Bartholomew the Apostle Totally Explained

Everything about St Bartholomew totally explained

Bartholomew was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. Bartholomew (transliterated "Bartholomaios") comes from the Aramaic bar-Tôlmay (תולמי‎‎‎‎‎-בר‎‎), meaning son of Tolmay (Ptolemy) or son of the furrows (perhaps a ploughman). Many have, based on this meaning, assumed it wasn't a given name, but a family name.
The festival of St. Bartholomew is celebrated on August 24 in the western Church and on June 11 in the Eastern churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church honours Saint Bartholomew, along with Saint Thaddeus as their patron saint. The Coptic Church remembers him on January 1. The festival in August has been a traditional occasion for markets and fairs; such a fair serves as the scene for Bartholomew Fair, a play by Ben Jonson.

Biblical References

Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve Apostles in the three Synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. He also appears as one of the witnesses of the Ascension (Acts 1:4, 12, 13).

Nathanael

Beginning in about the 9th century, he became associated with Nathanael, mentioned only in the Gospel according to John. In the Synoptic gospels, Philip and Bartholomew are always mentioned together, while Nathanael is never mentioned; in John's gospel, on the other hand, Philip and Nathanael are similarly mentioned together, but nothing is said of Bartholomew. Some Biblical scholars reject this identification, however.
In the Gospel of John, Nathanael is introduced as a friend of Philip. He is described as initially being skeptical about the Messiah coming from Nazareth, saying: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?", but nonetheless, follows Philip's invitation. Jesus immediately characterizes him as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit". Some scholars hold that Jesus' quote "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you", is based on a Jewish figure of speech referring to studying the Torah. Nathanael recognizes Jesus as "the Son of God" and "the King of Israel". Nathanael reappears at the end of John's gospel as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Tiberias after the Resurrection.

Tradition

According to Syriac tradition, Bartholomew's original name was Jesus, which caused him to adopt another name. Eusebius of Caesarea's 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. Some of his skull was transferred to Frankfurt, while an arm is venerated in the Canterbury Cathedral today.

Holy Miracles

Of the many miracles performed by St. Bartholomew before and after his death, two very popular ones are known by the town-folk of the small island of Lipari. When St. Bartholomew's body was found off the shore, the Bishop of St. Christopher's Church of Lipari ordered many men to get the body. When this failed due to its extreme weight, the Bishop then sent out the children. The children easily brought the body ashore.
   Ever since his discovery on the island, 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. When taking the statue down the hill towards the town, it suddenly got 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, the walls further downhill collapsed. If the statue had been able to be lifted, all of the townspeople would have been killed.
   The island has been invaded in its history. During one invasion, the king of the invading country discovered the statue and ordered it to be taken to be melted down. The statue was taken to the kingdom and weighed. It was found to weigh only two ounces and was thought to be hollow. It was returned to its place in the cathedral in Lipari. In reality, the statue weighs several tons and it's considered a miracle that it wasn't melted down.
   St. Bartholomew is credited with many other miracles having to do with the weight of objects.

Art and Literature

In works of art he's often represented with a large knife, or, as in Michelangelo's Last Judgment, with his own skin hanging over his arm. Tradition holds that in Armenia he was flayed alive and then crucified upside down. This fate has led to him being adopted as the patron saint of tanners.
Saint Bartholomew plays a part in Francis Bacon's Utopian tale The New Atlantis. The tale is 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 the arc floating off their shore. The arc 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 arc and its contents afloat. Thus the scientists of Bensalem received the revelation of the Word of God.

The Name "Bartholomew" in various languages

Amharic: በርተሎሜዎስ (Berteloméwos)
Armenian: Բարթողիմէոս [pʰɑɾtʰoʁimɛjos] Partoghimeos
Aramaic: תולמי‎‎‎‎‎-בר‎‎
Azeri: Bartolumay
Catalan: Bartomeu
Chinese: 巴多羅買 (pronounced Baduoluomai); 白 (meaning "white", pronounced Pak in Wade-Giles Cantonese or Bái in Pinyin Mandarin) as a single-character family name
Croatian: Bartolomej
Czech: Bartoloměj
Danish: Bartolomæus
Dutch: Bartolomeüs
English: Bartholomew (full name/formal); Bart (diminutive)
Faroese: Bartal
Finnish: Perttu or Pärttyli
French: Barthélemy
German: Bartolomäus
Greek: Βαρθολομαίος
Hebrew: נתנאל (Natan-el), which means the gift of God
Hungarian: Bertalan (given name), Bartal, Bartos, Bartó (last names)
Icelandic: Bartólómeus
Insubric (Milanese): Bartolamee
Irish Gaelic: Bairtliméad or Parthálan
Italian: Bartolomeo
Korean: 바르톨로메오(learned); 바돌로메(vernacular)
Latin: Bartolomaeus
Latvian: Bartlomejs
Lithuanian: Baltramiejus
Loretano Peruvian Spanish: Bartuco (vernacular)
Maltese: Bartoloméw (learned); Bartilméw (vernacular)
Norwegian: Bartolomeus
Polish: Bartłomiej (learned); (Bartosz is now other name, but comes from Bartłomiej)
Portuguese: Bartolomeu
Provençal: Barthomieu
Romanian: Bartolomeu
Russian: Варфоломей (Varfolomei)
Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlan
Slovak: Bartolomej
Spanish: Bartolomé
Serbian: Вартоломеј (in Cyrillic), Vartolomej (in Roman letters)
Slovak: Bartolomej
Slovene: Jernej
Swedish: Bartolomaios, Bartolomeus (older transcription)
Tagalog: Bartolome

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