When is Bartholomew’s name day?

Bartholomew can be celebrated on 2 feasts in the Orthodox calendar. People keep the feast of the saint they were named for, or the one their family has always kept.

Every feast on which Bartholomew is celebrated

The saints behind the name

• Bartholomew and Barnabas the Apostles

  June 11, Apostle, Βαρθολομαίος και Βαρνάβας

  Saint Bartholomew, one of the Twelve, is generally identified with Nathanael of Cana. Tradition relates that he preached in Arabia, India and Armenia, where he was flayed and crucified for Christ.

  Name days: Vartholomaios, Bartholomew, Bartholomaios, Bartholomeos, Varnavas, Barnabas, Barnaby, Varnava

• 

  Return of the Relics of Bartholomew

  August 25, Apostle, Βαρθολομαίος

  This feast commemorates the translation of the relics of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew, one of the Twelve, who preached the Gospel in eastern lands and completed his apostolic course as a martyr. According to tradition, his relics, placed in a coffin and cast into the sea by persecutors, were carried by the waves and received with honor by the faithful, coming at last to the island of Lipari.

  Name days: Bartholomeos, Bartholomew, Bartolo

Also celebrating with Bartholomew

These names share the feast, many of them other forms of the same name:

Vartholomaios, Bartholomaios, Bartholomeos, Varnavas, Barnabas, Barnaby, Varnava, Bartolo

What to say on a name day

The Greek wish is Χρόνια Πολλά (Chronia Polla), “many years.” A call or a short message on the day is what people remember. See name day wishes you can send and what a name day is.