Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ who is known for his initial skepticism about Jesus' origins, his subsequent recognition of Jesus as the Son of God, and his missionary work spreading the Gospel, particularly in Armenia where he was martyred for his faith.
“Here is a true child of Israel. There is no guile in him."
-- Jesus Christ, referring to Bartholomew
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Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus Christ.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”
51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[d] the Son of Man.”
He witnessed Jesus' ministry, death, and resurrection, and received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
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Bartholomew traveled extensively to spread the Gospel, including to India, Armenia, and Mesopotamia.
He is credited with bringing Christianity to Armenia, where he and Saint Jude are considered patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
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Tradition holds that Bartholomew was martyred, likely flayed alive and beheaded, for his missionary work in Armenia.
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Traditions associated with Bartholomew include:
🏴England: Gingerbread cakes stamped with St. Bartholomew's image served at Bartholomew Fairs
🏴England (Sandwich, Kent): St. Bartholomew's Bun Race where children race around St. Bartholomew's Hospital chapel and receive currant buns
🏴England (Crewkerne, Somerset): St Bartholomew's Street Fair held annually in early September
🇮🇹🇪🇸Italy and Spain: Watermelon festivals held on St. Bartholomew's Day
🇪🇸Spain (Majorca): Children make lanterns from watermelons and parade through villages
🇮🇹Italy (Lipari): Feast kept on August 25 to commemorate the arrival of St. Bartholomew's remains in 580
🇮🇹Italy (Benevento): Yearly celebration honoring the translation of St. Bartholomew's relics since 809
🇮🇹Italy (Fiumalbo): Town illuminated with fire on August 23, followed by processions and fireworks
🇦🇿Azerbaijan: Solemnly celebrated as the Patron Saint on August 24
🇦🇲Armenia: Honored as one of the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church
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🏴The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted by King Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew in 1133.
It took place each year on 24 August (St Bartholomew's Day) within the precincts of the Priory at West Smithfield, London until 1855 when it was banned due to the unruly crowd and what was seen as inappropriate entertainment for Victorian London.
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You’ll also find the church of St Bartholomew the Great at Smithfields.
It is London’s oldest Parish church, welcoming worshippers for over 900 years.
Sometime before 1180, there was an apparition of the Virgin Mary to Canon Hubert there. She berated the Canons for their laxity in devotion to her and her son.
As a result, a much larger Lady Chapel was built at the East End of the Church.
"Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'"
-- John 1:45
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Almighty and everlasting God,
who didst give to thine apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach thy Word:
Grant, we beseech thee,
unto thy Church, to love that which he believed,
and to preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
ever one God,
world without end. Amen.
✝️ Today we remember King Louis IX, King of France (1214-1270).
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He was a devout Catholic monarch known for his piety, justice, and leadership of two Crusades, who was canonized as a saint for his exemplary Christian life and service to the Church.
"I think more of the church where I was baptized than of Rheims Cathedral where I was crowned (as King of France). It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a Kingdom."
-- Louis IX
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Louis IX reigned as King of France from 1226 to 1270, known for his piety, justice, and charitable works.
He implemented significant legal reforms, establishing royal courts and promoting fair trials based on evidence rather than trial by combat.
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He led two Crusades (the Seventh and Eighth) to the Holy Land, demonstrating his commitment to defending Christendom.
In 1248, fulfilling a vow made during a serious illness, he embarked on the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land.
Although this expedition ended in failure and his capture by Egyptian forces, Louis's conduct during his imprisonment impressed even his captors, who were said to kneel when speaking to him.
After his release, he spent four years in the Holy Land, visiting holy sites and negotiating for the release of Christian prisoners.
Louis's final act of faith was his leadership of the Eighth Crusade in 1270. Landing in Tunis with the hope of converting the local emir, Louis and his army were instead struck by disease.
In today’s Daily Officer, we remember Jonathan Myrick Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian and civil rights activist who sacrificed his life in 1965 to save a young African American woman from a racist attack in Alabama, becoming a martyr of the Episcopal Church and an exemplar of Christian self-sacrifice and justice.
“I knew then that I must go to Selma. The Virgin's song was to grow more and more dear in the weeks ahead." - Jonathan Myrick Daniels
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He was an Episcopal seminarian who answered Martin Luther King Jr.'s call for clergy to join the civil rights movement in Alabama in 1965.
He worked to integrate churches, register Black voters, and advocate for racial equality in the segregated South.
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Daniels sacrificed his life at age 26 by shielding Ruby Sales, a young Black activist, from a racist attack in Hayneville, Alabama.
He was recognised as a martyr in the Episcopal Church calendar, exemplifying Christian self-sacrifice and commitment to justice.
✝️📖 Today we remember Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), an influential Cistercian abbot, theologian, and Doctor of the Church known for his spiritual writings, monastic reforms, and powerful preaching, who played a central role in the expansion of the Cistercian order and the development of medieval Christian mysticism.
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"We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable." - St. Bernard of Clairvaux
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Born in 1090 in Burgundy, France, Bernard entered the Cistercian order at age 22 and founded the Abbey of Clairvaux in 1115.
As abbot, he reformed and expanded the Cistercian order, founding over 60 monasteries across Europe and attracting many to monastic life.
2/ England’s flag is the Cross of St George: a red cross on white.
St George was a Christian martyr (d. c.303). Crusaders wore his cross as a sign of faith. It became England’s emblem in the Middle Ages. 🛡️
3/ The UK flag (Union Flag / Union Jack) fuses three Christian crosses:
✝️ St George’s Cross (England)
✝️ St Andrew’s Saltire (Scotland)
✝️ St Patrick’s Cross (Ireland)
✝️ 🧵As if the beginning of St Michael's Lent isn't enough, today is also The Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mary’s life points us to Jesus:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46-47)
Her humility and trust show what it means to say ‘yes’ to God.
🖼️The Virgin in Prayer
Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato
1640-50
Anglicans honour Mary not as a distant figure, but as the faithful servant who bore Christ into the world, the one who treasured God’s Word in her heart.
🙏🏻In today’s liturgy we pray:
O God,
who hast taken to thyself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of thine incarnate Son:
Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of thine eternal kingdom; through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
ever one God,
world without end.
Amen.
🖼️The Virgin Mary in Prayer
Albrecht Dürer
1518
🙏🏻And The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God,
who stooped to raise fallen humanity
through the child-bearing of blessed Mary:
grant that we, who have seen your glory
revealed in our human nature
and your love made perfect in our weakness,
may daily be renewed in your image
and conformed to the pattern of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
🖼️The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right
Leonardo da Vinci
1508–12
A secret “mini-Lent” that starts today and ends with angels in September. 🕊️⚔️
It’s called St Michael’s Lent and here’s why you might want to keep it… 🧵
🖼️The Archangel Michael defeating Satan
Guido Reni
1635
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From 15 August (Feast of St Mary) to 29 September (Michaelmas), Christians in the Middle Ages kept 40 days of fasting and prayer to honour St Michael the Archangel.