08 — Veneration and the Acts of Barnabas
The fifth-century apocryphal Acts of Barnabas and the living veneration of the apostle. These files report and assess the Acts of Barnabas (the Periodoi kai Martyrion tou hagiou Barnaba), a fifth-century Cypriot apocryphon written in the first person as if by John Mark, which narrates the Cypriot mission and the martyrdom and is the earliest connected source for both; and they set out the veneration of Barnabas across the Orthodox world — his rank among the Seventy, his patronage of Cyprus, his hymns, and the feast of June 11.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
Where Section 07 used the Acts of Barnabas as a source for the martyrdom, this section treats the Acts in its own right — what kind of text it is, when and where it was written, what it claims, and how much weight it can bear — and then turns to the worship of the Church. The Acts of Barnabas is a late, legendary, but historically interesting document: composed in Cyprus around the time of the relic-finding it implicitly serves, and bound up with the island’s case for apostolic foundation. The veneration files gather what the Church sings and remembers: Barnabas as apostle and “son of consolation,” equal in honor to the Twelve, founder of Cyprus, commemorated on June 11, with his place in the synaxaria, the hymnography, and the dedications and monastery that bear his name.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Acts of Barnabas | The fifth-century apocryphon: its first-person attribution to John Mark; its date and Cypriot provenance; its narrative of the mission and martyrdom; its relation to the relic-finding and the autocephaly cause; and its assessment as a legendary but historically revealing text — not the work of John Mark. |
| Veneration and the Feast | The cult of the apostle: Barnabas among the Seventy and as “equal to the apostles” in honor; the feast of June 11 and its place in the calendar; the hymnography and synaxarion notices; his patronage of Cyprus; the monastery of St. Barnabas near Salamis; and his commemoration in the Russian and Greek traditions. |
See Also
- The Martyrdom at Salamis — the martyrdom the Acts of Barnabas narrates
- The Finding of the Relics — the event the Acts implicitly serves
- St. Mark the Evangelist — the John Mark to whom the Acts are attributed
- The Great Feasts — the liturgical calendar in which June 11 stands
References
- The Acts of Barnabas. Trans. Alexander Walker, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1886.
- The Synaxarion of the Orthodox Church, June 11. Trans. in various editions (e.g., Holy Apostles Convent; or the Synaxarion of Hieromonk Makarios of Simonopetra).
- The Great Horologion and the Menaion for June, the service to the Apostle Barnabas.
- Hackett, John. A History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus. London: Methuen, 1901.