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Home , Bartholomew the Apostle, Golden Legend

“Bartholomew” redirects here. For other uses, see pears at the end of John’s [21:2] as one of the disci- Bartholomew (disambiguation). ples to whom appeared at the Sea of after the Resurrection. Bartholomew (Greek: Βαρθολομαῖος) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified with Nathanael (alternatively spelled Nathaniel),[1] who ap- pears in the Gospel according to John as being intro- 2 references duced to by Philip (who would also become an apostle).[Jn 1:43-51] In the East, where Bartholomew’s evangelical labours According to the of the Coptic Orthodox were expended, he was identified as Nathanael, in works Church, his martyrdom is commemorated on the 1st day by Abdisho bar Berika (often known as Ebedjesu in the West), the 14th century Nestorian metropolitan of Soba, of the (1st day of the month of “”), [6] which currently falls on September 11 (corresponding to and Elias, the of Damascus. Nathanael is men- August 29 in the Gregorian Calendar). His feast is June tioned only in the Gospel according to John. In the Syn- 11 in Eastern , and August 24 in the Anglican optic , Philip and Bartholomew are always men- Communion, the Episcopal Church (United States) and in tioned together, while Nathanael is never mentioned; in both forms of the Roman Rite of the . John’s gospel, on the other hand, Philip and Nathanael are similarly mentioned together. Giuseppe Simone As- semani specifically remarks, “the Chaldeans confound Bartholomew with Nathaniel”.[7] Some Biblical scholars 1 Bartholomew reject this identification, however.[8]

Bartholomew (Greek: Βαρθολομαῖος, transliterated “Bartholomaios”) comes from the bar-Tôlmay 3 Tradition -meaning son of Tolmay[2] or son of the fur ,(בר-תולמי) rows (perhaps a ploughman). Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus 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 by that name in the . Nor are there any early acta,[3] the earliest being written by a pseudepigraphical writer who assumed the identity of Abdias of Babylon and called the -Thierry Manuscript and Pseudo-Abdias Manuscripts.[4][5] Alternatively, Bartholomew has been identified with Nathanael, as presented in the Gospel of according to John. [1:45–51] Nathanael is introduced as a friend of Saint Bartholomew Monastery at the site of the Apostle’s - Philip. He is described as initially being skeptical about dom in historical the Messiah coming from Nazareth, saying: “Can any- thing good come out of Nazareth? extquotedbl, but of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History (5:10) nonetheless, follows Philip’s invitation. Jesus immedi- states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a ately appraises him as “Here is a man in whom there is tour to India, where he left behind a copy no deception.” Some scholars hold that Jesus’ quote “Be- of the . Other traditions record him fore Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, as serving as a missionary in , , I saw you”, is based on a Jewish figure of speech refer- Parthia, and Lycaonia.[9] Popular traditions and legends ring to studying the . Nathanael recognizes Jesus say that Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India, then as “the Son of God” and “the King of Israel”. He reap- went to Greater Armenia.[2]

1 2 6 IN ISLAMIC LITERATURE

3.1 Mission to India 5

Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are of Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century) and of Saint (late 4th century). Both these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of 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]

3.2 In Armenia

Along with his fellow apostle Jude Thaddeus, Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Thus, both are considered the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew

He is said to have been martyred in Albanopolis in Ar- Of the many miracles performed by Bartholomew before menia. According to one account, he was beheaded, but a and after his death, two very popular ones are known by more popular tradition holds that he was flayed alive and the townsfolk of the small island of . crucified, head downward. He is said to have converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. Astyages, The people of Lipari celebrated his feast day annually. Polymius’ brother, consequently ordered Bartholomew’s The tradition of the people was to take the solid silver and execution.[11] gold statue from inside the Cathedral of St Bartholomew and carry it through the town. On one occasion, when The 13th century Saint Bartholomew Monastery was taking the statue down the hill towards the town, it sud- a prominent Armenian monastery constructed at the denly became very heavy and had to be set down. When site of the martyrdom of Apostle Bartholomew in the the men carrying the statue regained their strength, they Province of Greater Armenia (now in south- lifted it a second time. After another few seconds, it got [12] eastern Turkey). 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 down- hill collapsed. If the statue had been able to be lifted, all 4 Bartholomew’s the towns people would have been killed. During World War II, the Fascist regime (Ger- The 6th-century writer in Constantinople, Theodorus man/Italian) looked for ways to finance their activities. Lector, averred that in about 507 Emperor Anastasius The order was given to take the silver statue of St gave the body of Bartholomew to the city of Dura- Bartholomew and melt it down. The statue was weighed, Europos, which he had recently re-founded.[13] The ex- and it was found to be only a few grams. It was returned to istence of relics at Lipari, a small island off the coast of its place in the Cathedral of Lipari. In reality, the statue is , in the part of controlled from Constantino- made from many kilograms of silver and it is considered ple, was explained by [14] by his body a that it was not melted down. having miraculously washed up there: a large piece of his St Bartholomew is credited with many other miracles hav- skin and many bones that were kept in the Cathedral of ing to do with the weight of objects. 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 Bar- tolomeo all'Isola. In time, the church there inherited an 6 In Islamic literature old pagan medical centre. This association with medicine in course of time caused Bartholomew’s name to be- The Qur'an also mentions Jesus’s disciples but does come associated with medicine and hospitals.[15] Some not give their names, referring to them as “helpers to of Bartholomew’s skull was transferred to the the work of God extquotedbl.[16] Muslim and Cathedral, while an arm is venerated in Canterbury Qur'an commentary, however, names them and includes Cathedral today. Bartholomew amongst the disciples.[17] 3

7 Art and literature 9 See also

Christian tradition has three stories about Bartholomew’s • St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre death: “One speaks of his being kidnapped, beaten un- • conscious, and cast into the sea to drown. Another St Bartholomew’s Hospital account states that he was crucified upside down, and • Barth another says that he was skinned alive and beheaded in Albac or Albanopolis extquotedbl,[18] near Başkale, • Bertil Turkey. • Barton The account of Bartholomew being skinned alive is the most represented in works of art, and consequently • Holmes Bartholomew is often shown with a large knife, hold- ing his own skin (as in 's ), • Bartholomeus or both. In Avezzano, in Abruzzo the image of the Saint who is holding his own skin has become the sym- • Maas bol of the city. Archaeological research has shown that • the cult of Saint Bartholomew began in Avezzano, be- Maes cause the previous presence of a temple dedicated to • Loomis Heracles, which is always represented in the act of hold- ing the skin of the Nemean Lion. There is, there- fore, a solid relationship between the two iconogra- phies and the re-semantization of the symbols Hera- 10 References cles/Physical Strength/Hero and Bartholomew/Power of Faith/Hero-Martyr.[19] Bartholomew is also the patron [1] Green, B.; Scot McKnight; I. Howard Marshall saint of tanners. (1992). Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. The IVP Dictionary Series. InterVarsity Press. p. 180. ISBN Bartholomew plays a part in 's Utopian tale 0-8308-1777-8. New Atlantis, about a mythical isolated land, Bensalem, populated by a people dedicated to reason and natural [2] Butler, Alban and Burns, Paul. “St. Bartholomew”, But- philosophy. Some twenty years after the ascension of ler’s Lives of the Saints: August, A&C Black, 1998, ISBN Christ the people of Bensalem found an ark floating off 9780860122579 their shore. The ark contained a letter as well as the books of the Old and New Testaments. The letter was from [3] William Smith and Cheetham, A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities (1875) noted the “absence of any Bartholomew the Apostle and declared that an told great amount of early trustworthy tradition.” him to set the ark and its contents afloat. Thus the scien- tists of Bensalem received the revelation of the Word of [4] These Acta were published by Johann Albert Fabricius, God.[20] Codex Apocryphus Novi Testimenti i. 341ff.

[5] Meredith Parsons Lillich (1 September 2011). The Gothic • St. Bartholomew displaying his flayed skin in Stained Glass of Reims Cathedral. Penn State Press. pp. Michelangelo's The Last Judgment. 46–. ISBN 978-0-271-03777-6. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

• Statue of St. Bartholomew, with his own skin, by [6] Both noted, Ebedjesu as “Ebedjesu Sobiensis”, in Smith Marco d'Agrate, 1562 (Duomo di Milano) and Cheetham, who give their source, Bibliotheca Orientalis iii.i. pp. 30ff.

• Statue of St. Bartholomew at the Archbasilica of St. [7] Bartholomaeum cum Nathaniel confundunt Chaldaei As- John Lateran by Pierre Le Gros the Younger. semani, Bibliotheca Orientalis, iii, pt 2, p. 5 (noted by Smith and Cheetham).

[8] John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew Volume 3, Doubleday, 2001. pp 199–200. ISBN 0-385-46993-4; for the iden- 8 Culture tification see Benedict XVI, Udienza generale 4 October 2006. The in August has been a traditional occasion [9] Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropædia. vol. 1, p. 924. for markets and fairs, such as the Bartholomew Fair held [21] Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1998. ISBN 0- in Smithfield, London since the , which 85229-633-9. served as the scene for Ben Jonson's homonymous com- edy. [10] St. Bartholomew’s mission in India 4 12 EXTERNAL LINKS

[11] Fenlon, John Francis. “St. Bartholomew.” The Catholic • St. Bartholomew’s mission in India Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 6 May 2010 http://www.newadvent.org/ • St. Bartholomew’s Connections in India cathen/02313c.htm • extquotedblSt. Bartholomew extquotedbl. Catholic [12] “THE CONDITION OF THE ARMENIAN HISTORI- Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Com- CAL MONUMENTS IN TURKEY”. Research on Arme- pany. 1913. nian Architecture. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01. • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). [13] Noted in Smith and Cheetham. extquotedblBartholomew, Saint extquotedbl. [14] Gregory, De Gloria Martyrum, i.33. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. [15] Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Pen- guin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Pen- • St. Bartholomew at the Christian Iconography web guin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-14-051312-4. site.' [16] Qur'an 3:49–53 • “The Life of St. Bartholomew the Apostle” in the Caxton translation of the [17] Historical Dictionary of Prophets In Islam And Judaism, Brandon M. Wheeler, Disciples of Christ: “Muslim exe- gesis identifies the disciples as Peter, Andrew, Matthew, Thomas, Philip, John, James, Bartholomew, and Simon”

[18] D. A. Teunis. ’s Secret: Exposing the Master of Deception and the Father of Lies. AuthorHouse, 2003. ISBN 978-1-4107-3580-5. Page 306

[19] Thomas Frederick Crane, Marco Lazzarotti, Ed. Tales From Italy: When Christianity Met Italy, M&J, 2014. ISBN 979-1-1951-4942. Page 5

[20] Text at Project Gutenberg

[21] Cavendish, Richard. “London’s Last Bartholomew Fair”, History Today, Vol.55, Issue 9, 2005

11 Sources

• Easton’s Bible Dictionary, 1897. • Encyclopedia Anglicana, 1911 • Dictionary of First Names, Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges. Oxford University Press, 1996 • Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-14-051312- 4. • The Apostles in India by Fr. A.C. Perumalil, SJ, 1952

12 External links

• The Life, Miracles and Martyrdom of St Bartholomew the Apostle of Jesus Christdead link] • The Martyrdom of the Holy and Glorious Apostle Bartholomew, attributed to Pseudo-Abdias, one of the minor 5

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