St. Bartholomew, an apostle and early martyr of the Church, is recognized for his missionary zeal especially in Armenia for whom he is their patron saint. And in some traditions, Bartholomew is also honored as a missionary to the Bombay India region on the Konkan coast, a region which may have been known as the ancient city Kalyan.
Today is the Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle. We know very little about the saint other than In the New Testament where Bartholomew is mentioned in the lists of the apostles. Some scholars identify him with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. It is thought that Jesus paid him a great compliment: “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him” (John 1:47). The encounter continues with some unmentioned event that lead Nathanael to exclaim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (John 1:49). Jesus promised even great revelations. Those revelations drove him to mission. The Roman Martyrology says he preached in India and Greater Armenia, where he was flayed and beheaded, dying a martyr’s death. Many of the images of the saint show him with the skin of his body and legs, flayed open. Very gruesome. Continue reading
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