Bartholomew

The name, Bartholomew, appears in the New Testament only in the lists of apostles. There is nothing describing him or his work. However, it may be that Bartholomew was a family name meaning “son (Hebrew – bar) of Tolmai or Talmai (9th century tradition). It is possible that his first name  was Nathanael. There is a story in John 1:43-51 about Nathanael  being called by Jesus into discipleship with Philip. When Jesus saw Nathaneal, He said, “Behold, an Israelite in whom is no guile.”  Since Bartholomew is mentioned nowhere except in apostle lists in the first three gospels, and Nathaneal is mentioned and explicitly described in the book of John as a disciple called by Jesus but who is never mentioned in the apostle lists, it is possible that the disciple’s full name was Nathanael bar (son of) Tolmai.

Bartholomew has been mentioned in many accounts as having ministered in India, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia (in Iran), Lyconia (in Turkey), and Armenia.  It is reported that, when 4th century Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea visited India, he found a Hebrew copy of the Gospel of Matthew which had been left by Bartholomew (Ecclesiastical History). With Jude Thaddeus, Bartholomew brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Both Jude and Bartholomew are considered patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to Armenian traditions, Bartholomew is the second Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian-Apostolic Church.

According to Hellenic tradition, Bartholomew was kidnapped, beaten unconscious, and thrown into the sea to drown. He was martyred because he had brought Christianity to Polymus, the local king. Enraged by his brother’s conversion and fearing Roman backlash, Prince Astyages ordered Bartholomew to be flayed (skinned) alive and then beheaded. Other accounts identify Bartholomew’s murderer as Agrippa (identified with Tigranes) or Sanatruk of Armenia. There are various accounts of Bartholomew’s death, but they all unilaterally agree that Bartholomew died as a martyr – executed for reasons tied to his faith.

In the 13th century, the St. Bartholomew Monastery was constructed and identified as the supposed site of Bartholomew’s martyrdom in Vaspurakan, Greater Armenia (now southeast Turkey). Azerbaijani Christians say Bartholomew was the first person to bring Christianity to the area. This church existed until 1925 when the Soviet campaign against religion demolished it.