
St. Bartholomew the
Apostle
Feast Day: June
11th
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An excerpt from the
Reading:
Saint Bartholomew was one of the Twelve
Apostles, and had Galilee as his homeland; this is all that
is known of him for certain according to the history of the
Gospels. Concerning his apostolic work, certain say that he
preached in Arabia and Persia, and especially in India,
bringing to them the Gospel written by Saint Matthew, which
had been written originally in Hebrew, and which was found
there one hundred years later by Pantaenus, formerly a stoic
philosopher and later an illustrious teacher of the
Christian school in Alexandria (see Eusebius, Eccl. Hist.,
5: 10). Other accounts say that he went to Armenia.
According to some, he ended his life by being crucified, or
by being flayed alive, in Albanopolis (Urbanopolis) of
Armenia. This also confirms an ancient tradition preserved
by the Armenians. According to some, Bartholomew and
Nathanael are the same person, because the Evangelists who
mention Bartholomew do not mention Nathanael; and John, who
alone mentions Nathanael as one of the Twelve, says nothing
of Bartholomew. Indeed, Bartholomew is a patronymic, "son of
Talmai," which means "bold, spirited" (see also Jesus of
Navi 15:14; II Kings 3:3), and Nathanael could have had this
as a surname. According to the Synaxarion of the Menaion on
April 22, however, it is Simon the Zealot and Nathanael who
are the same; the Evangelists who mention Simon the Zealot
(or "the Cananite") do not mention Nathanael.

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