Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament is usually thought to be Nathaniel, who appears in the Gospel of John (John 1:45–51).
The name Bartholomew comes from the Imperial Aramaic: bar-Tolmay "son of Talmai." Hence, the Bartholomew listed in the New Testament among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus may have been "Nathaniel, son of Talmai."
Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History (5:10) states that after the Ascension of Christ, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. He is said top have served as a missionary in Mesopotamia and Parthia, or possibly in Lycaonia and Ethiopia. Popular traditions say that Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India and then went to Greater Armenia.
Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are by Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century) and by Saint Jerome (late 4th century). Both of these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century.
Christian tradition provides multiple accounts of Bartholomew's death. One suggests he was kidnapped, beaten unconscious, and cast into the sea to drown. Another states that he was crucified upside down, and a third reports that he was skinned alive and beheaded in Albac or Albanopolis, near Baku, Azerbaijan.
