Saint Bartholomew is one of the Twelve Apostles, mentioned sixth in the three Gospel lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and seventh in the list of Acts (1:13).
Bartholomew (Greek: Βαρθολομαίος, transliterated "Bartholomaios") comes from the Aramaic bar-Tôlmay, meaning son of Tolomai (Ptolemy) or son of the furrows (perhaps a ploughman). Based on this meaning, it is likely that Batholomew was originally not a given name, but a family name.
After the Ascension of Jesus, it’s said the saint travelled to the east, and then onto Greater Armenia.
Traditionally, he was active in the Armenian city of Albanopolis on the west coast of the Caspian Sea and that he also preached in Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt.
He was martyred at the site of the Maiden Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan, by being flayed alive and then crucified head down, by order of the king for having converted his brother.
After his martyrdom in (present day) Azerbaijan or Armenia, sometime in the 600s, Bartholomew's body is said to have been transported to Lipari (a small island off the coast of Sicily). In 809, these remains were moved from Lipari to Benevento. In 983, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II brought what had become "Bartholomew's relics" to Rome, to the isle of Tiber, (in the Tiber River) where they were at last housed in the church built in his name (at the basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola). In the course of time, the church there inherited an old medical center. This directly led to Bartholomew's name becoming associated with medicine and hospitals.
In works of art he is often represented with a large knife, or, as in Michelangelo's Last Judgment, with his own skin hanging over his arm.
The feast of St. Bartholomew is celebrated on August 24, in the western Church and on June 11, in the Eastern churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church honors Saint Bartholomew, along with Saint Jude as their patron saint. The Coptic Church remembers him on January 1.
He is the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and many miracles are reported surrounding his relics.
Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Emily de Vialar
2. Saint María Micaela of the Blessed Sacrament
3. Saint Jane Antide Thouret
4. Saint Ouen of Rouen
5. Saint George Limniotes