Editing Bartholomew the Apostle (section)

==Tradition==

[[Eusebius of Caesarea]]'s ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'' (5:10) states that after the [[Ascension of Jesus|Ascension]], Bartholomew went on a [[missionary]] tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Tradition narrates that he served as a missionary in [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Parthia]], as well as [[Lycaonia]] and [[Ethiopia]] in other accounts.<ref name=EB>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Micropædia. vol. 1, p. 924. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1998. {{ISBN|0-85229-633-9}}.</ref>
Popular traditions say that Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India and then went to Greater Armenia.{{sfn|Butler|Burns|1998|p=232}}

===Mission to India===
Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are by Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century) and by [[Saint Jerome]] (late 4th century). Both of these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of [[Pantaenus|Saint Pantaenus]] to India in the 2nd century.<ref name="nasrani.net" /> The studies of Fr A.C. Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay region on the [[Konkan]] coast, a region which may also have been known as the ancient city [[Kalyan]], was the field of Saint Bartholomew's missionary activities. Previously the consensus among scholars was at least skeptical about an apostolate of Saint Bartholomew in India. Stallings (1703), Neander (1853), Hunter (1886), Rae (1892), Zaleski (1915) supported it, while scholars such as Sollerius (1669), Carpentier (1822), Harnack (1903), Medlycott (1905), Mingana (1926), Thurston (1933), Attwater (1935), etc. do not. The main argument is that the India that Eusebius and Jerome refer to should be identified as [[Ethiopia]] or [[Arabia Felix]].<ref name="nasrani.net" />

===In Armenia===
[[File:Saint Bartholomew Monastery general view.png|thumb|250px|[[Saint Bartholomew Monastery]] at the site of the Apostle's martyrdom in historical Armenia, now ruinous]]
Along with his fellow apostle [[Jude the Apostle|Jude "Thaddeus"]], Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] in the 1st century; as a result, in 301 the Armenian kingdom became the first state in history to embrace Christianity officially. Thus, both saints are considered the [[patron saint]]s of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]. According to these traditions, Bartholomew is the second [[Catholicos-Patriarch]] of the Armenian Apostolic Church.<ref name="Gilman">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGpr2KsbS94C|title=Christians in Asia before 1500|isbn=9781136109782|last1=Gilman|first1=Ian|last2=Klimkeit|first2=Hans-Joachim|date=2013-01-11|publisher=Routledge }}</ref>

Christian tradition offers three accounts of Bartholomew's death: "One speaks of his being kidnapped, beaten unconscious, and cast into the sea to [[drowning|drown]]."

In the Hellenic tradition, Bartholomew was executed in [[Albanopolis, Armenia|Albanopolis]] in Armenia, where he was martyred for having converted Polymius, the local king, to Christianity. Enraged by the monarch's conversion, and fearing a Roman backlash, King Polymius's brother, Prince Astyages, ordered Bartholomew's torture and execution. However, this version of the story appears ahistorical, as there are no records of any Armenian king of the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia]] with the name "Polymius". Other accounts of his martyrdom name the king as either Agrippa (identified with [[Tigranes VI]]), or [[Sanatruk]], king of Armenia.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8WPfEAAAQBAJ |title =The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew: Greek, Arabic, and Armenian Versions |isbn = 9798868951473 |last1 = Curtin|first1 = D. P.|date = January 2014|publisher =Dalcassian Publishing Company }}</ref>

The 13th-century [[Saint Bartholomew Monastery]] was a prominent Armenian monastery constructed at the presumed site of Bartholomew's martyrdom in [[Vaspurakan]], Greater Armenia (now in southeastern Turkey).<ref name="raa.am" />

===In present-day Azerbaijan===
[[File:St. Bartholomew ortodox church in Baku, XIX century.jpg|thumb|[[Saint Bartholomew Church (Baku)]] before the destruction|216x216px]]

Azerbaijani Christians hold the official position that Apostle Bartholomew was the first person to bring Christianity to the lands of modern Azerbaijan and believe that he preached there.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholic.az/en/church/church-azerbaijan |title=The Catholic Church in Azerbaijan |website=Catholic.az |publisher=Azerbaijan's Catholic Church |language=en |access-date=4 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://az.pravoslavie.az/history/christianity_in_azerbaijan_history/ |title=Azərbaycan Tarixində Xristianlıq |website=Pravoslavie.az |publisher=Orthodox Church of Azerbaijan |language=az |access-date=4 September 2024}}</ref> [[Saint Bartholomew Church (Baku)]] was built in 1892 with donations from the local Christian population on the site where the Apostle Bartholomew was believed to have been martyred.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pravoslavie.az/history/orthodox_churches_azerbaijan_history/?id=13668 |title=Pravoslav Kilsələrinin Tarixi: Müqəddəs Məryəm Məbadı |website=Pravoslavie.az |publisher=Orthodox Church of Azerbaijan |language=az |access-date=4 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bakıda məzarı tapılan İsa peyğəmbərin apostolu Varfolomey |url=https://qaynarinfo.az/az/bakida-mezare-tapilan-isa-peyemberin-apostolu-varfolomey/ |access-date=April 28, 2021 |website=qaynarinfo.az}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholic.az/en/archives/3120 |title=Azerbaijan's Religious Leaders' Statement on the Patriotic War |website=Catholic.az |date=25 June 2024 |publisher=Azerbaijan's Catholic Church |language=en |access-date=4 September 2024}}</ref> Azerbaijani Christians believe that in the area near the [[Maiden Tower (Baku)|Maiden Tower]], the apostle Bartholomew was crucified and killed by pagans around 71 AD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Проповедь Святого Апостола Варфоломея |url=https://udi.az/hystory/0002-2 |access-date=April 28, 2021 |website=udi.az}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://az.pravoslavie.az/history/orthodox_churches_azerbaijan_history/?id=13696 |title=Pravoslav Kilsələrinin Tarixi: Azərbaycan Tarixi |website=Pravoslavie.az |publisher=Orthodox Church of Azerbaijan |language=az |access-date=4 September 2024}}</ref> The church continued to operate until 1936, when it was demolished as a part of the Soviet [[USSR anti-religious campaign (1928–1941)|campaign against religion]].