Saint Bartholomew

Saint Bartholomew
Michelangelo's The Last Judgment shows St Bartholomew holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin. The face of the skin is recognizable as Michelangelo's.
Gift of God (Nathaniel)
Venerated in	Armenian Apostolic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion
Major shrine	Relics at Saint Bartholomew-on-the-Tiber Church, Rome, the Canterbury Cathedral, cathedral in Frankfurt, and the San Bartolomeo Cathedral in Lipari.
Feast	August 24 (Western), June 11 (Orthodox)
Attributes	One of the Twelve Apostles. Probably a close friend of Saint Philip; his name is always mentioned in the Gospels in connection with him, and it was Philip brought Bartholomew to Jesus.
Patronage	Armenia; bookbinders; butchers; cobblers; Florentine cheese merchants; Florentine salt merchants; Gambatesa, Italy; leather workers; nervous diseases; neurological diseases; plasterers; shoemakers; tanners; trappers; twitching; whiteners

Bartholomew was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is mentioned as the sixth apostle in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and as the seventh in the Book of Acts (1:13). He also appears as one of the witnesses of the Ascension (Acts 1:4, 12, 13). In the Roman Catholic tradition he is known as the unfortunate saint who was skinned alive.

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). Many have, based on this meaning, assumed it was not a given name, but a family name.

Nathanael

Bartholomew is generally supposed to be the surname of Nathanael, although this is not explicitly stated in the Bible.

In the Synoptic gospels, Philip and Bartholomew are always mentioned together, while Nathanael is never mentioned; in the gospel of John, on the other hand, Philip and Nathanael are similarly mentioned together, but nothing is said of Bartholomew.

In the Gospel of John (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 "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit". Some scholars hold that Jesus' quote "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you", is based on 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 (John 21:2) as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Tiberias after the Resurrection.

Tradition

According to Syrian tradition, Bartholomew's original name was Jesus, which caused him to adopt another name.

Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History 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.

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. There is also a local tradition that he was martyred at the site of the Maiden Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan, by being flayed alive and then crucified head down.

After his martyrdom in this country, his body is said to have been washed to Lipari (a small island off the coast of Sicily), where a large piece of his skin and many bones are kept in the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. Holy Roman Emperor Otto II brought his relics to Rome (at the basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola) in 983. In time, the church here inherited an old pagan medical center. This association with medicine in course caused his name to often be associated with medicine and hospitals. Some of his skull was transferred to Frankfurt, while an arm is venerated in the Canterbury Cathedral today.

The feast of St. Bartholomew is celebrated on August 24 in the western Church and on June 11 in the Eastern churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church honours Saint Bartholomew, along with Saint Jude as their patron saint. The Coptic Church remembers him on January 1.

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 apochryphal Gospel of Bartholomew which may be identical to either the Questions of Bartholomew, or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (by Bartholomew), or neither, was condemned in the decree of Pseudo-Gelasius.

Miracles

Of the many miracles performed by St. Bartholomew before and after his death, two very popular ones are known by the town-folk of the small island of Lipari. When St. Bartholomew's body was found off the shore, the Bishop of St. Christopher's Church of Lipari ordered many men to get the body. When this failed due to its extreme weight, the Bishop then sent out the children. The children easily brought the body ashore even though the older men couldn't.

Ever since his discovery on the island, 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. 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, the walls further downhill collapsed. If the statue had been able to be lifted, all of the townspeople would have been killed.

The island has been invaded in its history. During one invasion, the king of the invading country discovered the statue and ordered it to be taken to be melted down. The statue was taken to the kingdom and weighed. It was found to weigh only two ounces and was thought to be hollow. It was returned to its place in the cathedral in Lipari. In reality, the statue weighs several tons 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.

Art and Literature

File:Stbartholomewmilan.JPG

Statue of St. Bartholomew, with own skin, by Marco d'Agrate, placed in the Duomo di Milano in 1562.

In works of art he is often represented with a large knife, or, as in Michelangelo's Last Judgment, with his own skin hanging over his arm. Tradition holds that in Armenia he was flayed alive and then crucified upside down. This fate has led to him being adopted as the patron saint of tanners.

Saint Bartholomew plays a part in Francis Bacon's Utopian tale The New Atlantis and the August festival (or feast) of Saint Bartholomew serves as the scene for Bartholomew Fair, a play by Ben Jonson.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 978-0140513127.
• Hanks, Patrick, Hodges, Flavia and Hardcastle, Kate. Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0198610601.
• Hitchcock, Rev. Robert B. The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew. Lulu.com (January 19, 2007). ISBN 978-1430302995.

External links

• The Gospel of Bartholomew from The Gnostic Society Library.
• Catholic Encyclopedia; St. Bartholomew
• Webster's Online Dictionary
• The Martyrdom of the Holy and Glorious Apostle Bartholomew, attributed to Pseudo-Abdias, one of the minor Church Fathers
• St. Bartholomew's Connections in India

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