Bartholomew (Nathaniel) the Apostle

Drawing of Bartholomew (Nathaniel) the Apostle by Lorenzo Ferri according to the indications of Maria Valtorta. Source: documentary collection of the Maria Valtorta Heritage Foundation.

Galilean from Cana. Nicknamed Bartholomew or Bartholmai (the son of Tolmai or Tolme), he is the 6th of the Disciples of Jesus whom he met in Bethsaida in the house of Peter, brought by his friend Philip.

Married to Anne. He owns a house in Bethsaida. He is a rather wealthy and educated man.

He is characterized as follows, compared to John:

"You do instinctively spiritual what I painfully accomplish by mental reflection; our transformation from Israelites into Christians..."

In this sense, he is a model apostle. This is confirmed by his encounter with Jesus, in accordance with what the Gospel of John reports about this episode.

Character and appearance

The eldest of the Apostles, "thin and old" with deep eyes. He is a wise, "good and very wise" man. A slender but stern figure, a face of a thinker.

Jesus himself paints his portrait:

"Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit."

And further:

"Your honesty, your good faith, your generosity, your sincere love. Could I doubt my wise Bartholomew? (...) You are such a wise master, you know how to express the highest thoughts with simplicity."

This portrait is not without flaws: "Bartholomew is very attached to... formulas," says Philip to excuse him. "It is his only fault," observes Jesus.
Generous, he takes out a loan to offer the Grandfather of Marjiam a decent burial. He downplays his gesture:

"My name is known, and it was easy for me to find someone who would lend me money. From Bethsaida, I will take care of repaying the small debt, insignificant after all..."

He has a good Soul of a father of Family who takes charge of the sadness of orphans. He is, with his inseparable Philip, one of the two traditionalists among the Apostles, as confirmed by Mary at the end of her life. Quite fond of elegance:

"(the Apostles) dressed very modestly except Judas Iscariot, Matthew, Simon and Bartholomew - I put them in descending order of elegance."

Apostolic journey

Witness to the Last Supper, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Pentecost.

Raised in the culture of his time, with all its prejudices, he had to make great efforts to admit other truths such as the place of Women or the way to pray. He nevertheless makes commendable efforts to transform himself:

"With all my love I have failed to renew myself, to understand you, and to follow you. I followed you only materially. But You wanted us to follow you spiritually and to understand you in your perfection in order to become capable of perpetuating you."

His prejudices, which he overcomes, extend even to Lazarus of Bethany, educated in cosmopolitanism.

While being the most intransigent of the Apostles, he is nevertheless the only one who, solely to obey the Master, does not refuse contact with the Romans. His pedagogy makes him the first catechist in Christian history with Aurea Galla, a young slave in worship.

His name

לנתנא (Nathaniel) ונתנאל ברתו (Bathélemy).

Bartholomew (Nathaniel) the Apostle means "Gift of God".

Where is he mentioned in the work?

Calling of the first Apostles: GRM 50 GRM 53 GRM 54 GRM 55
Start of the apostleship in Galilee: GRM 57
Apostolic journey in Judea: GRM 70
Selection of the last Apostles: GRM 91 GRM 92 GRM 93 GRM 94 GRM 95 GRM 96 GRM 97
The last shepherds: GRM 98 GRM 99 GRM 100 GRM 102 GRM 103 GRM 104 GRM 105 GRM 108 GRM 109
In Judea before communal life: GRM 110 GRM 111 GRM 112 GRM 115 GRM 116 GRM 117 GRM 118
Teachings on the Ten Commandments: GRM 119 GRM 120 GRM 121 GRM 122 GRM 123 GRM 124 GRM 125 GRM 126 GRM 127 GRM 128 GRM 129 GRM 130 GRM 131 GRM 132
Year-end celebrations: GRM 133 GRM 134 GRM 135 GRM 136 GRM 137 GRM 138 GRM 139 GRM 140 GRM 141 GRM 142
The Samaritan woman: GRM 143 GRM 144 GRM 145 GRM 146 GRM 147 GRM 149
Female apostleship: GRM 153 GRM 154 GRM 155 GRM 157 GRM 158
In Galilee, the selection of the Apostles: GRM 160 GRM 161 GRM 162 GRM 164 GRM 165 GRM 166
The Sermon on the Mount: GRM 169 GRM 170 GRM 171 GRM 172 GRM 173 GRM 174 GRM 175 GRM 176
Apostleship in Galilee: GRM 177 GRM 178 GRM 179 GRM 180 GRM 181 GRM 182 GRM 183 GRM 184 GRM 185 GRM 186
The second paschal journey: GRM 187 GRM 188 GRM 189 GRM 190 GRM 191 GRM 192 GRM 193 GRM 194 GRM 195 GRM 196 GRM 197 GRM 198 GRM 199 GRM 200 GRM 201 GRM 202 GRM 203
Apostleship in Judea: GRM 205 GRM 206 GRM 207 GRM 208 GRM 209 GRM 210 GRM 211 GRM 212 GRM 213 GRM 214 GRM 215
Apostleship in Philistia: GRM 216 GRM 217 GRM 218 GRM 219 GRM 220 GRM 221 GRM 222 GRM 223 GRM 224 GRM 225
The conversion of Mary Magdalene: GRM 228 GRM 230 GRM 232 GRM 233 GRM 235 GRM 237 GRM 238 GRM 239 GRM 240 GRM 241 GRM 242 GRM 243 GRM 244 GRM 247 GRM 248 GRM 249 GRM 250 GRM 251 GRM 252 GRM 253 GRM 254 GRM 255
Sending the Apostles and Disciples on Mission: GRM 256 GRM 257 GRM 260 GRM 261 GRM 262 GRM 265 GRM 268 GRM 269 GRM 271 GRM 272 GRM 273 GRM 274 GRM 275 GRM 276 GRM 277 GRM 278 GRM 279 GRM 280
Perea, Gilead, and Trachonitis: GRM 281 GRM 284 GRM 296 GRM 297 GRM 298 GRM 299 GRM 300 GRM 301 GRM 302
Year-end celebrations in Nazareth: GRM 310
The journey of the Disciples to Antioch: GRM 326
Phoenicia and Upper Galilee: GRM 332 GRM 333 GRM 334 GRM 335 GRM 336 GRM 337 GRM 338 GRM 339 GRM 340 GRM 341 GRM 342 GRM 343 GRM 344 GRM 345 GRM 346 GRM 347
The Transfiguration and the Bread of Heaven: GRM 348 GRM 349 GRM 350 GRM 351 GRM 352 GRM 353 GRM 354 GRM 355 GRM 356 GRM 357 GRM 358 GRM 359 GRM 360 GRM 361 GRM 362 GRM 363
The penultimate Passover: GRM 364 GRM 365 GRM 366 GRM 367 GRM 368 GRM 369 GRM 370 GRM 371 GRM 372 GRM 374 GRM 375 GRM 376 GRM 377 GRM 378
In Judea: GRM 379 GRM 380 GRM 381 GRM 382 GRM 383 GRM 384 GRM 385
AGodx in Judea: GRM 386 GRM 387 GRM 388 GRM 389 GRM 390 GRM 391 GRM 392 GRM 393 GRM 394 GRM 395 GRM 396 GRM 397 GRM 398 GRM 399 GRM 400 GRM 401 GRM 402 GRM 403
Plain of Sharon: GRM 404 GRM 405 GRM 406 GRM 407 GRM 408 GRM 409 GRM 410 GRM 411 GRM 412
Pentecost, Decapolis and Esdraelon Plain: GRM 413 GRM 414 GRM 415 GRM 416 GRM 417 GRM 418 GRM 419 GRM 420 GRM 421 GRM 422 GRM 423 GRM 424 GRM 425 GRM 426 GRM 427 GRM 428 GRM 429 GRM 430 GRM 431 GRM 432
Summer in Nazareth: GRM 435 GRM 437 GRM 440 GRM 441 GRM 442 GRM 443 GRM 444 GRM 445 GRM 446 GRM 447 GRM 448 GRM 449 GRM 450 GRM 451 GRM 452 GRM 453 GRM 454 GRM 455 GRM 456 GRM 457 GRM 458 GRM 459 GRM 460 GRM 461 GRM 462 GRM 463 GRM 464 GRM 465
In Syro-Phoenicia: GRM 466 GRM 467 GRM 469 GRM 470 GRM 471 GRM 472 GRM 473 GRM 474 GRM 475 GRM 477 GRM 481
The Feast of Tabernacles: GRM 490
In Moab and Judea: GRM 498 GRM 499 GRM 500 GRM 503 GRM 504 GRM 509 GRM 510 GRM 511 GRM 514 GRM 515 GRM 520
The Dedication Festival: GRM 527 GRM 528 GRM 529 GRM 531 GRM 532 GRM 535 GRM 536 GRM 537 GRM 538
The resurrection of Lazarus: GRM 547 GRM 548
Exile in Samaria: GRM 551 GRM 552 GRM 553 GRM 554 GRM 555 GRM 556 GRM 566 GRM 568 GRM 571 GRM 575
Return to Jerusalem: GRM 577 GRM 578 GRM 582 GRM 584 GRM 586 GRM 587
Holy Week: GRM 590 GRM 592 GRM 593 GRM 594 GRM 595 GRM 597 GRM 598
The Passion: GRM 600 GRM 602 GRM 614
Resurrection Sunday: GRM 621 GRM 626
From Resurrection to Ascension: GRM 628 GRM 629 GRM 630 GRM 631 GRM 633 GRM 635 GRM 636 GRM 637 GRM 638
Apostolic times: GRM 639 GRM 640 GRM 649

Learn more about this character

Excerpts from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters, Salton Maria Valtorta, (Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Salvator Editions, 2012):

Saint Bartholomew is celebrated on August 24 in the Church Catholic and on June 11 in the Orthodox Church.

According to tradition, he traveled to evangelize India, then Asia Minor.

Saint Pantænus (end of the 2nd century), having gone to India, found traces of Christianity. The Indians showed him a copy of the Gospel of Matthew, in Hebrew, which was said to have been brought to the country by Saint Bartholomew.

An apocryphal text is attributed to him: The Gospel of Bartholomew. Saint Jerome and Bede the Venerable mention it. It seems that this is actually the Gospel of Matthew, brought to India by Bartholomew, then brought back to Alexandria by Saint Pantænus.

Bartholomew suffered martyrdom, skinned alive, in Armenia. According to the Armenian Church, he died in 68. His Relics were brought to Rome and placed in the church that bears his name. His head is venerated in Toulouse and one of his arms in Canterbury.

Notes and references

Note: Quotations from the work of Maria Valtorta on this page currently use machine-translated text and will gradually be replaced by the official English translation. Until then, the official translation may be consulted through the reference link provided with each quotation.