Nathaniel: Name Day and Patron Saint

St Bartholomew, one of the Twelve Apostles, was born in Cana of Galilee. St John Chrysostom, St Cyril of Alexandria and other Fathers hold that he is the same man as Nathanael, whom Philip brought to Christ and whom the Lord greeted as an Israelite in whom there is no guile. The other Gospels name Bartholomew among the Twelve, usually right after Philip, while John speaks only of Nathanael; the identification rests on this tradition of the Fathers rather than on the Gospel text itself. After Pentecost the lot fell to Bartholomew and Philip to preach in Syria and Asia Minor. At Hierapolis in Phrygia they were crucified together; Philip died, but Bartholomew, whose cross was low, was taken down alive and gave the city a bishop. He then went to India, where he translated the Gospel of Matthew into the people’s own language, and to Greater Armenia, where he healed the king’s daughter, refused all reward, and saw the king and many cities baptized. Through the plotting of pagan priests the king’s brother had him crucified upside down; he kept proclaiming Christ from the cross until he was flayed and beheaded. His relics, carried by the sea to the island of Lipari, now rest in Italy. The Church keeps his memory on 11 June (24 June on the Old Calendar), together with the Apostle Barnabas, and asks the two apostles to entreat God for the forgiveness of our sins.

What the faithful pray for

• a sincere heart without guile
• forgiveness of our sins
• the healing of those afflicted in soul and body
• those who translate and teach the Gospel
• courage to confess Christ to the end