masc. proper name, from Old French Barthelemieu, from Latin Bartholomæus, from Greek Bartholomaios, from Aramaic bar Talmay, literally "son of Talmai," from the proper name Talmai, "abounding in furrows." One of the 12 Apostles, his festival is Aug. 24. On this date in 1572 took place the massacre of Protestants in France. Bartholomew Fair was held annually from 1133 to 1855 at West Smithfield.
son of Tolmai, one of the twelve apostles (Matt. 10:3; Acts 1:13); generally supposed to have been the same as Nathanael. In the synoptic gospels Philip and Bartholomew are always mentioned together, while Nathanael is never mentioned; in the fourth gospel, on the other hand, Philip and Nathanael are similarly mentioned together, but nothing is said of Bartholomew. He was one of the disciples to whom our Lord appeared at the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection (John 21:2). He was also a witness of the Ascension (Acts 1:4, 12, 13). He was an "Israelite indeed" (John 1:47).
270th ecumenical patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox church from 1991.