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Saint Bartholomew the Apostle
Image: Peter Paul Rubens · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Saint Bartholomew the Apostle

One of the Twelve, often identified with Nathanael

Rank
Saint
Kind
Apostle, Martyr, Missionary
Feast
24 August
Countries
Israel, Armenia, India
IsraelIndiaArmenia

Life story

The name Bartholomew means son of Talmai, so it was probably a patronymic rather than a personal name. He appears in every list of the Twelve in the three Synoptic Gospels and in Acts, usually beside Philip. John's Gospel never mentions Bartholomew but tells of Nathanael, brought to Jesus by Philip and described as coming from Cana in Galilee. Many have long taken the two to be the same man, but this is an identification, not something the New Testament states directly.

The New Testament records nothing of his work after Pentecost. The historian Eusebius reports that Pantaenus, a teacher in Alexandria in the late second century, travelled to India and found Christians there who owned a Hebrew copy of Matthew's Gospel, said to have been left by Bartholomew. The word India could then cover a much wider region than on a modern map, so the detail remains uncertain. Armenian tradition also names him, together with Thaddeus, as one of the two apostles who first brought the faith to their land.

According to tradition he was martyred in Armenia, possibly at Albanopolis, by being flayed and then beheaded. These details come from later writings and cannot be verified. Relics connected with his name were brought to Rome, and from around the tenth century the church on Tiber Island has been dedicated to him. The Church keeps his feast on 24 August, and the Armenian Church also honours him as one of the two apostles who founded it.

Works and witness

  • Named among the Twelve in all three Synoptic Gospels and in Acts
  • Often identified with Nathanael of Cana in John's Gospel
  • By tradition, preached in the East, including Armenia
  • Tradition says he was martyred in Armenia by flaying
  • Relics associated with him are kept in San Bartolomeo on Tiber Island, Rome

Saints from the same country

Saint Peter, Saint Andrew the Apostle, Saint James the Greater, Saint John the Apostle

References

  • Tân Ước / New Testament (Synoptic Gospels; Gospel of John; Acts)
  • Martyrologium Romanum
  • Eusebius of Caesarea, Historia Ecclesiastica

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.