King Astyages.
Tradition has the place as Abanopolis on the west coast of the Caspian
Sea and that he also preached in Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt. The
Gospel of Bartholomew is apochryphal and was condemned in the decree of Pseudo-Gelasius. Feast Day August 24.
from Wikipedia
Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified as Nathaniel (alternate spelling: Nathanael)[1] (mentioned in the first chapter of John's Gospel).
He was introduced to Christ through St. Philip, another of the twelve
apostles as per (John 1:43-51), where the name Nathaniel first appears.
He is also mentioned as “Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee” in (John 21:2).
The account of the calling of Nathaniel of Cana occurs at the end of John 1, immediately followed by the account of Jesus' miracle at the Marriage at Cana in John 2. The name Nathaniel is the one used for him in St. John’s Gospel. The relationship between St. Philip and Nathaniel is noted as per John 1:43-51. Bartholomew (Greek: Βαρθολομαίος, transliterated "Bartholomaios") comes from the Aramaic bar-Tôlmay (תולמי-בר), meaning son of Tolmay (Ptolemy) or son of the furrows (perhaps a ploughman).
According to the Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox Church [The Church
of Alexandria, the ancient Church of Egypt, one of the Oldest in
Christianity], his martyrdom is commemorated on the 1st day of the
Coptic Calendar (1st day of the month of "Thout"), which currently falls
on September 11 [this corresponds to August 29 in the Gregorian
Calendar, due to the current
13 day offset between the Julian and Gregorian Calendars]. The festival
in August has been a traditional occasion for markets and fairs, such
as the Bartholomew Fair held in Smithfield, London since the Middle Ages that served as the scene for Ben Jonson's homonymous comedy.
New Testament references
In the East, where Bartholomew's evangelical labours were expended, he was identified as Nathanael, in works by Abdisho bar Berika (often known as Ebedjesu in the West), the 14th century Nestorian metropolitan of Soba, and Elias, the bishop of Damascus.[2] Nathanael is mentioned only in the Gospel according to John. In the Synoptic gospels, Philip
and Bartholomew are always mentioned together, while Nathanael is never
mentioned; in John's gospel, on the other hand, Philip and Nathanael
are similarly mentioned together. Giuseppe Simone Assemani specifically remarks, "the Chaldeans confound Bartholomew with Nathaniel".[3] Some Biblical scholars reject this identification, however.[4]
As Bartholomew
Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve Apostles of Christ in the three Synoptic gospels: Matthew,[10:1-4] Mark,[3:13-19] and Luke,[6:12-16] and also appears as one of the witnesses of the Ascension,[Acts 1:4,12,13]; however each time he is named in the company of Philip. He is not mentioned in John. Nor are there any early acta,[5] the earliest being written by a pseudepigraphical writer who assumed the identity of Abdias of Babylon and is called "the pseudo-Abdias".[6]
As Nathanael
In the Gospel of John,[1:45-51]
Nathanael is introduced as a friend of Philip. He is described as
initially being skeptical about the Messiah coming from Nazareth,
saying: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?", but nonetheless,
follows Philip's invitation. Jesus immediately characterizes him as
"Here is a man in whom there is no deception." Some scholars hold that
Jesus' quote "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig
tree, I saw you", is based on a Jewish figure of speech referring to
studying the Torah. Nathanael recognizes Jesus as "the Son of God" and "the King of Israel". Nathanael reappears at the end of John's gospel[21:2] as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection.
Tradition
Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History (v §10) states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Other traditions record him as serving as a missionary in Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia.[7]
Along with his fellow apostle Jude, Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Thus both saints are considered the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
He is said to have been martyred in Albanopolis in Armenia. According to one account, he was beheaded, but a more popular tradition holds that he was flayed alive and crucified, head downward. He is said to have converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. Astyages, Polymius' brother, consequently ordered Bartholomew's execution.[8]
The 13th century Saint Bartholomew Monastery was a prominent Armenian monastery constructed at the site of the martyrdom of Apostle Bartholomew in the Vaspurakan Province of Greater Armenia (now in southeastern Turkey).[9]
Mission in India
Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are of Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century) and of Saint Jerome (late 4th century). Both these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century.[10]
The studies of Fr A.C Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay
region on the Konkan coast, a region which may have been known as the
ancient city Kalyan, was the field of Saint Bartholomew's missionary
activities.[10]
Bartholomew's relics
The 6th-century writer in Constantinople, Theodorus Lector, averred that in about 507 Emperor Anastasius gave the body of Bartholomew to the city of Dura-Europos, which he had recently re-founded.[11] The existence of relics at Lipari, a small island off the coast of Sicily, in the part of Italy controlled from Constantinople, was explained by Gregory of Tours[12]
by his body having miraculously washed up there: a large piece of his
skin and many bones that were kept in the Cathedral of St Bartholomew
the Apostle, Lipari, were translated to Beneventum in 803, and to Rome in 983 by Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, conserved at the basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola.
In time, the church there inherited an old pagan medical centre. This
association with medicine in course of time caused Bartholomew's name to
become associated with medicine and hospitals.[13] Some of Bartholomew's skull was transferred to the Frankfurt Cathedral, while an arm is venerated in Canterbury Cathedral today.
Miracles
Of the many miracles performed by Bartholomew before and after his
death, two very popular ones are known by the townsfolk of the small
island of Lipari.
The people of Lipari celebrated his feast day annually. The tradition
of the people was to take the solid silver and gold statue from inside
the Cathedral of St Bartholomew and carry it through the town. On one
occasion, when taking the statue down the hill towards the town, it
suddenly got very heavy and had to be set down. When the men carrying
the statue regained their strength they lifted it a second time. After
another few seconds, it got even heavier. They set it down and attempted
once more to pick it up. They managed to lift it but had to put it down
one last time. Within seconds, walls further downhill collapsed. If the
statue had been able to be lifted, all the towns people would have been
killed.
During World War II, the Fascist regime (German/Italian) looked for
ways to finance their activities. The order was given to take the silver
statue of St Bartholomew and melt it down. The statue was weighed, and
it was found to be only a few grams. It was returned to its place in the
Cathedral of Lipari. In reality, the statue is made from many kilograms
of silver and it is considered a miracle that it was not melted down.
St Bartholomew is credited with many other miracles having to do with the weight of objects.
from: http://catholiconline.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=390
Prayer:
Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith, by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew clung wholeheartedly to your Son, and grant that through the help of his prayers your Church may become for all the nations the sacrament of salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer:
Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith, by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew clung wholeheartedly to your Son, and grant that through the help of his prayers your Church may become for all the nations the sacrament of salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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