St. Bartholomewthe Apostle

The tradition of the Church remembers him as a tireless herald of the Gospel, carrying the name of Christ to distant nations—to India, where he is said to have left a copy of the Gospel according to Matthew, and to Armenia. The Coptic Synaxarium gives him a special connection with Egypt, saying his lot fell to the Great Oasis, Al-Khargah.

There, according to the Synaxarium, he preached to the people after St. Peter had sold him as a slave—for the apostles did not despise humiliation in the service of their Master, who Himself took the form of a servant. God showed great wonders through him: while he labored in the vineyards, the vine branches bore fruit immediately, and when the governor's son died, Bartholomew raised him by prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus. Astonished at these signs, many believed and were strengthened in the knowledge of God, and the apostle taught them the way of salvation.

The Lord then directed him to the land of the Berbers and sent St. Andrew to help him. The two apostles preached patiently, enduring hardship and rejection, until many entered the faith, priests were appointed, and churches were built for the worship of God. Later Bartholomew preached along the Mediterranean coast, confirming the believers and turning many from idols to the living God.

At last he was seized for his witness to Christ. King Agrippa ordered him placed in a hair sack filled with sand and cast into the sea, and so the faithful apostle received the crown of martyrdom, finishing his course and keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4:7 (2 Timothy 4:7)). Having seen "greater things" even as the Lord had promised him beneath the fig tree, he passed to the joy of his Master, whom he had loved and served to the end.

May his prayers be with us. Amen.