St. Barnabas, Apostle

ST. BARNABAS
Apostle (†61)
We read that in the first days of the Church, the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul; and none said that anything which he possessed was his own. (Acts 4:32) Amid this fervent company of Christians who practiced evangelical poverty, one only is singled out by name, Joseph, a rich Levite from Cyprus. He, having land, sold it, and bringing the price, laid it at the feet of the Apostles. They then gave him a new name, Barnabas, translated 'son of consolation'. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and was soon chosen for an important mission, the rapidly growing Church of Antioch. Here he perceived the great work which was waiting to be done among the Greeks, and therefore he hastened to seek out and bring Saint Paul to Antioch, from his retirement at Tarsus.

When the prophet Agabus at Antioch foretold a great universal famine, Barnabas and Paul were selected by the faithful, to take to the Church of Jerusalem their generous offerings for the poor of that city. It was also at Antioch that the two Saints were named for the apostolate of the Gentiles; and they sailed together for Cyprus and then to the cities of Asia Minor. Their preaching struck men with amazement, and some cried out, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" calling Paul Mercury, and Barnabas Jupiter. The Saints traveled together once again, to the Council of Jerusalem, and told of the "signs and wonders which God had wrought among the Gentiles" during their missionary journey. Shortly after this they separated; Barnabas with John Mark went to Cyprus, while Paul with Silas returned to Asia Minor.

The tradition of Milan, Italy, reveals that Saint Barnabas went from Cyprus to Italy, and in Milan founded its church; he is still honored there as its first Bishop. After seven years he consecrated St. Anathalon to replace him, and returned to Cyprus to visit the churches. He crisscrossed the island several times to bring to every city and village the Holy Name of the Son of God. In Salamis, some of the recalcitrants plotted together to kill him. He was aware of the conspiracy; nonetheless, after foretelling to John Mark that he would die that same day, he went to the synagogue to preach as usual. It was there that he was stoned as a blasphemer, in the year 61 of our era. St. John Mark (the Evangelist) succeeded in burying him near Salamis. In the reign of the Emperor Zeno, his body was discovered, in the Island of Cyprus: on his breast lay a copy of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, written by the hand of Barnabas himself.




Prayer: (Taken from 'The Liturgical Year')


To thee, O Barnabas, we offer the gratitude of the nations. Thou didst watch, O faithful Levite, beside the figurative sanctuary of the days of expectation, observing the coming of the Lord God (Lev. viii. 35), until at last the true ark, the Incarnate Word, having appeared in Sion, thou didst at once take thy place at His side, to defend and serve Him, the ark of holiness, that had come to rally all nations, to give unto them the true manna, to establish amongst all a new covenant; this was to require from the sons of the Old Testament, the sacrifice of the privileges that had been theirs, since the first prevarication of the Gentiles. Though a member of the favoured tribe of Levi, prompt wast thou to abandon its sacred titles which thou didst recognize to have been but limited, and to be now set aside; yea, outstepping mere precept, thou didst not hesitate to renounce all thy family possessions and give them up, together with thyself, to the Church yet in her infancy and scorned by the Synagogue. Therefore, the Holy Ghost would not be out-done in generosity; to thee He reserved the signal privilege of presenting to the Gentiles, their apostle. Saul was thy friend; blinded by the prejudices of his sect, he scorned to follow thine example; and the Faithful trembled at his very name, seeing in him their most relentless persecutor. But silently thine intercession arose from earth, and blending with that of Stephen, pleaded a strong prayer for the murderer. The hour of grace had sounded; and thou wast the first in Jerusalem, to hear of its victory; on the strength of thy testimony alone, the terrified assembly of believers opened their doors to the recent convert.

Thus appearing before the Church, as guarantee for the future Doctor of the Gentiles, to thee belonged the honour of leading him forth to the scene of his labours. Thine it was not, to be numbered among the Twelve by our Lord, yet thine authority was of a kind that almost equaled theirs. After the baptism of Cornelius, thou wast delegated, by the apostles to Antioch to direct the evangelization of the Gentiles. There Paul, the new labourer, was joined to thee; and then did the word of salvation falling from thy lips, begin to produce conversions so numerous, that the Faithful were then called, for the first time Christians, to distinguish them at once from both pagans and Jews. The emancipation of the nations was thus accomplished and Paul in the eyes of all, as also according to the language of the Holy Ghost Himself, was still but thy disciple and thy client (Acts, xi; xii. 25; xiii. 1). For which reason the Divine Spirit was pleased that thou shouldst share in common with him, that solemn ordination whereby he was constituted Apostle of the Gentiles. But very soon after this, the greater good of souls required that thy journeys and labours, hitherto inseparable from his, should be divided. Thine apostolate was then directed more specially to the Island of Cyprus, so abused in pagan times, by the demon of voluptuousness : there hadst thou first seen the light and now thou didst gladly devote thy sweat and even thy blood to diffusing throughout this thy native Isle, the purifying light of the Son of God.

But the Pentecostal fires burning in thy breast, urged thee ever forwards and onwards to more distant missions. Of thee it was written as of Paul: I have set thee to be the light of the Gentiles: that thou mayest be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts. xiii. 47). Thus, Italy also heard thy sweet voice, redolent of the joy and consolation of the Paraclete; she beheld thy noble countenance, the serene majesty whereof had made the pagans of another land mistake thee for one of their gods, veiled under human features (Ibid. xiv. 11). Bergamo, Brescia, and other places, especially Milan, claim thee as their Father. Then, O Barnabas, from thine exalted throne, look down and ever protect the faith thou didst deposit in these spots, which, more fortunate than the fated cities of Cyprus, have remained faithful. Vouchsafe to protect the Order, so useful to the Church, which claims thy powerful patronage; may its apostolate continue to carry out thine own, and may its members deserve unto the day of doom, the high esteem in which it was held by St. Charles Borromeo, thy glorious successor in the see of Milan. In one word, O Father of the Gentiles, extend thy solicitude to all nations, for all, without distinction, were confided to thee by the Holy Ghost, suffer them to enter into the way of light so exquisitely described in that precious Epistle which bears thy blessed name (Epist. Cathol. S. Barnab. Ap. xix.): may the Gentile world become the true temple, of which that of Moriah was but a figure (Ibid. xvi).



Following is what the Orthodox Church has to say about this Saint:

Holy Apostle Barnabas of the Seventy was born on the island of Cyprus into the family of the tribe of Levi, and he was named Joseph. He received his education at Jerusalem, being raised with his friend and fellow student Saul (the future Apostle Paul) under the renowned teacher of the Law, Gamaliel. Joseph was pious, he frequented the Temple, he strictly observed the fasts and avoided youthful distractions. During this time period our Lord Jesus Christ began His public ministry. Seeing the Lord and hearing His Divine Words, Joseph believed in Him as the Messiah. Filled with ardent love for the Savior, he followed Him. The Lord chose him to be one of His Seventy Apostles. The other Apostles called him Barnabas, which means “son of consolation.” After the Ascension of the Lord to Heaven, Barnabas sold land belonging to him near Jerusalem and he brought the money to the feet of the Apostles, leaving nothing for himself (Acts 4:36-37).

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem after his conversion and sought to join the followers of Christ, everyone there was afraid of him since he had persecuted the Church only a short while before. Barnabas, however, came with him to the Apostles and reported how the Lord had appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:26-28).

Saint Barnabas went to Antioch to encourage the believers, “Having come and having seen the grace of God, he rejoiced and he urged all to cleave to the Lord with sincerity of heart” (Acts 11:23). Then he went to Tarsus, and brought the Apostle Paul to Antioch, where for about a year they taught the people. It was here that the disciples first began to be called Christians (Acts 11:26). With the onset of famine, and taking along generous alms, Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem. When King Herod killed St James the son of Zebedee, and had the Apostle Peter put under guard in prison to please the Jews, Sts Barnabas and Paul and Peter were led out of the prison by an angel of the Lord.

They hid out at the house of Barnabas’ aunt Maria. Later, when the persecution had quieted down, they returned to Antioch, taking with them Maria’s son John, surnamed Mark. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophets and teachers there imposed hands upon Barnabas and Paul, and sent them off to do the work to which the Lord had called them (Acts 13:2-3). Arriving in Seleucia, they sailed off to Cyprus and in the city of Salamis they preached the Word of God in the Jewish synagogues.

On Paphos they came across a sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was close with the proconsul Sergius. Wishing to hear the Word of God, the proconsul invited the saints to come to him. The sorcerer attempted to sway the proconsul from the Faith, but the Apostle Paul denounced the sorcerer, who through his words suddenly fell blind. The proconsul believed in Christ (Acts 13:6-12).

From Paphos Barnabas and Paul set sail for Pergamum of Pamphylia, and then they preached to the Jews and the Gentiles at Pisidian Antioch and throughout all that region. The Jews rioted and expelled Paul and Barnabas. The saints arrived in Iconium, but learning that the Jews wanted to stone them, they withdrew to Lystra and Derben. There the Apostle Paul healed a man, crippled in the legs from birth. The people assumed them to be the gods Zeus and Hermes and wanted to offer them sacrifice. The saints just barely persuaded them not to do this (Acts 14:8-18).

When the question arose whether those converted from the Gentiles should accept circumcision, Barnabas and Paul went to Jerusalem. There they were warmly received by the Apostles and elders. The preachers related “what God had wrought with them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).

After long deliberations the Apostles collectively resolved not to impose any sort of burden upon Gentile Christians except what was necessary: to refrain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood (Acts 15:19-20). Letters were sent with Barnabas and Paul, and they again preached at Antioch, and after a certain while they decided to visit the other cities where they had visited earlier. St Barnabas wanted to take Mark along with him, but St Paul did not want to, since earlier he had left them. A quarrel arose, and they separated. Paul took Silas with him and went to Syria and Cilicia, while Barnabas took Mark with him to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-41).

Having multiplied the number of believers, St Barnabas traveled to Rome, where he was perhaps the first to preach Christ.

St Barnabas founded the episcopal see at Mediolanum (now Milan), and upon his return to Cyprus he continued to preach about Christ the Savior. Then the enraged Jews incited the pagans against Barnabas, and they led him out beyond the city and stoned him, and then built a fire to burn the body. Later on, having come upon this spot, Mark took up the unharmed body of St Barnabas and buried it in a cave, placing upon the saint’s bosom, in accord with his final wishes, the Gospel of Matthew which he had copied in his own hand.

St Barnabas died in about the year 62, at age seventy-six. In time, the burial spot was forgotten, but numerous signs took place at this spot. In the year 448, during the time of the emperor Zeno, St Barnabas appeared three times in a dream to Archbishop Anthimus of Cyprus and indicated the place where his relics were buried. Starting to dig at the indicated spot, Christians found the incorrupt body of the saint, and upon his chest was the Holy Gospel.

It was during this time that the Church of Cyprus began to be regarded as Apostolic in origin, and received the right of choosing its head. Thus St Barnabas defended Cyprus against the pretensions of the opponent of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the heretic surnamed Knapheios, who had usurped the patriarchal throne at Antioch and tried to gain dominion over the Church of Cyprus.