03 — The Mission
The dispersal of the apostles to the nations and the missionary traditions assigned to Bartholomew. Where the great apostles’ fields are firmly fixed in early tradition, Bartholomew’s is given variously — “India” (Eusebius, HE 5.10, reporting Pantaenus and the Hebrew Matthew), Armenia, and Phrygia, often in the company of Philip. These files set out the notices in order of attestation and weigh what can and cannot be said.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
After Pentecost the apostles went out, by ancient tradition, to the lands allotted them; Eusebius reports the tradition that “the holy apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over the whole world” (Ecclesiastical History 3.1; trans. NPNF II/1). For Bartholomew the destinations named are several and not easily harmonized. The earliest concrete notice is Eusebius’s report that the missionary Pantaenus, reaching the “Indians,” found among them a Hebrew copy of the Gospel of Matthew left by the Apostle Bartholomew (HE 5.10). Later tradition assigns him Armenia, where with Thaddaeus he is honored as a founding apostle, and Phrygia, where he labored and suffered with Philip. This section sets the mission traditions side by side and then treats the constant feature that unites them — his pairing with Philip.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Missions | The apostolic dispersal (Eusebius, HE 3.1); the “India” tradition and Pantaenus’s discovery of a Hebrew Matthew (HE 5.10); the Armenian and Phrygian traditions; the difficulty of “India” as a place-name; and the divergence of the sources, presented with the positions named. |
| The Companion of Philip | Bartholomew’s constant pairing with Philip in the apostle-lists; Philip’s bringing of Nathanael to Christ (John 1:45); the tradition of their joint labor and suffering in Hierapolis of Phrygia; and the bearing of the pairing on the Nathanael identification. |
See Also
- Bartholomew and Nathanael — the figure who is sent
- The Enlightener of Armenia — the Armenian mission in detail
- St. Apostle Philip — his companion in the lists and the mission
- The Pre-Schism Church — the early-Church world of the mission to the nations
References
- Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History (esp. 3.1; 5.10). Trans. Arthur C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 1. 1890.
- Jerome. On Illustrious Men 36 (on Pantaenus and the Indian mission). Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 3.
- The Synaxarion / Menaion for June 11. (The Orthodox liturgical commemoration of the apostle’s mission.)