ST. BARTHOLOMEW (AUG. 24TH)
St. Bartholomew By Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) Blessed Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle, Missionary and Martyr for the Gospel of Christ! Today, August 24th, the Western Church celebrates the life and work of one of the greatest saints of the Early Church, St. Bartholomew. The Eastern Orthodox commemorate him on June 11th. St. Bartholomew’s name is an interesting combination of Greek and Aramaic, in many ways representing the mixed Hebrew-Greek foundations of the Church itself. “Bar” means “Son of” and “Talamai” is the Aramaic pronunciation of Ptolemy, a Greek name associated with the Alexandrian rulers of Egypt. In the Synoptic Gospels, Bartholomew is the companion of Andrew, while in the Gospel of John, Nathaniel takes his place. Because of this, ancient Latin and Mesopotamian Church Fathers believed “Bartholomew” to be a surname, and for his personal name to be Nathanial. St. Bartholomew’s earliest accounts occur in the “Ecclesiastical Histories...
