Bartholomew

Who was Bartholomew?
Notes by Thomas Madron

Bartholomew, probably a close friend of Philip, his name is always mentioned in the Gospels in connection with him. Apart from the mentions of him in four of the Apostle lists (Mark 3:18, Matt. 10:3, Luke 6:14, and Acts 1:13), nothing is known about him from the New Testament. Bartholomew is a family name meaning "son of [Hebrew: bar] Tolmai, or Talmai," so he may have had another personal name. For that reason and because he was always associated with the Apostle St. Philip in the Gospel lists, a 9th-century tradition identified him with Nathanael, who, according to John 1:43-51, was called with Philip by Jesus. His full name would be Nathanael bar Tolmai.

Today Nathanael continues to be identified with the Apostle Bartholomew. The main reasons on which this assumption rests are: 1) that the circumstances under which Nathanael was called do not differ in solemnity from those connected with the call of Peter, whence it is natural to expect that he as well as the latter was numbered among the Twelve; 2) Nathanael is mentioned as present with other Apostles after the Resurrection in the scene described in John 21; and 3) Nathanael was brought to Jesus by Philip (John 1:45), and thus it seems significant that Bartholomew is always mentioned next to Philip in the lists of the Twelve given by the Synoptists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14).

Upon seeing Nathanael, Jesus said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" This identification sought to explain how the otherwise unknown Bartholomew could be mentioned in the Apostle lists, while Nathanael, whose call is explicitly described by John, does not figure in them. Bartholomew/Nathanael may have written a gospel, now lost, although it is mentioned in other writings of the time. He may have preached in Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India and Armenia; some one did, leaving early writings behind, and local tradition says it was he. Words used to describe the Apostle are honest, prayerful, friendly and cheerful.

The 4th-century Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History relates that, when the 2nd-century teacher St. Pantaenus of Alexandria made a visit to India (although "India" was the name given for an area that extended far to the west of present day India ), he found the Hebrew Gospel According to Matthew, which had been left behind there by Bartholomew. Traditionally, Bartholomew also served as a missionary to Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia (in modern Iran), Lycaonia (in modern Turkey), and Armenia. His relics were supposedly taken to the Church of St. Bartholomew-in-the-Tiber, Rome.

Bartholomew/Nathanael is said to have died in Albanopolis, Armenia, but the stories of his death differ; according to one he was beheaded; others state that he was flayed alive and crucified. For this reason he is usually represented in art as flayed and holding his skin in his own hand. Emblems: knife, cross. His feast day in the Roman Calendar, August 24.

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