Apostle Bartholomew (Barthelemy, Baccio)

John 1,45 and Matthew 10,3.   ???????He is called by fellow-disciples, to whom he is known by his Israelite name, Nathaniel of Canaan, to follow Christ.   He recognizes that he is “the one sitting under the fig tree” meaning one who has already reached a certain level of learning in the mystery.  At the time of the appearance of the risen Christ at the Sea of Galilee he still goes by the name of Nathanael.  In the appeal of the apostles, however, he is called Bartholemew.  Legends assign to him a wide area in which he is said to have spread Christianity: from Asia Minor to Armenia to Mesopotamia to India. When he comes on the scene, idols fall and he cures the sick and heals maniacs.  He is also called to King Polimius to heal his sick daughter, and when he succeeds in doing so and has visited the king behind closed doors, the king is converted along with his entire family and his subjects.  Early-Christian representations of the apostles show him only with a book or a scroll.  Later, around 1500 AD, he is portrayed with book and knife.