De sancto Bartholomeo
The Apostle’s Name and Wisdom
An exploration of the etymology of Bartholomew's name and the depth of his mystical wisdom.
The name Bartholomew is interpreted as 'son of the one who suspends the waters' or 'son of the one who suspends himself.' It is said to be derived from 'bar,' meaning 'son,' 'tholos,' meaning 'summit,' and 'moys,' meaning 'water.' Therefore, Bartholomew means 'son of the one who suspends the waters'—that is, of God, who lifts up the minds of teachers so they may pour out the waters of doctrine below. This is a Syrian name, not a Hebrew one. The first part signifies a threefold suspension that he himself experienced. For he was 'suspended'—that is, lifted up from the love of the world—or 'suspended'—that is, intent upon heavenly love—or 'suspended'—that is, totally leaning upon the grace and help of God, so that his whole life might depend not on his own merits, but on God's assistance. The second part, however, signifies the depth of his wisdom. Regarding the depth of this wisdom, Dionysius says in his Mystical Theology: 'The divine Bartholomew says that theology is both much and little, and that the Gospel is both broad and great, and yet also concise.' By this, Bartholomew intends to show, according to the thought of Dionysius, that by one way of considering it, all things can be affirmed of God, while by another way, they can more properly be denied.
The Mission to India
Bartholomew arrives in India, confronts a demonic idol, and begins his ministry of healing and conversion.
The apostle Bartholomew came to India, which is at the edge of the world, and entered the temple where there was an idol named Ascaroth, and he began to live there like a pilgrim. A certain demon lived in this idol who claimed to heal the sick, but he didn't help them by curing them; rather, he simply stopped harming them. But when the temple was full of the sick and they couldn't get any answer from the idol despite daily sacrifices for the infirm who had been brought even from distant regions, they went to another city where another idol named Berith was worshipped. When they asked why Ascaroth wouldn't give them an answer, Berith replied, "Our god is bound in fiery chains and doesn't dare to breathe or speak from the hour that the apostle of God, Bartholomew, entered." They asked, "And who is this Bartholomew?" The demon replied, "He is a friend of the almighty God, and that is why he came to this province, to clear out all the gods of India." They asked him, "Tell us what he looks like, so we can find him." The demon told them, "His hair is curly and black, his skin is fair, his eyes are large, his nose is straight and well-proportioned, his beard is long with a few gray hairs, and he is of average height. He wears a white tunic studded with purple, and he is wrapped in a white cloak with purple gems at every corner." It's been twenty-six years, yet his clothes and sandals haven't worn out or gotten dirty. He prays on his knees a hundred times during the day and a hundred times at night. Angels walk with him, and they never let him get tired or hungry. He always remains cheerful and happy, with the same expression and spirit. He foresees everything, knows everything, and understands the languages of all nations. He already knows that I'm speaking to you, and when you look for him, if he wants to, he'll show himself to you; but if he doesn't want to, you won't be able to find him." "But I beg you, when you find him, ask him not to come here, so that his angels don't do to me what they already did to my companion." When they had searched for him anxiously for two days and hadn't found him, a man possessed by a demon cried out one day, saying, "Bartholomew, apostle of God, your prayers are burning me." The apostle replied, "Be silent and come out of him." And he was set free immediately. When Polemius, the king of that region, heard this, he sent for the apostle, asking him to come and heal his daughter, who was a lunatic. When the apostle arrived and saw her bound in chains because she would bite anyone who came near, he ordered her to be untied; and when the servants were afraid to approach her, he said, "I have already bound the demon that was in her, and you are still afraid?" She was untied and immediately set free. Then the king loaded camels with gold, silver, and precious stones and had the apostle searched for, but he couldn't find him anywhere. The next morning, however, the apostle appeared to the king alone in his chamber and said, "Why did you spend the whole day looking for me with gold, silver, and precious stones?" These gifts are necessary for those who seek earthly things; I desire nothing earthly, nothing carnal.
The Triumph over Darkness
The apostle teaches the theology of redemption and demonstrates Christ's power by binding the demon and converting the nation.
Then Saint Bartholomew began to teach him many things about the way of our redemption, showing, among other things, that Christ had conquered the devil through a marvelous harmony of power, justice, and wisdom; for it was fitting that he who had conquered the son of the virgin—that is, Adam, who was made from the earth while it was still virgin—should himself be conquered by the son of the Virgin. He also conquered him powerfully when he cast him out of the dominion the devil had usurped upon the fall of the first man. Just as a victor over a tyrant sends his companions to set up his titles everywhere and overthrow the tyrant, so Christ the victor sends his messengers everywhere to empty out the devil's worship and establish Christ's. It was just, for it is right that he who held man captive by conquering him while he was eating should, having been conquered by a man who was fasting, no longer hold man captive. It was done wisely, however, while the devil's craft was deluded by the craft of Christ. The devil's craft was to snatch Christ into the desert just as a hawk snatches a bird, so that if he did not grow hungry while fasting there, he would undoubtedly be God; but if he did grow hungry, he would conquer him through food, just as he had the first man. But he could not be known as God because he grew hungry, nor could he be conquered, because he didn't yield to his temptation. When he had therefore preached the sacraments of the faith to him, he told the king that if he were willing to be baptized, he would show him his god bound in chains. The following day, therefore, while the priests were sacrificing to the idol near the king's palace, the demon began to cry out and say: 'Stop sacrificing to me, you wretches, lest you suffer worse things than I, who am bound in fiery chains by the angel of Jesus Christ—whom the Jews crucified, thinking he was held by death.' He, however, took death itself captive—our queen—and bound our very prince, the author of death, in fiery chains. Everyone immediately threw ropes to pull down the idol, but they couldn't. The Apostle, however, commanded the demon to come out and smash the idol. He immediately came out and smashed all the idols in the temple by himself. Then, after the Apostle had poured out a prayer, all the sick were cured; the Apostle then dedicated the temple to God and commanded the demon to go off into the desert. Then the angel of the Lord appeared there and, flying around the temple, traced the sign of the cross on the four corners with his finger, saying: "The Lord says this: just as I have cleansed you all of your infirmity, so too will this temple be cleansed of all filth, and of its inhabitant, whom the Apostle has commanded to go into a desert place." First, however, I will show him to you; when you see him, don't be afraid, but imprint on your foreheads the same sign that I have carved into these stones. Then he showed them an Ethiopian, blacker than soot, with a sharp face, a long beard, hair hanging down to his feet, and eyes like glowing iron emitting sparks, breathing sulfurous flames from his mouth and eyes, bound with fiery chains behind his hands; and the angel said to him: "Because you have heard the vision of the Apostle and have come out of the temple and smashed all the idols, I will release you so that you may go to a place where no human dwells, and stay there until the day of judgment." He was released and vanished with a loud noise and howling, while the angel of the Lord flew up to heaven for everyone to see. Then the king, along with his wife, his children, and all the people, was baptized; he left his kingdom and became a disciple of the apostle. Then all the priests of the temples gathered together and handed him over. He died in the city of Albanum in Greater Armenia, crucified head-down; but the blessed Theodorus says that he was flayed. In many books, however, it is read that he was only beheaded. This contradiction can be resolved by saying that he was first crucified, then taken down from the cross before he died, flayed to increase his torture, and finally beheaded.
Martyrdom and Miraculous Legacy
The account of the saint's martyrdom, his posthumous miracles, and a final prayer of praise.
In the year of our Lord 331, the Saracens encountered certain men. He found them dressed in white and shining, appearing to speak with one another and discuss something among themselves. When he asked, in great wonder, who they were, one of them replied: 'This is Bartholomew the Apostle, with the other saints whose churches were held in this city; they have gathered together to inquire and discuss among themselves what punishment should be inflicted upon the one who drove them from their dwellings.' It had already been firmly decided among them by an unchangeable sentence that he should go without delay to the judgment of God, to answer for all these things in God's court. A short time later, the aforementioned emperor met a miserable end. It is recorded in a book of the miracles of the saints that a certain master used to celebrate the feast of Saint Bartholomew solemnly every year; the devil appeared to him while he was preaching in the form of a very beautiful girl, whom he invited to dinner after catching sight of her. While they were sitting at the table, she tried hard to entice him into her love. Blessed Bartholomew appeared before the doors in the guise of a pilgrim and insisted urgently that he be let in for the love of Saint Bartholomew. When she tried to dissuade him, bread was sent to him, but he refused to accept it. He then asked the master through a messenger to tell him what he considered to be the most distinctive quality in a human being. When he answered that it was the ability to laugh, the girl replied, "No, it's the sin with which a human is conceived, born, and lives." Bartholomew replied to her that the man had made a good point, but the woman had looked deeper. Secondly, the pilgrim mentioned earlier sent word to the master, asking him to say what place, even a foot wide, existed on earth where God had shown greater miracles. When he answered that it was the place of the Cross, where God worked miracles, she said, "No, it's the human head, in which a lesser world exists." The apostle approved of both their opinions. Thirdly, he asked what the distance was from the highest point of heaven to the depths of hell. When the master said he didn't know, she said, "I see now that I'm being cast down; but I know this, because I've fallen from one state to another, and it's necessary that I show this to you." Then the devil threw himself into the abyss with a loud wail, and although they searched for the stranger, they couldn't find him anywhere. A similar story is told about blessed Andrew. — 6. Blessed Ambrose, however, in the preface he wrote about that apostle, summarizes his legend by saying: 'Christ, when your disciples were preaching your Trinity to the world as a single divinity, you graciously deigned to show your majesty. Among them, your kind foresight directed the most blessed Bartholomew to a distant people, to be honored for his great excellence in virtue; though he was far removed from human society, he still earned the right to be brought close to you through the growth of his preaching.' Oh, with what great praise this wonderful apostle should be celebrated! When the hearts of the people nearby weren't enough to sow the faith, he traveled with winged speed to the farthest ends of the earth to the Indians; entering their demonic temple, he immediately ensured that no demon could offer any answer. Oh, how wonderful are the signs of his virtue, when by his command alone he rendered mute the adversary who had been speaking against him with a human voice and tearing at the men for so long! He freed the queen, who was lunatic from a demonic contagion, and after breaking the bonds, he returned the girl to her father completely healthy. Oh, how sublime is this miracle of his holiness, when he made the ancient enemy of the human race return his own idol to nothingness! How worthy he is to be numbered among the heavenly host, since an angel descended from the halls above for his sake to provide certain proof of his miracles. He, therefore, showing the chained demon to everyone in his hideous form, had impressed the life-giving cross of the Lord upon the stone. The king and queen were baptized along with the people of the twelve cities, and they followed you, God the Father, in body and in spirit. In the end, however, at the urging of the temple priests, the tyrant—the brother of the new convert Polemius—had the blessed Apostle, who remained steadfast in the faith in every way, beaten and flayed, forcing him to endure a bitter death. Yet, by manfully enduring the crisis of death, he won the triumph of a glorious struggle and attained heavenly joy. The blessed Abbot Theodorus, a distinguished teacher, says of this Apostle, among other things: 'The Apostle of God, Bartholomew, preached first in Lycaonia, then in India, and finally in the city of Albana in Greater Armenia, where he was first flayed, then beheaded, and buried in that same place.' When he was sent by the Lord to preach, he heard, as I believe: 'Go, my disciple, to preach; go out to fight; be capable of enduring dangers. I have finished the Father's work and have become the first witness; fill the vessel that is necessary; imitate your Master; emulate your Lord; set blood against blood; trade flesh for flesh; endure what I have sustained in suffering for you.' Let your weapons be kindness in your labors and gentleness among the wicked, as the city offers. The Apostle did not refuse patience in these things that perish, but as a faithful servant, yielding to the Lord's command, he went forth rejoicing like the light of the world to illuminate the dark, like the salt of the earth to season the tasteless nations, and like a farmer so that the spiritual harvest might be perfected. Peter the Apostle also teaches the nations, but Bartholomew consistently explores the same; Peter works great wonders, but Bartholomew performs powerful miracles; Peter is crucified head-down, while Bartholomew, after being flayed alive, is beheaded. To the same extent that Peter is capable of grasping mysteries, Bartholomew is able to penetrate them; he fertilizes the Church just as much, and he held the other divine charisms with an equal balance. Standing in the middle of the divine number of twelve, he gives forth the sound of divine discourse from both sides, just like harmony on a lyre. All the apostles, dividing the whole world among themselves, were established as shepherds of the King of kings. To him, however, the lot and portion of Armenia was assigned—a region extending from Ejulath to Gabaoth. See him, then, plowing the fields of human reason with the plow of his tongue, storing the word of faith in the depths of the heart, planting the gardens and vineyards of the Lord, applying medicinal remedies for individual passions, pulling up useless thorns, cutting down the forests of impiety, and setting up dogmatic hedges. But what kind of rewards did they offer their Creator! Truly, for honor they gave dishonor; for blessing, a curse; for gifts, punishments; and for a life of rest, a most bitter death. For after he endured unbearable torments and was flayed by them like a bellows, he didn't neglect his killers even after he had departed from this world; instead, he invited the lost through miracles and welcomed the hostile through wonders. But there was nothing to restrain that bestial mind, nothing to pull it back from evil. What else did they do? They raged against that sacred body: the sick spat upon their healer, the lost upon their guide, the blind upon their leader, the shipwrecked upon their pilot, and the dead upon their life-giver. And how did they do this? They threw the holy body into the sea. The chest was then carried with force from the regions of Armenia, along with the chests of four other martyrs who had been thrown into the sea at the same time during their work; and as these four preceded it like ministers performing a service for the Apostle, it traveled across such a great expanse of sea until it arrived in the parts of Sicily, at the island called Lipari—a mystery beyond understanding. This was revealed to the doctor, just as it was to the Bishop of Ostia, who was present at the time. The richest treasure has come to the poor; the most precious pearl has come to the lowly; the most brilliant light has come to the sorrowful. Since the other four were heading to different lands, they left the holy apostle on that island. For the apostle left the aforementioned four martyrs behind, sending one—namely Papinus—to the city of Milas in Sicily, and another, by the name of Lucianus, to Messina; he directed the remaining two to the land of Calabria, sending Gregorius to the city of Columna and Achatius to the city called Chale, who shine even today through their intercessions. He was therefore received with many hymns, praises, and candles, and a temple was magnificently built for him. However, because Mount Vulcanus, which was next to the island, harmed the inhabitants by emitting fire, it moved itself invisibly about seven stadia, suspended over the sea, so that even today it looks to those who see it like a fleeing fire. Now, therefore, hail, O blessed among the blessed, thrice-blessed Bartholomew, who are the splendor of divine light, the fisherman of the holy Church, the skilled catcher of rational fish, the sweet fruit of the living vine, the destroyer of the devil who wounds the world with his thievery. Rejoice, sun of the world, illuminating all things; mouth of God, bringing forth wisdom with a tongue of fire; fountain, ever pouring forth healing; you who sanctified the sea with your walking, who made the earth purple with your own blood, who ascended to the heavens, where you shine in the midst of the divine host, glow in the splendor of unfading glory, and rejoice in the exultation of insatiable joy. These are the words of Theodorus.
Read the original Latin
Bartholomeus interpretatur filius suspendentis aquas vel filius se suspendentis. Dicitur enim a bar, quod est filius, et tholos, quod est summitas, et moys, quod est aqua. Inde bartholomeuá, id est filius suspendentis aquas, id est Dei, qui mentes doctorum sursum elevat, ut aquas doctrinarum inferius fundant. Et est nomen Syrum, non Hebraenm. Per primum enim notatur triplex suspendium, quod ipse habuit. Fuit enim suspensus, id est elevatus ab amore mundi, vel suspensus, id est intentus amore coelesti, vel suspensus, id est totaliter innixus gratiae et auxilio Dei, ut non a suis meritis, sed a Dei adjutorio tota vita sna dependeat. Per secundum vero profunditas suae sapientiae. De eujus sapientiae profunditate dicit Dionysius in mystica theologia: divinus Bartholomeus dicit et multam theologiam esse et minimam et evangelium latum et magnum et rursus concisum, Et vult Bartholomeus ostendere secundum intentionem Dionysii, quod una consideratione possunt omnia affirmari de Deo, alia consideratione magis proprie negari, 3.
Bartholomeus apostolus veniens ad Indiam, quae est in fine orbis, templum, in quo erat ydolum nomine Ascaroth , intravit et quasi peregrinus ibidem manere coepit. In hoc ydolo quidam daemon habitabat, qui se languentes curare dicebat, sed non sanando subveniebat, sed a laesione cessando. Sed cum templum languentibus plenum esset etquotidianis sacrificationibus pro infirmis etiam ex longinquis regionibus adductis nullum ab ydolo responsum habere possent, ad aliam civitatem perrexerunt, ubi aliud ydolum nomine Berith colebatur, et interrogantibus, cur sibi Ascaroth responsum non daret, respondit Berith: Deus noster catenis igneis est constrictus nec respirare nec loqui audet ex illa hora, qua apostolus Dei Bartholomeus ingressus est, Dicunt illi: et quis est iste Bartholomeus? Et daemon: amicus est Dei omnipotentis et ideo venit in istam provinciam, ut omnes Deos Indiae evacuet. Et illi: dic nobis signa ejus, ut eum invenire possimus. Quibus daemon ait: capilli ejus crispi et nigri, caro candida, oculi grandes, nares aequales et directae, barba prolixa habens paucos canos, statura aequalis, collobio albo clavato purpura vestitur, induitur pallio albo, quod per singulos angulos gemmas habet purpureas. Viginti sex anni sunt, ex quo vestes et sandalia ejus nec veterascunt nec sordidantur, centies flexis genibus per diem orat et centies per noctem, angeli cum eo ambulant, qui nunquam eum fatigari nec esurire permittunt, Semper eodem vultu et animo laetus et hilaris perseverat, omnia praevidet, omnia novit, omnium gentium linguas novit et intelligit, et quod vobiscum loquor, ipse jam novit et quando quaeritis eum, si vnlt, ostendet se vobis, si autem non vult, eum non poteritis invenire. Rogo autem vos, ut, cum eum inveneritis, rogelis eum, ne huc veniat, ne angeli sui hoc mihi faciant, quod meo socio jam fecerunt.
Cum igitur per duos dies sollicite quaerentes eum minime invenissent, quadam die quidam daemoniacus exclamavit dicens: apostole Dei Bartholomee, incendunt me orationes tuae. Qui apostolus: obmutesce et exi foras ab eo. Et statim est liberatus. Quod audiens rex regionis illins Polemius, cum haberet filiam lunaticam , misit ad apostolum rogans, ut ad se veniret et filiam suam sanaret. Ad quem cum apostolus venisset et eam catenis ligatam videret, quia accedentes morsibus lacerabat, jussit eam solvi, et cum ministri ad eam accedere non auderent, dixit: ego daemonium, quod in ea erat, jam ligatum teneo, et vos timetis? Et soluta statim liberatasest. Tunc rex camelos auro el argento et lapidibus pretiosis oneravit et apostolum inquiri faciens nullatenus invenire potuit, Mane autem sequenti apparens apostolus cum solo rege in cubiculo dixit ei:ad quid me cum auro et argento et lapidibus pretiosis tota die quaesivisti? Ista munera sunt necessaria his, qui terrena requirunt, ego nihil terrenum, nihil carnale desidero.
Tunc sanctus Bartholomeus coepit eum multa de modo redemtionis nostrae docere, ostendens inter caetera Christum vicisse dyaholum per mirabilem congruentiam , potentiam, justitiam et sapientiam, Congruum enim fuit, ut, qui filium virginis, id est Adam factum de terra, dum adhuc esset virgo, vicerat, a filio virginis vinceretur. Potenter quoque ipsum vicit, cum de sua dominatione potenter ejecit, quam dyabolus pro dejectione primi hominis usurpavit, Et sicut alicujus victor tyranni comites suos mittit, ut ejus titulos ubique erigant et tyrannos dejiciant, sic Christus victor nuntios ubique mittit, ut dyaboli cultum evacuent et Christi statuant. Juste vero, quia justum est, ut, qui comedente homine vincens hominem detinebat, a 'jejunante homine victus hominem amplius non teneret. Sapienter autem, dum ars dyaboli deluditur arte Christi. Ars dyaboli fuit, ut, sicut accipiter rapit avem, ita in desertum raperet Christum, ut, si ibi jejunans non famesceret, absque dubio Deus esset, si autem esuriret, ipsum ut primum hominem per cibum devinceret. Sed cognosci Deus non potuit, quia esurivit, nec vinci, quia ejus tentationi non cessit. Cum ergo eidem sacramenta fidei praedicasset, dixit regi, quod, si baptizari vellet, Deum snum catenis ligatum ostenderet. Sequenti igitur die juxta regis palatium dum pontifices ydolo sacrificarent, coepit clamare daemon ac dicere: cessate, miseri, sacrificare mihi, ne pejora me patiamini, qui catenis igneis ab angelo Jesu Christi, quem Judaei crucifixerunt, religatus sum, putantes eum a morte detineri.
Ille autem ipsam mortem, quae regina nostra est, captivavit et ipsum nostrum principem autorem mortis vinculis igneis vinxit. Statimque omnes miserunt funes, ut simulacrum everterent, sed non potuerunt. Apostolus autem daemoni praecepit, ut inde exiens ydolum comminueret. Qui statim exiens omnia 'ydola templi per se ipsum confregit. Deinde fusa oratione ab apostolo omnes infirmi curati sunt, apostolas autem templnm Dei dedicavit et daemonem in deserto abire praecepit. Tunc angelus domini ibidem apparuit et templum circumvolans in quatuor angulos signum crucis digito sno scripsit dicens: haec dicit dominus, sicnt vos omnes ab infirmitate vestra mundavi, ita et templum hoc ab omni sorde mundabitur et habitatore ejus, quem apostolus in desertum locum ire praecepit. Prius tamen eum vobis ostendam, quem videntes ne timeatis, sed quale signum in lapidibus his sculpsi, tale in vestris frontibus imprimalis. Tunc ostendit iis Aethiopem nigriorem fuligine, facie acuta, barba prolixa, crinibus usque ad pedes protensis, oculis igneis ut ferrum ignitum scintillas emittentibus, flammas sulphureas ex ore et oculis spirantem, catenis igneis vinctum retro manibus, et dixit ei angelus: quoniam visionem apostoli audivisti et de templo exiens omnia ydola confregisti, solvam te, ut vadas in talem locum, ubi nullus homo moratur, et sis ibidem usque ad diem judicii.
Illeautem solutus cum magno strepitu et ululatu disparuit, angelus autem domini in coelum cunctis videntibus evolavit. Tunc rex cum uxore et filiis omnique populo baptizatus est et relicto regno apostoli discipulus est effectus. Tunc omnes templorum pontifices congregati ad tradidit. Dormivit in Albana civitate magnae Armeniae crucifixus deorsum caput habens, Beatus autem Theodorus dicit, quod -fuit excoriatus. In multis autem libris legitur, quod tantum fuit decollatus. Haec autem contrarietas taliter solvi potest, ut dicatur, quod primo crucifixus fuit, deinde antequam moreretur, de cruce fuit depositus et ob majorem cruciatum fuit excoriatus, postremo capite truncatus.
Anno domini CCCXXXI Saraceni quosdam viros !) albatos et fulgentes invenit, qui ad invicem loqui et aliqua inter se tractare videbantur. Qui cum vehementer admirans, quinam essent, interrogasset, unus eorum respondit: iste est Bartholomeus apostolus cum ceteris sanctis, quorum in urbe ecclesiae habebantur; qui insimul convenerunt, ut inter se inquirerent et tractarent, quali poena esset ille plectendus, qui eos de habitaculis suis ejecit. Et jam inter eos inviolabili sententia est firmatum, ut ille sine mora ad judicium Dei accedat, de his omnibus in judicio Dei responsurus. Post modicum vero tempus dictus imperator miserabiliter vitam finivit, — 4 . Legitur in quodam libro de miraculis sanctorum, quod quidam magister festum sancti Bartholomei omni anno sollemniter celebrabat, cui praedicanti dyabolus in specie cujusdam puellae admodum speciosae apparuit, quam injectis in eam oculis ad prandium invitavit. Qui dum in mensa consisterent, illa in amorem suum eum multum allicere nitebatur. Beatus Bartholomeus in specie peregrini prae foribus affuit et ut amore sancti Bartholomei introduceretur, obnixius flagitavit.
Qua dissuadente panis ei mittitur, sed ille hunc accipere recusavit. Rogavit tum magistrum per nuntium, ut sibi diceret, quid magis in homine proprium esse putaret? Cui quum ille diceret: risibile, puella respondit: immo peccatum, cum quo homo concipitur, nascitur atque vivit. Cui Bartholomeus respondit, quod ille bene intulit, Sed mulier profundius indagavit. Secundo dictus peregrinus magistro misit, ut sibi diceret, quis locus unius pedis esset, ubi Deus in terra majora miracula ostendisset? Cui cum ille diceret: locus crucis, in quo Deus mirabilia operatus est, illa ait: imo caput hominis, in quo quasi minor mundus existit, Utrorumque sententiam apostolus approbavit. Tertio inquisivit, quanta distantia esset a summo coeli usque ad profundum inferni? Cui cum magister se nescire diceret, illa ait: modo video, quod praecipitor; sed ego hoc novi, quia de altero ad alterum decidi, et oportet, quod hoc tibi ostendam.
Tunc dyabolus cum magno ejulatu se in abyssum praecipitavit, et dum quaererent peregrinum, minime invenerunt. Simile fere legitur de beato Andrea. — 6. Beatus autem Ambrosius in praefatione, quam facit de illo apostolo, ejus legendam abbrevians ita dicit: 7 discipulis , Christe, tuis unica divinitate praedicantibus trinitatem tuam mundo, mirabiliter dignatus es ostendere majestatem, Inter quos beatissimum Bartholomeum magna virtutum praerogativa colendum benigna tuiprospectio ad populum direxit longinqnum,quem, licet penitus humana conversatione remotum, tibi tamen praedicationis augmento meruit consignare vicinum. O quantis praeconiis apostolum mirabilem celebrandum! cui dum ad seminandum fidem proximorum corda non sufficerent populorum, )alatis quasi vestigiis extremos terrarum fines penetravit Indorum, Cum languescentium innumera caterva templum ingressus daemoniacum effecit illico, ut nullumdaemon praeberet responsum. O quam mira virtatum ipsius insignia, dum humana voce verbosantem contra se adversarium solo jussu laceratis diutissime viris reddidit mutum! Reginam dyabolica contagione lunaticam liberavit puellam solutisque nexibus patri repraesentavit sanissimam, O quam sublime sanctitatis ejus miraeulum, dum antiquum humani generis inimicnm snum fecit in nihilum redire simulacrum!
Quam digne exercitui numerandus coelesti, cujus ut miraculis fidem commodaret certissimam, angelus apparuit superna delapsus ab aula. Is igitur catenatum daemonem cunctis ostendens deformem salutiferam saxo dominicam impresserat crucem. Rex reginaque simul baptizantur cum gente urbiumqne XII accolae te Deum patrem corpore sequuntur et mente. Ad exiremum vero templorum delatu pontificonm neophiti Polemii frater tyrannus beatum Apostolum omnimode in fide constantem caesum atque excoriatum acerrimam fecit suscipere mortem, Qui tamen mortis viriliter perferendo discrimen gloriosi certaminis ad coeleste gaudium reportavit triumphum. Beatus autem Theodorus abbas et doctor praecipuus de hoc apostolo inter caetera sic ait: apostolus Dei Bartholomens primum in )Lycaonia praedicavit, postmodum in India,ad ultimum in Albana urbe scilicet majoris Armeniae, ubi primo excoriatus, tandem capite plexus, ibidem sepultus est. Qni dum ad praedicandum mitteretur a domino, ut opinor, audivit: vade, discipulus meus ad praedicandum, exi ad pugnandum, capax esto periculorum; ego paternum opus consummavi, primus testis factus, vas, quod necessarium est, imple, imitare magistrum tuum, aemulare dominum tuum, sanguinem sanguinibus pone, carnibus carnem trade, quae pro te passus sustinui, patere. Arma sint tibi benignitas, in sudoribus, mansuetudo inter maleficos, urbe offert. patientia in his, quaepereunt, Nonrefutavit apostolus, sed ut famulus fidelis dominico acquiescens praecepto, pergit gaudens tanquam lux mundi, ut tenebrosos illuminaret, tamquam sal terrae, ut gentes insipidas saliret, tamquam agricola, nt spiritualis cultura perficeretur.
Petrus quoque apostolus docet nationes, sed Bartholomeus consequenter paria investigat, Petrus operatur prodigia magna, sed Bartholomeus facit miracula valida, Petrus capite deorsum crucifigitur, Bartholomeus, postquam vivus excoriatus est, capite plectitur. Ad quot valet Petrus capessenda misteria, ad tot Bartholomeus sufficit penetranda, aequaliter fecundat ecclesiam, aequa lance habuitet caetera divina carismata. Hic ex divino duodenario numero medius ex utraque parte sonum divinae sermocinationis dat, sicut in cithara harmoniam. Omnes apostoli universitatem sibi dispertientes pastores regis regum constituti sunt. Huic autem est sors et portio Armeniae locus, quae est ab )Ejulath usque ad Gabaoth distributa. Igitur vide eum linguae aratro rationabilia rura sulcantem, fidei verbum in profundo cordis recondentem, paradisos et vineas domini plantantem, singulis passionum remedia medicinaliter inserentem, spinas )inutiles evellentem, silvas impietatis secare, sepes dogmaticas ciremmponere. Sed quales mercedes creatori obtulerunt! Utique pro honore inhonorantiam, pro benedictione maledictionem, pro muneribus poenas, pro requiescibili vita amarissimam mortem.
Nam postquam intolerabilia tormenta subiit, ab iis decoriatus in morem follis fuit, nec, postquam migravit ab hoc mundo, neglexit occisores, sed invitabat miraculis perditos et prodigiis admittebat adversos. Sed bestialem mentem nil erat, quod compesceret, nil quod a malo retraheret. Quid de caetero faciunt? Insaniunt contra illud sacrum corpus, reż spuunt aegroti medentem, orbati )manudacenfem, caeci ductorem, naufragi gubernatorem, mortui vivificatorem. Et hoc quomodo? Projiciunt namque in pelagus corpus sanctum. Mofa est igitur cum impetu de regionibus Armeniae archa cum IV aliorum martirum archis, quae, similiter dum operarentur, cum ea fuerant in mare projectae et per tantum spatium maris quatuor his praecedentibus el tanquam ministris obsequium quodammodo apostolo facientibus venerunt in partes Siciliae in insulam, quae Liparis nuncupatur, Pr, non intelligibilis. inale; mandncantem — doctorem, 05 sicut cpiscopo Hostiensi, qui tunc praesens erat, revelatum fuit.
Venit ad pauperculum thesaurus ditissimus, venit ad ignobilem pretiosissima margarita, venit ad moestam splendidissimum luminare. Aliis igitur quatnor ad diversas terras euntibus sanctum apostolum in dicta insula reliquerunt. Etenim praedictos IV martires apostolus relinquens retrorsum unum, seilicet Papinum, in civitatem Siciliae Milas, alium veroLucianum nomine Messimam transmisit, reliquos vero duos in Calabritidem terram direxit, Gregorium qnidem in civitatem Columnam, Achatium autem in civitatem, quae Chale vocatnr, qui usque hodie suffragiis suis splendent. Susceptus est igitur cum multis hymnis, laudibus et candelis et templum sibi magnifice fabricatar. Mons autem Vnleanus insulae contiguus eum habitatoribus esset nocivus eo, quod ignem emittebat, quasi per stadia septem se invisibiliter elongavit circa mare suspensus, ita ut usque hodie appareat videntibus quasi figuratio fugientis ignis. Nunc igitur ave o beate beatorum, ter beate Bartholomee, qui es divinae lucis splendor, sanctae ecclesiae piscator, rationabilium piscium ) perite capturae, dulcis fructus vividae palmitis, vulnerator dyaboli mundum suo latrocinio vulnerantis. Gaudeas sol orbis terrae cuncta illuminans, os Dei lingua ignita sapientiam promens, fons jugiter sanitatem emanans, qui mare meabilibus gressibus sanctificasti, )qui terram purpuream tno cruore fecisti, qui ad caelos commeasti, uhi in medio )divinae aciei refulges, in splendore immarcescibilis gloriae splendes, in exsultatione jucunditatis insatiabilis gaudes, Haec Theodorus,
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
Continue through all 240 chapters, one saint a day
Chosen Portion serves the Golden Legend as a daily portion on iOS, free, alongside the full Sub Rosa archive
The Legenda Aurea was organized for day-by-day use across the liturgical year, and Chosen Portion restores that original one-feast-per-day reading rhythm
- A complete saint's life or feast reading most days in 5-10 minutes
- 240 chapters - enough daily readings to cover a full liturgical year and beyond
- Daily reminders so the plan survives busy weeks