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St. Bartholomew

"Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world"

(Psalm 19:4)
Painting of the Icon of St. Bartholomew at St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church

The Story In A Minute

Who is Saint Bartholomew

Saint Bartholomew, also called Nathanael, was from Galilee. He was introduced to our Lord Jesus Christ by Saint Philip, one of the twelve disciples. It is written in the gospel of Saint John:

"Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph'. "

(John 1:45)

This marked the first meeting between Bartholomew (Nathanael) and the Lord Jesus Christ. It was so special because our Lord recognized him as soon as He saw him saying,

"Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit."

(John 1:47).

And when Nathanael was surprised as to how the Lord knew him, Christ answered,

"Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you"

(John 1:48)

Nathanael answered and said to Him,

"Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

(John 1:49)

Since that time, Nathanael became one of the twelve disciples and followed the Lord Jesus Christ during His ministry on earth. He was also one of the seven disciples who saw the Lord after His resurrection at the sea of Tiberias as mentioned in (John 21:1-14).

His ministry

After receiving the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the lot fell on Saint Bartholomew to go to the great oasis (Al-Khargah) in the western desert of Egypt. He entered the city and was sold as a slave. There he proceeded and preached to the people. He called them to the knowledge of God after performing before them signs and wonders that amazed their minds. He worked in the vineyards of a rich man and whenever he trimmed the vine branches, they immediately bore fruit.

It happened that the son of the governor of that city died, and Bartholomew the Apostle raised him up from the dead. The people believed and he strengthened them in the knowledge of God. Those miracles and wonders performed by Saint Bartholomew, as well as all the disciples and apostles, were to fulfill what the Lord told His disciples,

"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

(Matthew 10:8)

Later on, the Lord Christ commanded St. Bartholomew to go to the land of the Berbers and sent St. Andrew, His disciple, to help him. The people of that city were exceedingly wicked, and would not accept any of the signs or wonders the disciples performed. Yet, the two disciples continued to preach to them and teach them until they entered the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, they appointed priests over them and built churches for them.

Preaching The Gospel

Saint Bartholomew went to the country of Yemen, in the Arabian desert in Western Asia, where he left them a copy of the gospel of Saint Matthew in the Aramaic language (the language spoken by the Jews) as there was a considerable population of Jews there who accepted the Christian faith by his preaching.

His Martyrdom

Finally, St. Bartholomew went to the cities on the Mediterranean coast, where the inhabitants did not know God. He preached and converted them to the knowledge of God and the belief in the Lord Christ. He taught them to perform the works which were worthy of Christianity and commanded them to be pure and chaste. When King Agrippa heard of him, he was exceedingly enraged and commanded his servants to put him in a sack, to fill the sack with sand, and cast it into the sea, and thus, he received the crown of apostleship and the crown of martyrdom in the year 71 AD.

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Saint Bartholomew The Patron Saint of Armenia

The church of Armenia considers Saint Bartholomew their Patron saint as he preached Christianity in Armenia and was martyred there.

His Feast

The church celebrates the commemoration of his martyrdom on September 11th - the first day of the Coptic month of Tute, which is also the feast of the new Coptic year.

References

Synaxarium- Coptic Reader App