Every August 24, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.
After the ascension of the Lord to heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Bartholomew set out, like most apostles, towards distant lands. Like them, he carried in his heart the fervent desire to announce Christ to the nations.
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About Bartholomew says Roman martyrology: “Born in Cana of Galilee, he was presented by Philip to Christ Jesus near the Jordan, where the Lord invited him to follow him and added him to the Twelve… it is tradition that he preached the Gospel in India and that there he was crowned with martyrdom (1st century)”.
According to a very ancient tradition, Bartholomew actually headed towards India, he was in the Middle East and also in Armenia, and there are sources that indicate that his martyrdom took place there. Unfortunately there is no absolute certainty about the end of his days.
Patronage
Saint Bartholomew has multiple patronages, all related to the way he died according to tradition: his skin was torn off to torture him and he was then beheaded. That is why he is the patron of butchers, manufacturers of books, gloves, furs, shoemakers and tailors.
He is also considered the patron saint of cheese merchants, vineyard workers and bricklayers.
Likewise, and more recently, there are those who ask for his intercession in extreme situations or to control nervous disorders and panic attacks, due to the extraordinary courage that the apostle showed when dying.
¿Bartolomé or Nathanael?
In Scripture, Saint Bartholomew appears in the three synoptic Gospels (Mt 10, 3; Mc 3, 18; Luke 6, 14), always in the company of Philip. He is also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (1, 13): Bartholomew is one of those who were gathered around the Mother of God on the day of Pentecost.
According to the vast majority of scholars of Tradition and Scripture, Bartholomew also appears in the Gospel of John, but not with the name used in the synoptics, but with that of ‘Natanael’ (which means “gift of God “). It is highly probable that this interpretation is the correct one given that “Natanael” is the one who is at Philip’s side on the same occasions as “Bartholomew” of the synoptics.
A “real Israelite” preaching in Asia
Bartholomew was born in Cana of Galilee and was summoned by Jesus to be an apostle through Philip (cf. Jn 1, 45-51). He was one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at night by the Sea of Galilee, after his resurrection (Jn 21, 2).
According to Eusebius of Caesarea, who is considered the father of Church history, Bartholomew went to preach in India, where he left a copy of the Gospel of Matthew written in Aramaic.
On the other hand, the Armenian people consider Saint Bartholomew as the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with Saint Jude Thaddeus. Both apostles arrived in the Caucasus area where Armenia is located to announce the Gospel for the first time. For this reason they are also called “co-founders”.
Death: skinned in Armenia
It is believed that Bartholomew was martyred in Abanópolis (Armenia), a city located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, after having preached in places such as Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt. It would have been in Abanópolis where King Astyages of Derbent condemned him to be tortured and die. The punishment was to tear off his skin while he was still alive and then behead him if he survived the torture.
Bartholomew has often been represented in art skinned and holding his skin with his own hands – giving the appearance of carrying some clothing in his hands; However, it is more common to see him in iconography standing, with a beard, with a book and a knife in his hands.
His relics are preserved in the church of Saint Bartholomew, on the Tiber Island, in Rome.
“How do you know me?”
Several years ago, Pope Benedict XVI referred to the personality and vocation of this apostle: «The evangelist tells us that, when Jesus sees Nathanael approaching, he exclaims: “There you have a true Israelite, in whom there is no deception” (Jn 1:47). It is a praise that is reminiscent of the text of a Psalm: “Blessed is the man (…) in whose spirit there is no fraud” (Ps 32, 2), but which arouses the curiosity of Nathanael, who replies in surprise: “Why Do you know me?” (Jn 1, 48a). Jesus’ response is not understood at first. He tells him: “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1, 48b) ».
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If you want to know more about Saint Bartholomew, we suggest the following article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Bartolomand.
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