St. Bartholomew the Apostle

St. Bartholomew the Apostle was one of the Twelve chosen by Jesus Christ. In the lists of the Apostles he is named Bartholomew, and many traditions identify him with Nathanael, the man brought to Jesus by Philip in John’s Gospel. He is patron of Armenia, tanners, leather workers, butchers, bookbinders, and those suffering from skin diseases. If Bartholomew is Nathanael, his first meeting with Christ reveals much about his character. Philip told him, “We have found him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote.” Nathanael doubted that anything good could come from Nazareth, but when Jesus saw him He said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.” Nathanael then confessed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” After Pentecost, tradition sends Bartholomew to preach in the East. Ancient accounts connect him with India, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Armenia. The Armenian tradition became especially strong, honoring him as one of the apostles who brought the Gospel there. His martyrdom is remembered with particular severity. The most common Western tradition says he was flayed alive and then beheaded, which is why he is patron of tanners and is often shown in art holding his own skin or a flaying knife. Michelangelo famously painted him this way in the Sistine Chapel’s Last Judgment. Relic traditions place important relics in Rome, especially at the Church of St. Bartholomew on the Tiber Island. His feast is August 24. His life is apostolic and missionary: a man who first questioned, then believed; who received the witness of Philip and then carried witness to distant peoples; who ended his life in a martyrdom that made his body itself a sign of fidelity to Christ.

Relics claimed for Bartholomew were venerated in several places, especially on the island of Lipari and later in Rome at the church of San Bartolomeo all’Isola. These relic traditions helped spread his devotion in the West. In Armenia, churches and monasteries remembered his apostolic preaching as part of the nation’s Christian foundation. The contrast between the simple Gospel lists and the strong later traditions is important: Scripture gives his place among the Twelve, while the missionary memory of the Church gives the geography of his witness. Both point to an apostle who left everything after encountering Christ.