Nathanael Bartholomew was born around 1st century AD in Cana, Judaea, Roman Empire. The first name of this apostle was Nathanael (John 1:45), which means "God Has Given;" but he was nicknamed Batholomew (Matthew 10:3), which means "Son of Talmay."
He was from Cana in Galilee (John 21:2), and was known for his frankness. When Philip, the Apostle, told him that he found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, he said: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip replied "Come and See." Jesus was not offended or insulted; rather, he appreciated the remark of Bartholomew and said : "Here is a true Israelite. There is no false in him." After Jesus said that, he was shocked and said: "How do you know me?" Jesus replied: "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree, thinking about God." Nathanael was surprised by the omniscience of Jesus, and made an instant profession of faith: "Rabbi, you are, indeed, the Son of God; you are the King of Israel" (John 1:45-50).
After the descended of the Holy Spirit, the apostles of Jesus began to build the Church in Jerusalem. Together, they preached the Gospel in Jerusalem and converted the believers to Christianity.
According to tradition, Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India and Armenia, where he converted many people from idolatry. He had Polymius, the king of Armenia, converted to Christianity. As the result of Polymius's conversion to Christianity, Prince Astyages, King Polymius's brother, had Bartholomew arrested, tortured, and executed to prevent monarch's conversion and Roman backlash. Bartholomew was condemned to be skinned alive at Albanopolis in Armenia. His skin was cut into stripes and removed, leaving him agonizing with his flesh open and bleeding for a long time, before being beheaded. There are no records of any Armenian King of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia with the name Polymius.
Nathanael Bartholomew was venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Maronite Catholic Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglican Communion Church, Lutheran Church, and Islam. Islam venerated Bartholomew in Islam, because it named in Muslim exegesis as one of the disciples. Based on Western Christianity, his feast day is August 24, but on Eastern Christianity, his feast day is June 11. Saint Nathanael Bartholomew is a patron of bookbinders, butchers, salt merchants Florentine cheese, leather workers, patients suffered from neurological diseases, plasterers, shoemakers, curriers, tanners, whiteners, twitching, and trappers.
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Book of Ancient Saints: Volume 1
Non-FictionSaints are people, who are accepted as being holy, religious, and virtuous. In Christianity, more than thousands of saints gave up their life for God or died for Jesus Christ. This volume are true-to-life stories of saints who were born between BC...
