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Barnabas, one of the early inspired teachers of Christianity, was originally
named Joseph, and received the apellation Barnabas from the apostles. To the few
details in his life supplied by the New Testament various additions have been
made; none of which are certainly true, while many of them are evidently false.
Clemens Alexandrinus, Eusebius, and others, affirm, that Barnabas was one of the
seventy disciples sent forth by our Lord himself to preach the gospel. Baronius
and some others have maintained, that Barnabas not only preached the gospel in
Italy, but founded the church in Milan, of which they say he was the first bishop.
That this opinion rests on no sufficient evidence is ably shewn by the candid
Tillemont. (Memoires, &c. vol. i.) Some other fabulous stories concerning Barnabas
are related by Alexander, a monk of Cyprus, whose age is doubtful; by Theodorus
Lector; and in the Clementina, the Recognitions of Clemens, and the spurious Passio
Barnabae in Cypro, forged in the name of Mark.
Tertullian, in his treatise "de Pudicitia," ascribes the
Epistle to the Hebrews to Barnabas; but this opinion, though probably shared by
some of his contemporaries, is destitute of all probability.
A gospel ascribed to Barnabas is held in great reverence among the
Turks, and has been translated into Italian, Spanish, and English. It seems to
be the production of a Gnostic, disfigured by the interpolations of some Mohammedan
writer. (Fabric. Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti, Pars Tertia; White's Bampton
Lecturcs.)
Respecting the epistle attributed to Barnabas great diversity of opinion
has prevailed from the date of its publication by Hugh Menard, in 1645, down to
the present day. The external evidence is decidedly in favour of its genuineness;
for the epistle is ascribed to Barnabas, the coadjutor of Paul, no fewer than
seven times by Clemens Alexandrinus, and twice by Origen. Eusebius and Jerome,
however, though they held the epistle to be a genuine production of Barnabas,
yet did not admit it into the canon. When we come to examine the contents of the
epistle, we are at a loss to conceive how any serious believer in divine revelation
could ever think of ascribing a work full of such gross absurdities and blunders
to a teacher endowed with the gifts of the Spirit. It is not improbable that the
author's name was Barnabas, and that the Alexandrian fathers, finding its contents
so accordant with their system of allegorical interpretation, came very gladly
to the precipitate conclusion that it was composed by the associate of Paul.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Sep 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
St. Barnabas Barnabas (originally Joseph), styled an Apostle in Holy Scripture,
and, like St. Paul, ranked by the Church with the Twelve, though not one of them;
b. of Jewish parents in the Island of Cyprus about the beginning of the Christian
Era. A Levite, he naturally spent much time in Jerusalem, probably even before
the Crucifixion of Our Lord, and appears also to have settled there (where his
relatives, the family of Mark the Evangelist, likewise had their homes, Acts,
xii, 12) and to have owned land in its vicinity (iv, 36-37). A rather late tradition
recorded by Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius says that he was one of the seventy
Disciples; but Acts (iv, 36-37) favours the opinion that he was converted to Christianity
shortly after Pentecost (about A.D. 29 or 30) and immediately sold his property
and devoted the proceeds to the Church. The Apostles, probably because of his
success as a preacher, for he is later placed first among the prophets and doctors
of Antioch (xiii, 1), surnamed him Barnabas, a name then interpreted as meaning
"son of exhortation" or "consolation". (The real etymology, however, is disputed.
See Encyl. Bibli., I, col. 484.) Though nothing is recorded of Barnabas for some
years, he evidently acquired during this period a high position in the Church.
When Saul the persecutor, later Paul the Apostle, made his first visit
(dated variously from A.D. 33 to 38) to Jerusalem after his conversion, the Church
there, remembering his former fierce spirit, was slow to believe in the reality
of his conversion. Barnabas stood sponsor for him and had him received by the
Apostles, as the Acts relate (ix, 27), though he saw only Peter and James, the
brother of the Lord, according to Paul himself (Gal., i, 18, 19). Saul went to
his house at Tarsus to live in obscurity for some years, while Barnabas appears
to have remained at Jerusalem. The event that brought them together again and
opened to both the door to their lifework was an indirect result of Saul's own
persecution. In the dispersion that followed Stephen's death, some Disciples from
Cyprus and Cyrene, obscure men, inaugurated the real mission of the Christian
Church by preaching to the Gentiles. They met with great success among the Greeks
at Antioch in Syria, reports of which coming o the ears of the Apostles, Barnabas
was sent thither by them to investigate the work of his countrymen. He saw in
the conversions effected the fruit of God's grace and, though a Jew, heartily
welcomed these first Gentile converts. His mind was opened at once to the possibility
of this immense field. It is a proof how deeply impressed Barnabas had been by
Paul that he thought of him immediately for this work, set out without delay for
distant Tarsus, and persuaded Paul to go to Antioch and begin the work of preaching.
This incident, shedding light on the character of each, shows it was no mere accident
that led them to the Gentile field. Together they laboured at Antioch for a whole
year and "taught a great multitude". Then, on the coming of famine, by which Jerusalem
was much afflicted, the offerings of the Disciples at Antioch were carried (about
A.D. 45) to the mother-church by Barnabas and Saul (Acts, xi). Their mission ended,
they returned to Antioch, bringing with them the cousin, or nephew of Barnabas
(Col., iv, 10), John Mark, the future Evangelist (Acts, xii, 25).
The time was now ripe, it was believed, for more systematic labours,
and the Church of Antioch felt inspired by the Holy Ghost to send out missionaries
to the Gentile world and to designate for the work Barnabas and Paul. They accordingly
departed, after the imposition of hands, with John Mark as helper. Cyprus, the
native land of Barnabas, was first evangelized, and then they crossed over to
Asia Minor. Here, at Perge in Pamphylia, the first stopping place, John Mark left
them, for what reason his friend St. Luke does not state, though Paul looked on
the act as desertion. The two Apostles, however, pushing into the interior of
a rather wild country, preached at Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, at Derbe,
and other cities. At every step they met with opposition and even violent persecution
from the Jews, who also incited the Gentiles against them. The most striking incident
of the journey was at Lystra, where the superstitious populace took Paul, who
had just cured a lame man, for Hermes (Mercury) "because he was the chief speaker",
and Barnabas for Jupiter, and were about to sacrifice a bull to them when prevented
by the Apostles. Mob-like, they were soon persuaded by the Jews to turn and attack
the Apostles and wounded St. Paul almost fatally. Despite opposition and persecution,
Paul and Barnabas made many converts on this journey and returned by the same
route to Perge, organizing churches, ordaining presbyters and placing them over
the faithful, so that they felt, on again reaching Antioch in Syria, that God
had "opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts, xiii, 13--xiv, 27; see article
Saint Paul).
Barnabas and Paul had been "for no small time" at Antioch, when they
were threatened with the undoing of their work and the stopping of its further
progress. Preachers came from Jerusalem with the gospel that circumcision was
necessary for salvation, even for the Gentiles. The Apostles of the Gentiles,
perceiving at once that this doctrine would be fatal to their work, went up to
Jerusalem to combat it; the older Apostles received them kindly and at what is
called the Council of Jerusalem (dated variously from A.D. 47 to 51) granted a
decision in their favour as well as a hearty commendation of their work (Acts,
xiv, 27--xv, 30; see articles Council of Jerusalem; Saint
Peter). On their return to Antioch, they resumed their preaching for a
short time. St. Peter came down and associated freely there with the Gentiles,
eating with them. This displeased some disciples of James; in their opinion, Peter's
act was unlawful, as against the Mosaic law. Upon their remonstrances, Peter yielded
apparently through fear of displeasing them, and refused to eat any longer with
the Gentiles. Barnabas followed his example. Paul considered that they "walked
not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" and upbraided them before
the whole church (Gal., ii, 11-15). Paul seems to have carried his point. Shortly
afterwards, he and Barnabas decided to revisit their missions. Barnabas wished
to take John Mark along once more, but on account of the previous defection Paul
objected. A sharp contention ensuing, the Apostles agreed to separate. Paul was
probably somewhat influenced by the attitude recently taken by Barnabas, which
might prove a prejudice to their work. Barnabas sailed with John Mark to Cypress,
while Paul took Silas an revisited the churches of Asia Minor. It is believed
by some that the church of Antioch, by its God-speed to Paul, showed its approval
of his attitude; this inference, however, is not certain (Acts, xv, 35-41).
Little is known of the subsequent career of Barnabas. He was still
living and labouring as an Apostle in 56 or 57, when Paul wrote I Cor. (ix, 5,
6). from which we learn that he, too, like Paul, earned his own living, though
on an equality with other Apostles. The reference indicates also that the friendship
between the two was unimpaired. When Paul was a prisoner in Rome (61-63), John
Mark was attached to him as a disciple, which is regarded as an indication that
Barnabas was no longer living (Col., iv, 10). This seems probable. Various traditions
represent him as the first Bishop of Milan, as preaching at Alexandria and at
Rome, whose fourth (?) bishop, St. Clement, he is said to have converted, and
as having suffered martyrdom in Cyprus. The traditions are all late and untrustworthy.
With the exception of St. Paul and certain of the Twelve, Barnabas appears to
have been the most esteemed man of the first Christian generation. St. Luke, breaking
his habit of reserve, speaks of him with affection, "for he was a good man, full
of the Holy Ghost and of Faith". His title to glory comes not only from his kindliness
of heart, his personal sanctity, and his missionary labours, but also from his
readiness to lay aside his Jewish prejudices, in this anticipating certain of
the Twelve; from his large-hearted welcome of the Gentiles, and from his early
perception of Paul's worth, to which the Christian Church is indebted, in large
part at least, for its great Apostle. His tenderness towards John Mark seems to
have had its reward in the valuable services later rendered by him to the Church.
The feast of St. Barnabas is celebrated on 11 June. He is credited by Tertullian
(probably falsely) with the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the
so-called Epistle of Barnabas is ascribed to him by many Fathers.
John F. Fenlon, ed.
Transcribed by: Janet Grayson
This text is cited Oct 2005 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
d. 4th century, feastday: March 4
d.c. 730, feastday: August 24
d. unknown, feastday: September 21 (Catholic).
d. 760, feastday: March 17
d. unknown, feastday: February 20 (Catholic). Martyrs who were executed in Cyprus, although they may have belonged to the Church in Egypt owing to a reference to them by Eusebius of Caesarea, who identifies them as part of the faithful in Alexandria
Georgius of Cyprus, the younger, afterwards Gregorius, has been said by some to
have been of Latin parents, but this is shown by Rubeis, editor of the life of
George, to be an error. He held the office of protapostolarius at Constantinople
at the time of the accession of Andronicus Palaeologus the elder (A. D. 1282).
He was a man of learning and eloquence, and the reviver, according to Nicephorus
Gregoras, of the long-disused Attic dialect. During the reign of Michiael Palaeologus,
father of Andronicus, he had been favourable to the union of the Greek and Latin
churches, which Michael had much at heart; and supplied the emperor with arguments
with which to press the patriarch of Constantinople (Joseph) and the other opponents
of the union; but on the accession of Andronicus, who was opposed to the union,
it is probable that George altered his views; for on the death of the patriarch
Joseph, Andronicus determined that George, though as yet a layman, should be appointed
to the office. The Greek church was at this time torn by dissension. Beside the
dispute about the procession of the Holy Spirit, there had been an extensive schism
occasioned by the deposition of Arsenius, patriarch of Constantinople early in
the reign of Michael (A. D. 1266). The emperor was anxious to heal these dissensions,
and possibly thought a layman more likely to assist him in so doing than a professed
theologian; and George was recommended to the office by his literary reputation.
The emperor, by tampering with some of the bishops, obtained his purpose; and
George, after being rapidly hurried through the successive stages of monk, reader,
deacon, and priest, was consecrated patriarch (April, A. D. 1283), and took the
name of Gregory. The Arsenians, however, refused to return to the church, unless
upon the testimony of heaven itself; and it was arranged at a synod or conference
at Adramyttium, apparently just after the consecration of Gregory, that they and
the party now predominant in the church (called Josephites from the late patriarch)
should each prepare a book in support of their respective views, and that the
two volumes should be submitted to the ordeal of fire. Both books, as might be
expected, were consumed; and the Arsenians regarding this as a token that heaven
was against them, submitted, and were at once led by the emperor in person, through
a violent snow storm, to receive the communion from the hands of the patriarch
Gregory. They soon, however, repented of their submission, and Gregory having
excommunicated the refractory, the whole party broke off from the church again.
This division was followed by troubles arising out of the controversy on the procession
of the Holy Spirit, aggravated by the harshness used under Gregory's influence
towards the ex-patriarch, Joannes or John Beccus or Veccus, a distinguished advocate
of the doctrine of the Latin church; and a book, which Gregory had been ordered
to prepare on the subject, and to the sentiments of which he had procured the
approval of the emperor and several of the superior clergy, excited such animadversion
and opposition, that, either in disgust or by constraint, he resigned the office
of patriarch, A. D. 1289, and retired to a monastery. He died in the course of
the following year, as many supposed, from grief and mortification. (Pachymer,
De Mich. Palacol. v. 12, De Andron. Paleol. i. 8, 14-22, 34-37, ii. 1-11 ; Niceph.
Greg. Hist. Rom. v. 2, vi. 1-4.)
The published works of George of Cyprus are as follows:
1. Ekthesis tou tomou tes pisteos kata tou Bekkou, Expositio Fidei adcersus Beccum
(seu Vceenm). This was the work which led to his troubles and consequent abdication.
2. Homologia, Confessio Fidei, delivered in consequence of the outcry against
the preceding work.
3. Apologia pros ten kata tou tomou mempsin ischurotate, Responsio validissima
ad Expositionis Censuram.
4. Pittakion: this is a letter to the emperor Andronicus, complaining of the wrong
done to him. These four pieces are given in Banduri's Imperium Orientale, ed.
Paris.
5. Enkomion eis ten Thalassan, Encomium Maris. Publshed by Bonaventura Vulcanius,
with a poem of Paulus Silentiarius, Leyden, 1591. These two pieces were published
both in a separate volume, and with the Peri Kosmou, De Mundo, of Aristotle. The
Encomiunm Maris has been since reprinted.
6. Proverbia, in alphabetical order, subjoined to the edition of the Proverbia
of Michael Apostolius by Pantinus, Leyden, 1619.
7. Logos eis ton hagion kai megalomartupa kai tropaiophoron Georgion, Oratio in
honored Sancti Georgii Magni Martyris ac Victoris. This encomium on St. George
of Cappadocia is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April Vol. III. A Latin version
is given in the body of the volume, and the Greek original in the Appendix. Sententiae,
8vo., Col., 1536. This is given by Fabricius as a separate work; we suspect that
it is identical with the Proverbia, No. 6. 9. Encomium Georgii Logothetae Acropolitae;
an extract from this was prefixed to the edition of the Chronicon of Acropolita,
by Theodore Dousa, Leyden, 1614, and to the Paris edition.
10. Vita Georyii Cyprii. This Greek memoir of George was publishcd by J. F. Bernard
de Rubeis, a Dominican, within a Latin version, notes, and dissertations, Venice,,
1753, and was shown by the editor to be an autobiography.
Many other works of George of Cyprus remain in MS.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Dec 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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