FEAST OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW
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Aug 24 2009
Virginia Beach Religious Holidays & Festivals Examiner Alison Kowalski
For Roman Catholics, August 24th is the day to celebrate Saint
Bartholomew. (Orthodox Christians honor the saint on June 11th.)
Bartholomew appears only four times in the Christian Bible, and even
then he is only mentioned as one in the list of the twelve apostles
(Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14, Acts 1:3). Scholars typically
identify Bartholomew with Nathanael, one of Jesus’s followers who is
mentioned only in the Gospel of John. Some explain that the confusion
results simply from the author of the Gospel of John referring to
the apostle by his given name, Nathanael, while the other books use
his surname, Bartholomew, from the Hebrew Bar-Tolmai, meaning "son
of Tolmai."
The identification of Bartholomew with Nathanael sheds more light on
the saint’s life and works. A resident of Cana in Galilee, Nathanael
met Jesus through the intercession of his friend and fellow apostle,
Philip. Upon meeting Jesus, Nathanael identified him as "the Son
of God… the King of Israel" (John 1:49). The Biblical record also
notes that Nathanael saw Jesus after the resurrection (John 21:2).
Biblical commentators and local traditions describe Bartholomew’s work
after Jesus’s ascension into heaven. Records note that the apostle
traveled east to India, in order to baptize new Christians and to
exorcise demons. Bartholomew also traveled to Asia Minor with fellow
apostle Thaddeus to preach Christianity. Both were martyred around 60
AD after laying the foundation for the Armenian church. Records are
unclear on the method of Bartholomew’s martyrdom, but he is sometimes
depicted in art as having been flayed alive, as in Michelangelo’s Last
Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. Others suggest that Bartholomew may
have been crucified or beheaded. Regardless, Christians celebrate
Saint Bartholomew as a model of faith, unwilling to denounce his
message even in the face of his own death. August 24th serves as a
time for Roman Catholics to celebrate Bartholomew’s faith and ministry,
and for Armenian Christians to honor their patron saint.
For more info, check out: American Catholic.org’s Saint of the Day:
ts/saint.aspx?id=1117
Lives of the Saints: New Advent
Catholic Encyclopedia:
The Armenian Church: