Friday, August 24, 2012

St Bartholomew (Aug 24)


From the martyrology:

"The Apostle St. Bartholomew, who preached the Gospel of Christ in India. He passed thence into the Greater Armenia, where, after converting many to the faith, he was flayed alive by the barbarians, and beheaded by order of king Astyages, and thus he terminated his martyrdom. His sacred body was first carried to the island of Lipara, then to Benevento, and finally to Rome in the island of the Tiber, where it is venerated by the pious faithful."

The calling of St Bartholomew (aka Nathaniel) is chronciled in St John's Gospel.

Eusebius' 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.  He is also credited, along with his fellow apostle Jude, with having brought Christianity to Armenia.

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