St. Barnabas 20. Antioch of Pisidia       After the departure of John Mark at the seaport town of Perga ( Ac 13:13 ), St. Paul and St. Barnabas made the five- or six-day journey up the coastal mountains on to the high plateau (mesa) where the city of Antioch of Pisidia (“of the hills”) was located ( Ac 13:14 ). Initially the road went through a thickly populated and beautiful coastal area (along today’s southern coast of Turkey), but as they climbed up, the trees thinned out, the houses became fewer, and the road more rocky and dangerous – not only from its steepness but also from outlaws. The road was so dangerous that merchants would only travel the route together and with armed guards. But Paul and Barnabas made it through safely.       They sought out the synagogue and on the Sabbath attended services ( Ac 13:14-16 ), Barnabas obviously gave way to Paul to speak. “Men of Israel, and you that fear God.” That was new! Paul acknowledged and ...

  St. Barnabas 19. Ordaining Lazarus as Bishop . Last week we left St. Barnabas, St. Paul (Saul), and St. Mark on the Island of Cyprus, traveling on their first missionary journey.  According to a tradition of the Eastern Church, when the missionaries were “going through the whole island” of Cyprus ( Ac 13:6 ), they traveled along the southern coastal region still called Larnaca today, and came to a town then called Kition, where St. Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead ( Jn 11:38-44 ) was then living. According to Scripture and the tradition of the Cypriot Church, St. Lazarus was compelled to seek refuge away from Jerusalem to avoid the anger of the high priests and the Pharisees, who wanted to kill him ( Jn 12:9-11 ). Like other believers ( Ac 11:19 ), Lazarus would have had to leave Judea to seek refuge in another country, and apparently made his way to the town of Kition on Cyprus (cf., Ac 11:19 ). When the Apostles Saul/Paul and Barnabas then came to Kition, the...

St. Barnabas 18. On to Cyprus. St. Barnabas, Saul, and Mark sailed from the Antiochian port city of Seleucia heading for the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, about 100 miles away. They land at Salamis along the eastern coast, initially preaching in the synagogues ( Ac 13:5 ). Salamis was Barnabas’ birthplace and would, in the future, be the place of his martyrdom, [1] so undoubtedly he (and his nephew Mark) would have had relatives there. Each Jewish synagogue in the diaspora (i.e., Gentile lands) had a hospice (overnight accommodation with kosher food) for traveling Jewish rabbis and messengers. We can imagine Barnabas, Saul, and Mark seeking the Salamis hospice out and staying there until Sabbath services when they might speak publically. Barnabas would likely also seek out family and old acquaintances to identify the baptized and share the Gospel with the unbaptized. On the Sabbath, then, perhaps Barnabas, as leader of the group, and on his “home turf,” would first give the messa...

  St. Barnabas 17. First Missionary Journey.       The Holy Spirit’s new call upon St. Barnabas’ life unfolds like this: “Now in the Church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul” ( Ac 13:1 ).       Notice, again, that St. Luke’s listing of prophets and teachers begin with Barnabas, presumably as lead.       Symeon, also called Niger (Latin for “black skin”), is mentioned next. Some think this is the same Simon of Cyrene (in Africa) who helped carry the Lord’s cross [1] ( Lk23:26 ), although the spelling is different. But the Eastern Church tradition is that it is Symeon, son of Cleopas, younger brother of St. Joseph, one of the 70, second Bishop of Jerusalem from 67 to 107 AD, and who died a martyr. [2]       Lucius of Cyrene some believe to be St. Luke [3], again with d...

St. Barnabas 16. Reflection on Antioch Years.       Continuing the story of St. Barnabas’ life, the next recorded event in the Bible is the first missionary journey of Barnabas, Saul, and Mark. But before we set on the journey with them we might reflect on Barnabas’ years in Antioch (probably three, but could be about five).       In past articles we’ve suggested that Barnabas was something of a mentor to Saul/St. Paul during their work together in Antioch. Historian Henri Daniel-Ropes writes, “[I]t was in Antioch that Saul concluded his studies in the art of apostleship, under the guidance of a truly wise and good teacher [Barnabas]. Antioch, we must remember, was the city in which the essential development in the Christian missionary outlook was even now taking shape.” [1]       This mentoring task may well have been through the influence of Barnabas’ goodness, gift of the Holy Spirit, and gift of faith ( Ac 11:24 ) ...

  St. Barnabas 15. Prison and Angelic Intervention. Starting in 37 AD and until his death in 41 AD, Emperor Caligula gradually had given kingship rule over all of Palestine to Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, the one who slaughtered the Holy Innocents. Herod Agrippa I is mentioned in Acts 12: “About that time [likely 43 AD] Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the Church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.” ( Ac 12:1-3 .) Now Barnabas and Saul are still in Jerusalem on their famine relief mission, and it is the week following Passover ( Ac 12:3 ), Easter week for the Church. Luke tells the story solely focusing on Peter: Peter is in prison, asleep, chained between two guards. While the Church was in “earnest prayer” for him, an angel came, the chains fell off, the gates opened, and they walk out of prison. God’s marvelous intervention! Peter goes to ...

  St. Barnabas 14. Famine Visit. In our continuing series on the life of St. Barnabas, we last surmised that Barnabas would have been an excellent teacher to Gentile Christian converts of the virtues of charity and generosity for those suffering a famine in Judea ( Ac 11:27-30 ). St. John Chrysostom’s (344/354-407 AD) homily on this passage points out, “Do you see how for them the famine was an encouragement to salvation, an opportunity to give alms, and a harbinger of many blessings? ... The famine was foretold so that they might prepare themselves beforehand for almsgiving.” An interesting note on the purpose of prophecy: that people might prepare to respond to the call of the prophetic message with generosity. [1] The Acts also tells us that the Church in Antioch sent their relief “to the elders [in Jerusalem] by the hand of Barnabas and Saul” ( Ac 11:30 ). Notice that Barnabas continues to be named first as the leader. The term translated “elders” here is the word “presb...