Bartholomew (
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماوُس, translit=Barthulmāwus) was one of the
twelve apostles of Jesus according to the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
. He is also commonly identified as ''
Nathanael
Nathanael is a Bible, biblical given name derived from the Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (''Netan'el''), which means "God/Elohim, El has given" or "Gift of God/Elohim, El." Nathaniel is the variant form of this name and it stands to this day as the us ...
'' or ''Nathaniel'', who appears in the
Gospel of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
when introduced to Jesus by
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
(who also became an apostle;
John 1
John 1 is the first chapter in the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this gospel.Holman Illu ...
:43–51), although some modern commentators reject the identification of Nathanael with Bartholomew.
New Testament references
The name ''Bartholomew'' ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος, transliterated "Bartholomaios") comes from the arc, בר-תולמי ''bar-Tolmay'' "son of
Talmai Talmai (; he, wikt:תלמי, תלמי 'my furrows') is a name in the Hebrew Bible, Bible referring to a number of minor people. Its Aramaic version was associated with the Greek Ptolemy (name), Ptolemy (see that article for the list of correspondi ...
" or "son of the furrows". Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve Apostles of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
in the three
Synoptic Gospels
The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...
:
Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
,
Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fi ...
, and
Luke
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
, and also appears as one of the witnesses of the
Ascension of Jesus
The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the N ...
. On each occasion, however, he is named in the company of Philip. He is not mentioned by the name "Bartholomew" in the Gospel of John, nor are there any early ''
acta
Acta or ACTA may refer to:
Institutions
* Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, an intellectual property trade agreement
* Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments, a standards organization for terminal equipment such as registered jacks
* A ...
'', the earliest being written by a
pseudepigraphical
Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...
writer,
Pseudo-Abdias Pseudo-Abdias is the name formerly given to a collection of New Testament Apocrypha held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and consisting of Latin translations in ten books containing several chapters. Each book describes the life of one of t ...
, who assumed the identity of
Abdias of Babylon
Legend makes Abdias (or Obadiah) first bishop of Babylon and one of the Seventy Apostles who are collectively mentioned in the ''Gospel of Luke'' . Saints Simon and Jude allegedly consecrated him as the first Bishop of Babylon. He is also asso ...
and to whom is attributed the Saint-Thierry (''Reims'', Bibl. mun., ms 142) and Pseudo-Abdias manuscripts.
In the East, where Bartholomew's evangelical labors were expended, he was identified as Nathanael, in works by
Ebedjesu bar Berika, the 14th century Nestorian metropolitan of Soba, and Elias, the bishop of Damascus. Nathanael is mentioned only in the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels, Philip and Bartholomew are always mentioned together, but no Nathanael is ever mentioned. In John's gospel, however, Philip and Nathanael are similarly mentioned together.
Giuseppe Simone Assemani
Giuseppe Simone Assemani (Classical Syriac : ܝܵܘܣܸܦ ܒܲܪ ܫܸܡܥܘܿܢ , ( ar, يوسف بن سمعان السمعاني ''Yusuf ibn Siman as-Simani'', en, Joseph Simon Assemani, la, Ioseph Simonius Assemanus; July 27, 1687–January 13 ...
specifically remarks, "the
Chaldeans confound Bartholomew with Nathaniel". Some Biblical scholars reject this identification, however.
Tradition
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...
's ''
Ecclesiastical History
__NOTOC__
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...
'' (5:10) states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Tradition records him as serving as a missionary in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
and
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
, as well as
Lycaonia
Lycaonia (; el, Λυκαονία, ''Lykaonia''; tr, Likaonya) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by ...
and
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
in other accounts.
[''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Micropædia. vol. 1, p. 924. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1998. .]
Popular traditions say that Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India and then went to Greater Armenia.
Mission to 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
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...
(late 4th century). Both of these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of
Saint Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century.
The studies of Fr A.C. Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay region on the
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
coast, a region which may have been known as the ancient city
Kalyan
Kalyan (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) ...
, was the field of Saint Bartholomew's missionary activities. Previously the consensus among scholars was against the apostolate of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle in India. The majority of the scholars are skeptical about the mission of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle in India. Stallings (1703), Neander (1853), Hunter (1886), Rae (1892), Zaleski (1915) are the authors who supported the Apostolate of Saint Bartholomew in India. Scholars such as Sollerius (1669), Carpentier (1822), Harnack (1903), Medlycott (1905), Mingana (1926), Thurston (1933), Attwater (1935), etc. do not support this hypothesis. The main argument is that the India that Eusebius and Jerome refer to should be identified as
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
or
Arabia Felix
Arabia Felix (literally: Fertile/Happy Arabia; also Ancient Greek: Εὐδαίμων Ἀραβία, ''Eudaemon Arabia'') was the Latin name previously used by geographers to describe South Arabia, or what is now Yemen.
Etymology
The term Arabia ...
.
In Armenia
![Saint Bartholomew Monastery general view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Saint_Bartholomew_Monastery_general_view.png)
Along with his fellow apostle
Jude "Thaddeus", Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Thus, both saints are considered the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
s of the
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
. According to tradition, he is the 2nd
Catholicos-Patriarch
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient G ...
of the
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
.
Christian tradition has three stories about Bartholomew's death: "One speaks of his being kidnapped, beaten unconscious, and cast into the sea to
drown
Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...
. Another account states that he was
crucified upside down, and another says that he was
skinned alive and beheaded in
Albac
Albac (german: Allenbach; hu, Fehérvölgy) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 2,220, and is composed of sixteen villages: Albac, Bărăști, Budăiești, Cionești, Costești, Dealu Lămășoi, D ...
or
Albanopolis
Albanopolis ( sq, Albanopolis or ''Albanët''; grc, Ἀλβανόπολις, Albanópolis) was a city in ancient Roman Macedon specifically in Epirus Nova, the city of the Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe. Albanopolis has been located by various sc ...
, near
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
or
Başkale
Başkale ( ku, Elbak, hy, Ադամակերտ, translit=Adamakert) is a town and district located in south-eastern Turkey in Van Province. There is one municipality in the Başkale district, the town centre, which was established in 1937. The ne ...
, Turkey."
The most prominent tradition has it that Apostle Bartholomew was executed in
Albanopolis
Albanopolis ( sq, Albanopolis or ''Albanët''; grc, Ἀλβανόπολις, Albanópolis) was a city in ancient Roman Macedon specifically in Epirus Nova, the city of the Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe. Albanopolis has been located by various sc ...
in Armenia. According to popular
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
, the apostle was
flayed
Flaying, also known colloquially as skinning, is a method of slow and painful execution in which skin is removed from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.
Scope
A dead animal may be flayed when pre ...
alive and beheaded. According to other accounts, he was crucified upside down (head downward) like
St. Peter. He is said to have been martyred for having converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. Enraged by the monarch's conversion, and fearing a Roman backlash, King Polymius's brother, Prince Astyages, ordered Bartholomew's torture and execution, which Bartholomew endured. However, there are no records of any Armenian king of the
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia with the name "Polymius". Current scholarship indicates that Bartholomew is more likely to have died in Kalyan in India, where there was an official named "Polymius".
The 13th-century
Saint Bartholomew Monastery
Saint Bartholomew Monastery ( hy, Սուրբ Բարդուղիմեոսի վանք, ''Surb Barduğimeosi vank' ''; Western Armenian: ''Surp Part'uğimeosi vank' '') was a medieval Armenian monastery in the historic province of Vaspurakan, 23 ...
was a prominent Armenian monastery constructed at the site of the martyrdom of Apostle Bartholomew in
Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...
, Greater Armenia (now in southeastern Turkey).
In Azerbaijan
Saint Bartholomew Church (Baku) was built in 1892 at the expense of donations from the local Christian population on the site where the Apostle Bartholomew was believed to have been killed. It is believed that in this area near the
Maiden Tower, the apostle Bartholomew was crucified and killed by pagans around 71 AD. The church continued to operate until 1936, then it was demolished as a part of the Soviet campaign against religion.
Veneration
According to the
Synaxarium
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...
of the
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي ...
, Bartholomew's
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
is commemorated on the first day of the
Coptic calendar
The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is a liturgical calendar used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and also used by the farming populace in Egypt. It was used for fiscal purposes in Egypt until the adoption of the Gregoria ...
(i.e., the first day of the month of
Thout
Thout ( cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ, ), also known as Thoth ( grc-gre, Θωθ, ''Thōth'') and Tut. ( ar, توت), is the first month of the ancient Egyptian calendar, Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lies between 11 September and 10 October of the Gre ...
), which currently falls on 11 September (corresponding to 29 August in the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
).
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
honours him on June 11 and the Catholic Church honours him on 24 August.
Bartholomew the Apostle is
remembered
Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding (memory), encoding and storage (memory), storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: ...
in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
with a
Festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
on 24 August. The
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
honours Saint Bartholomew and
Saint Thaddeus
Jude ( grc-gre, Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Thaddeus ( grc-gre, Θαδδαῖος; cop, ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; ...
as its patron saints.
The
Catholic Church of Azerbaijan and
Russian Orthodox Eparchy of Baku and Azerbaijan honour Saint Bartholomew as
the Patron Saint of Azerbaijan and regard him as the bringer of Christianity to the region of
Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...
, modern-day
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
. The feast day of the Apostle is solemnly celebrated therein on 24 August by the Christian laity and the Church officials alike.
Relics
![San bart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/San_bart.jpg)
The 6th-century writer
Theodorus Lector
Theodorus Lector ( el, Θεόδωρος Ἀναγνώστης, ''Theodoros Anagnostes'') was a lector, or reader, at the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople during the early sixth century. He wrote two works of history; one is a collection of sources ...
averred that in about 507, the Byzantine emperor
Anastasius I Dicorus
Anastasius I Dicorus ( grc-gre, Ἀναστάσιος, Anastásios; – 9 July 518) was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by t ...
gave the body of Bartholomew to the city of
Daras
Dara or Daras ( el, Δάρας, syr, ܕܪܐ) was an important East Roman Empire, East Roman fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the R ...
, in Mesopotamia, which he had recently refounded. The existence of relics at
Lipari
Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropolit ...
, a small island off the coast of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, in the part of Italy controlled from Constantinople, was explained by
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
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 in Lipari, were translated to
Benevento
Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...
in 838, where they are still kept now in the Basilica San Bartolomeo. A portion of the relics was given in 983 by
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy ...
, to Rome, where it is conserved at
San Bartolomeo all'Isola
The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island ( it, Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola , la, Basilica S. Bartholomaei in Insula) is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 998 by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and co ...
, which was founded on the temple of
Asclepius
Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of ...
, an important Roman medical centre. This association with medicine in course of time caused Bartholomew's name to become associated with medicine and hospitals. Some of Bartholomew's alleged skull was transferred to the
Frankfurt Cathedral
Frankfurt Cathedral (german: link=no, Frankfurter Dom), officially Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (german: link=no, Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus) is a Roman Catholic Gothic church located in the heart of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It ...
, while an arm was venerated in
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
.
In 2003, Patriarch
Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is
the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''pr ...
brought some of the remains of St. Bartholomew to Baku as a gift to Azerbaijani Christians, and these remains are now kept in the
Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral
, native_name = az, Müqəddəs Mürr-daşıyan Zənənlər kafedral kilsəsi
, image = Müqəddəs_Mürdaşıyan_Zənənlər_Kafedralı.jpg
, pushpin map = Azerbaijan Baku
, country = Azerbaijan
, denomination = Russian Orthodox
, former na ...
.
Miracles
Of the many miracles claimed to have been performed by Bartholomew before and after his death, two are known by the townsfolk of the small Italian island of
Lipari
Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropolit ...
.
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 became 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 townspeople would have been killed.
During World War II, the
fascist regime
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
looked for ways to finance their activities. The order was given to take the silver statue of Saint 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.
Saint Bartholomew is credited with many other miracles having to do with the weight of objects.
Art and literature
In artistic depictions, Bartholomew is most commonly depicted holding his
flayed
Flaying, also known colloquially as skinning, is a method of slow and painful execution in which skin is removed from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.
Scope
A dead animal may be flayed when pre ...
skin and the knife with which he was skinned.
St. Bartholomew is the most prominent flayed Christian martyr; During the 16th century, images of the flaying of Bartholomew were so popular that it came to signify the saint in works of art. Consequently, Saint Bartholomew is most often represented being skinned alive. Symbols associated with the saint include knives and his own skin, which Bartholomew holds or drapes around his body. Similarly, the ancient herald of Bartholomew is known by "flaying knives with silver blades and gold handles, on a red field." As in
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
’s ''
Last Judgement
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
'', the saint is often depicted with both the knife and his skin. Representations of Bartholomew with a chained demon are common in Spanish painting.
Saint Bartholomew is often depicted in lavish medieval manuscripts. Manuscripts, which are literally made from flayed and manipulated skin, hold a strong visual and cognitive association with the saint during the medieval period and can also be seen as depicting book production. Florentine artist
Pacino di Bonaguida
Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy A ...
, depicts his martyrdom in a complex and striking composition in his
Laudario of Sant’Agnese, a book of Italian Hymns produced for the Compagnia di Sant’Agnese c. 1340. In the five scene, narrative based image three torturers flay Bartholomew's legs and arms as he is immobilised and chained to a gate. On the right, the saint wears his own flesh tied around his neck while he kneels in prayer before a rock, his severed head fallen to the ground. Another example includes the ''Flaying of St. Bartholomew'' in the
Luttrell Psalter
The Luttrell Psalter (British Library, Add MS 42130) is an illuminated manuscript, illuminated psalter commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell (1276–1345), lord of the manor of Irnham in Lincolnshire, written and illustrated on parchment ''circa'' ...
c.1325–1340. Bartholomew is depicted on a surgical table, surrounded by tormentors while he is flayed with golden knives.
![Dietisalvi di speme, dittico di s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Dietisalvi_di_speme%2C_dittico_di_s._chiara%2C_1280_ca.JPG)
Due to the nature of his martyrdom, Bartholomew is the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of
tanners Tanners may refer to:
* Tanners (company), a British wine company
* Tanners, Virginia, an unincorporated community located in Madison County, United States
* Jerald and Sandra Tanner, opponents of the LDS Church (Mormons)
* Leatherhead F.C., a fo ...
,
plasterer
A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been u ...
s,
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
s,
leatherworker
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
s,
bookbinders A bookbinder is someone who binds books.
Bookbinder may also refer to:
*Alan Bookbinder (born 1956), British journalist and Master of Downing College, Cambridge
*Elaine Bookbinder (born 1945), singer better known as Elkie Brooks
* Roy Bookbinder ( ...
,
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
s,
housepainters
A house painter and decorator is a tradesman responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator or house painter.''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton The purpose of painting is to imp ...
,
butcher
A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...
s, and glove makers. In works of art the saint has been depicted being skinned by tanners, as in
Guido da Siena
Guido of Siena, was an Italian painter, active during the 13th-century in Siena, and painting in an Italo-Byzantine style.
Biography
The name Guido is known from the large panel in the church of San Domenico, Siena of th''Virgin and Child Enthro ...
's reliquary shutters with the ''Martyrdoms of St. Francis, St. Claire, St. Bartholomew, and St. Catherine of Alexandria''. Popular in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
and other areas in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, the saint also came to be associated with salt, oil, and cheese merchants.
Although Bartholomew's death is commonly depicted in artworks of a religious nature, his story has also been used to represent anatomical depictions of the human body devoid of flesh. An example of this can be seen in
Marco d'Agrate
Marco d'Agrate (c. 1504 – c. 1574) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Lombardy.
He was born to a family of sculptors, and collaborated with his brother Gian Francesco in a monument to Sforzino Sforza found ...
's ''St Bartholomew Flayed'' (1562) where Bartholomew is depicted wrapped in his own skin with every muscle, vein and tendon clearly visible, acting as a clear description of the muscles and structure of the human body.
''The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew'' (1634) by
Jusepe de Ribera
Jusepe de Ribera (1591 – 1652) was a painter and printmaker, who along with Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spanish Baroque painting. Referring to ...
depicts Bartholomew's final moments before being flayed alive. The viewer is meant to empathize with Bartholomew, whose body seemingly bursts through the surface of the canvas, and whose outstretched arms embrace a mystical light that illuminates his flesh. His piercing eyes, open mouth, and petitioning left hand bespeak an intense communion with the divine; yet this same hand draws our attention to the instruments of his torture, symbolically positioned in the shape of a cross. Transfixed by Bartholomew's active faith, the executioner seems to have stopped short in his actions, and his furrowed brow and partially illuminated face suggest a moment of doubt, with the possibility of conversion.
The representation of Bartholomew's demise in the National Gallery painting differs significantly from all other depictions by Ribera. By limiting the number of participants to the main protagonists of the story—the saint, his executioner, one of the priests who condemned him, and one of the soldiers who captured him—and presenting them halflength and filling the picture space, the artist rejected an active, movemented composition for one of intense psychological drama. The cusping along all four edges shows that the painting has not been cut down: Ribera intended the composition to be just such a tight, restricted presentation, with the figures cut off and pressed together.
The idea of using the story of Bartholomew being skinned alive to create an artwork depicting an anatomical study of a human is still common amongst contemporary artists with
Gunther Von Hagens
Gunther von Hagens (born Gunther Gerhard Liebchen; 10 January 1945) is a German anatomist who invented the technique for preserving biological tissue specimens called plastination. He has organized numerous ''Body Worlds'' public exhibitions an ...
's ''The Skin Man'' (2002) and
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (; né
Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
's ''Exquisite Pain'' (2006). Within Gunther Von Hagens's body of work called ''
Body Worlds
''Body Worlds'' (German title: ''Körperwelten'') is a traveling exposition of dissected human bodies, animals, and other anatomical structures of the body that have been preserved through the process of plastination. Gunther von Hagens develope ...
'' a figure reminiscent of Bartholomew holds up his skin. This figure is depicted in actual human tissues (made possible by Hagens's plastination process) to educate the public about the inner workings of the human body and to show the effects of healthy and unhealthy lifestyles.
In ''Exquisite Pain'' 2006,
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (; né
Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
depicts St Bartholomew with a high level of anatomical detail with his flayed skin draped over his right arm, a scalpel in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. The inclusion of scissors was inspired by
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
's film ''
Edward Scissorhands
''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American fantasy romance film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Anthony Mi ...
'' (1990).
Bartholomew plays a part in
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
's
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
n tale ''
New Atlantis
''New Atlantis'' is an incomplete utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, ''Sylva Sylvarum'' (forest of materials). In ''New Atlan ...
'', about a mythical isolated land, Bensalem, populated by a people dedicated to reason and natural philosophy. Some twenty years after the ascension of Christ the people of Bensalem found an ark floating off their shore. The ark contained a letter as well as the books of the Old and New Testaments. The letter was from Bartholomew the Apostle and declared that an angel told him to set the ark and its contents afloat. Thus the scientists of Bensalem received the revelation of the Word of God.
File:Last judgement.jpg, Saint Bartholomew displaying his flayed skin in Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
's ''The Last Judgment''.
File:Bartholomaeus San Giovanni in Laterano 2006-09-07.jpg, Statue of Bartholomew at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran
The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
by Pierre Le Gros the Younger
Pierre Le Gros (12 April 1666 Paris – 3 May 1719 Rome) was a French sculptor, active almost exclusively in Baroque Rome where he was the pre-eminent sculptor for nearly two decades.Gerhard Bissell, ''Pierre le Gros, 1666–1719'', Reading ...
.
File:San Bartolomeo Scorticato.jpg, ''St Bartholomew Flayed'', by Marco d'Agrate
Marco d'Agrate (c. 1504 – c. 1574) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Lombardy.
He was born to a family of sculptors, and collaborated with his brother Gian Francesco in a monument to Sforzino Sforza found ...
, 1562 (Duomo di Milano
Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...
)
File:Shield showing three flaying knives, symbol of St. Bartholomew.jpg, Shield showing three flaying knives, symbol of St. Bartholomew, at the Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)
The Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, is a progressive and inclusive Episcopal parish church in the liberal Anglo-Catholic tradition. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and is located in the Philadelphia ...
File:Das Martyrium des hl. Bartholomäus oder das doppelte Martyrium Öl auf Leinwand 250x285cm 2014-15 (1).jpeg, ''The Martyrdom of St. Bartolomew or the Double Martydom'' Aris Kalaizis
Aris Kalaizis ( gr, Άρης Καλαϊζής, born 1966 in Leipzig) is a figurative Greek-German painter. He is associated with the New Leipzig School. Art price of German Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken.
Biography
Aris Kalaizis grew up, as the so ...
, 2015
Culture
The festival in August has been a traditional occasion for markets and fairs, such as the
Bartholomew Fair
The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted to Rahere by Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew; and from 1133 to 1855 it took place each year on 24 August within the precin ...
which was held in
Smithfield, London
Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England.
Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Barth ...
, from the Middle Ages, and which served as the scene for
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
's
1614 homonymous comedy.
St Bartholomew's Street Fair is held in
Crewkerne
Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard all in the South Somerset district. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley – and b ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, annually at the start of September.
The fair dates back to
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
times and the major traders' market was recorded in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
. St Bartholomew's Street Fair, Crewkerne is reputed to have been granted its charter in the time of
Henry III (1207–1272). The earliest surviving court record was made in 1280, which can be found in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
.
In Islam
The
Qur’an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
ic account of the
disciples of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
does not include their names, numbers, or any detailed accounts of their lives. Muslim
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
, however, more or less agrees with the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
list and holds that the disciples included
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
,
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
, Bartholomew,
Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
,
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
,
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
,
Jude,
James the Less
James the Less ( grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος ὁ μικρός ) is a figure of early Christianity, one of the Twelve chosen by Jesus. He is also called "the Minor", "the Little", "the Lesser", or "the Younger", according to translation. He is not to ...
,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
and
Simon the Zealot
Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...
.
See also
*
Gospel of Bartholomew
*
Questions of Bartholomew
The ''Questions of Bartholomew'' is not to be confused with the book called Resurrection of Jesus Christ, although either text may be the missing Gospel of Bartholomew (or neither may be), a lost work from the New Testament apocrypha.
History
T ...
*
Acts of Andrew and Bartholomew
*
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
*
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
*
Bertil
Bertil is a first name of Germanic origin most commonly found among Swedish men. The oldest recorded use is from the year 1396, but the name did not come into widespread use until the 19th century.
People called Bertil include:
* Carl Bertil Agne ...
*
Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, patron saint archive
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
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*
*
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*
*
*
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*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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Further reading
*
*
External links
The Martyrdom of the Holy and Glorious Apostle Bartholomew attributed to
Pseudo-Abdias Pseudo-Abdias is the name formerly given to a collection of New Testament Apocrypha held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and consisting of Latin translations in ten books containing several chapters. Each book describes the life of one of t ...
, one of the minor
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
St. Bartholomew's Connections in Indiaat th
Christian Iconographyweb site.'
in the Caxton translation of the ''Golden Legend''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomew The Apostle
1st-century Christian martyrs
Catholicoi of Armenia
Christian saints from the New Testament
People executed by crucifixion
Saints from the Holy Land
Twelve Apostles
Year of birth unknown
Anglican saints