Today is St Bartholomew's feast day. Now, I can hear you all racking your brains, which one was Bartholomew? Well, Bartholomew, as one of the twelve disciples, you would expect to be a fairly well-known-about figure, but in fact, we actually know very little about who he was and what he did.
It might surprise you to learn that Bartholomew actually only appears in the New Testament, in the four lists of the twelve apostles (Matthew 10:2–4, Mark 3:16–19, Luke 6:14–16, Acts 1:1–13)! In the bible, he is never described as having any particular roles, titles or characteristics, so when it comes to celebrating him on his feast day, we are often left wondering, but why?
The earliest surviving writings about Bartholomew come from centuries after his death and so there is, of course, a sense of doubt over their authenticity. As one of the twelve, we do know simply from his inclusion in this group, that he was close to Jesus and he would have been present at most of the significant events recorded in the gospels. Bartholomew would have witnessed many of Jesus' miracles, he would have heard many of his teachings, would have been a friend and companion to Jesus.
We know that, as with the other apostles, when Jesus died, Bartholomew would have received the power of the Holy Spirit, and was able to perform miracles himself. There are many who believe that Bartholomew was actually Nathaniel, or that Bartholomew was close to Philip, but to every reasoning there are counterpoints. It is generally believed that Bartholomew was a missionary, and similarly it is thought that he died a martyr - but even the means of his martyrdom is debated! There are several contradictory traditions on how he died, but the most popular of these suggests that he was flayed and beheaded - this is thought to be why most art portraying Bartholomew depicts him holding or wearing his skin in some way, or holding a flaying knife. He is patron saint of many things that reflect this theory, including being considered patron saint of tanners, tailors, leatherworkers, bookbinders, farmers, butchers, and glove makers - amongst many other things.
So while there is, without doubt, an air of mystery around the root of who Bartholomew was, what we know for a fact, is that he was an apostle, a trusted follower of Christ and at the formation of the early Christian Church.
