For the 12 apostles and a close circle of his 70 followers, Christ’s words were a guide to action. They went to different parts of the ancient world to preach the Good News and tell the people about the Savior.
Among them was the Apostle Bartholomew. After the feast of Pentecost, he got the lot to go to Asia Minor. His partner was Saint Philip. The apostles traveled together and then dispersed to visit different cities. Thus, having spent many years on the road, having reached India, on the way from there, Saint Bartholomew found himself in the city which we call Baku.
There he spent some time and was executed as a follower of Christ (according to some reports, he was crucified upside down). As a warning to the local Christians, the ruler of the city ordered to peel off the skin and cut off the head. After the brutal murder of the apostle, his body was left to be eaten by dogs, but the believers collected the remains and put in cancer.
But after the earthly death, the wanderings of the saint did not end. First, his relics were transferred to Martiropol (410), and then to the city of Dara (507).
There it was stored invasions of the Persians. When the troops of the Persian Shah Khosroy approached Dara (571), the believers gathered the arks with the relics of famous saints and took them out of the city. One of them kept the relics of St. Bartholomew.
Next, the data diverge. According to one source, Christians themselves threw the arks with the relics of the saints into the sea to protect them from abuse. Other sources claim that the Persians did this when they caught up with people fleeing the invasion and killed them all.
Be that as it may, 5 arks hit the Black Sea, did not sink, despite the great weight, and sailed to the shore in different parts of Italy.
Cancer with the relics of the Apostle Bartholomew was on the island of Lipara, near Sicily. In 838 they were moved again. This time in Benevento, a small settlement near Naples.
There, in the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, they are still stored.
The church celebrates this event on September 7 in a new style with a six-fold service.
Remembrance days
July 13 — Council of the Glorious and All-Captive 12 Apostles
5 May
September 7 — Transfer of Relics
24 June
Charity foundHoly Land.
Soul investment!
