St. Barnabas 35. Britain, Cyprus, and Martyrdom. St. Paul likely spent the winter of 57/58 AD in Corinth (cf., 1 Cor 16:5-6), where he wrote his letter to the Romans. Among the many people he greets is the “household,” or “family,” “of Aristobulus” (Ro 16:10). This expression, “household” or “family,” implies that St. Aristobulus may not himself have then been present in Rome, but his extended family was. So where might Aristobulus, the brother-in-law of Barnabas, have been?  There are several reports that both Aristobulus and Barnabas were sent by St. Paul to Britain in order to prepare the way for Paul’s desired missionary work in Britain. Christianity had previously arrived in Britain, purportedly by Joseph of Aramathea. [1] Aristobulus assisted the Apostle St. Andrew in his evangelization, and was also appointed the first Bishop of Britain [2], which may have been in 63 AD [3], although he likely had arrived in 58 AD [4]. St. Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre, writing in 303...

  St.  Barnabas 5. Extended Family - Divine Strategy.       Last week we raised the question of what St. Barnabas’ extended family background per the African tradition – his sister Mary, her husband St. Aristobulus, their son St. John Mark, and Aristobulus’ relative Strapola being St. Peter’s wife; all living together in Jerusalem – might mean for Barnabas’ future mission, and for all the Church.       Now let’s add young Saul, friend of Barnabas, and later the converted St. Paul, to the mix. Perhaps he was a frequent visitor to their house as a youth, and certainly later when Paul was in Jerusalem.       In Thomas C. Oden’s The African Memory of Mark , Dr. Oden considers the Lord’s strategy here of bringing these diverse persons together. “Consider the international implications of this group of associates: One [Barnabas] was from Cyprus (a Greek island), one from Tarsus [Paul] (in Roman Asia) and one from C...

 St. Barnabas 4. The African Memory of His Extended Family.       This week we look at St. Barnabas’ background from a new perspective.       In Thomas C. Oden’s “The African Memory of Mark,” [1] Dr. Oden relates the African tradition as to Mark’s family. Recall from our first article on St. Barnabas that John Mark is Barnabas’ sister’s son ( Col4:10 ), and we also mentioned that the Orthodox tradition has St. Aristobulus ( Ro16:10 ) as Barnabas’ brother. The African Coptic tradition understands this “brother” to be what we call brother-in-law inasmuch as Barnabas’ sister, Mary ( Ac 12:12 ), was married to Aristobulus, which makes John Mark the son of Mary and Aristobulus. [2]       Furthermore, the African tradition is that St. Peter’s wife was named Strapola, and she was a relative of Aristobulus.       Dr. Oden tells it this way, quoting Coptic scholar Girgis: “‘Peter was married to Strapol...