View source for Barnabas

{{short description|Early Christian disciple and bishop}}
{{redirect-multi|3|Barnabus|Saint Barnabas|San Bernabé|other uses|Barnabus (disambiguation)|and|Saint Barnabas (disambiguation)|and|Barnabas (disambiguation)|and|San Bernabé (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Barabbas|Barrabas (disambiguation){{!}}Barrabas|Barsabbas}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
| name = Barnabas
| title = [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostle]] and [[Bishop of Milan]]
| birth_date = 
| death_date = 
| ordained_by = [[Jesus Christ]]
| alma_mater = School of [[Gamaliel]]
| see = [[Archdiocese of Milan|Milan]] and [[Church of Cyprus|Cyprus]]
| feast_day = 11 June
| venerated = *[[Catholic Church]]
*[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
*[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]
*[[Anglican Communion]]
*[[Lutheran Church]]
| image = Galería Uffizi, Florencia, Italia, 2022 09 18, DD 42 (1) (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 220 px
| birth_place = [[Salamis, Cyprus|Salamis]], [[Roman Cyprus]]
| death_place = Salamis, Roman Cyprus
| successor = St. [[Anathalon|Anathalon of Milan]]
| church = [[Early Church]]
| metropolis = Milan and Cyprus
| canonized_date = [[Pre-Congregation]]
| attributes = [[Red Martyr]], [[Pilgrim]]'s staff; [[olive branch]]; holding the [[Gospel of Matthew]]
| patronage = Cyprus, [[Antioch]], against [[hailstorms]], invoked as peacemaker, peacekeeping missions
| shrine = Monastery of St Barnabas in [[Famagusta, Cyprus]]
| caption = Detail from ''{{ill|San Barnaba Altarpiece|qid=Q3889254}}'' by [[Sandro Botticelli]], c. 1490
}}

'''Barnabas''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɑr|n|ə|b|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Βαρναβᾶς}}; {{langx|syr|ܒܪܢܒܐ}}), born '''Joseph''' ({{lang|grc|Ἰωσήφ}}) or '''Joses''' ({{lang|grc|Ἰωσής}}),<ref name=toy/> was an early [[Christians|Christian]], one of the prominent [[Disciple (Christianity)|Christian disciples]] in Jerusalem. According to [[Acts 4:36]], Barnabas was a [[Cypriot Jews|Cypriot Levite]]. Identified as an [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostle]] in [[Acts 14]]:14,<ref name="bibleverse|Acts|14:14">{{bibleverse|Acts|14:14}}</ref> he and [[Paul the Apostle]] undertook missionary journeys together and defended [[Gentile]] converts against the [[Judaizers]]. They traveled together making more converts ({{c.|46–48}} AD), and participated in the [[Council of Jerusalem]] ({{c.|49}} AD). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the [[Godfearers|"God-fearing"]] Gentiles who attended [[synagogue]]s in various [[Hellenization|Hellenized]] cities of [[Anatolia]].

Barnabas' story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his [[epistle]]s. [[Tertullian]] named him as the author of the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]],<ref>Tertullian, ''De Pudicitia'' (''On Modesty''), 20.2</ref> but this and other attributions are conjecture. The [[Epistle of Barnabas]] was ascribed to him by [[Clement of Alexandria]] and others in the early church<ref>Origen (''Contra Celsum'', 1.63; ''De Principii'', 3.2.4), Serapion of Thmuis (''Concerning Father and Son''), Didymus the Blind (''Commentary on Zechariah''), Jerome (''Lives of Illustrious Men'', 6), et al.</ref> and the epistle is included under his name in [[Codex Sinaiticus]], the earliest extant manuscript of the complete New Testament.<ref>GA 01 (א), London: ''Sinaiticus'', library BL, folio 334. Dated to c. 340 AD. [https://codexsinaiticus.org/en/manuscript.aspx?book=60&lid=en&side=r&zoomSlider=0]</ref> A few modern scholars concur with this traditional attribution<ref>J.B. Burger, "L'Enigme de Barnabas," 180-193; and {{ill|Simon Tugwell|qid=Q93230954}}, ''The Apostolic Fathers'', 44; cf. Lardner, Wake, Pearson, Gieseler, et al.</ref> but it is presently a minority view.<ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/tixeront/section1-1.html#barnabas Joseph Tixeront, ''Handbook of Patrology: First Period, Section I: The Apostolic Fathers'']</ref>

Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was [[martyr]]ed at [[Salamis, Cyprus]]. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the [[Cypriot Orthodox Church]]. The [[feast day]] of Barnabas is celebrated on 11 June.

Barnabas is usually identified as the cousin of [[Mark the Evangelist]] on the basis of the term {{lang|grc|"anepsios"}} used in [[Colossians 4]], which carries the connotation of "cousin". Orthodox tradition holds that [[Aristobulus of Britannia]], one of the [[Seventy Disciples]], was the brother of Barnabas.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Orthodox Church in America]] |work=Calendar of Saints |url=http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=100816 |title=Apostle Aristobulus of the Seventy the Bishop of Britain |access-date=2020-06-23 |archive-date=2012-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404042409/http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=100816 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Name and etymologies ==
His [[Greeks|Hellenic]] [[Jewish]] parents called him Joseph (although the [[Byzantine text-type]] calls him {{lang|grc|Ἰωσῆς}}, {{transliteration|grc|Iōsēs}}, 'Joses', a [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] variant of 'Joseph'),<ref name=toy>{{Jewish Encyclopedia |no-prescript=1 |wstitle=Barnabas, Joses}}</ref> but when recounting the story of how he sold his land and gave the money to the apostles in [[Jerusalem]], the [[Book of Acts]] says the apostles called him Barnabas. (The "s" at the end is the Greek nominative case ending, and it is not present in the Aramaic form.) The Greek text of [[Acts 4:36]] explains the name as {{lang|grc|υἱὸς παρακλήσεως}}, {{transliteration|grc|hyios paraklēseōs}}, meaning "son of encouragement" or "son of comforter". One theory is that this is from the [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] {{lang|arc|בר נחמה}}, {{transliteration|sem|bar neḥmā}}, meaning 'son (of) consolation'. Another theory derives the name from [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] {{lang|arc|בר נביא}}, {{transliteration|sem|bar neviyā}}, meaning "son of the prophet".{{sfn|Stern|1992|p=235–236}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Barnabas |url=https://biblehub.com/greek/921.htm |website=BibleHub |access-date=2019-03-06 |archive-date=2019-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306175229/https://biblehub.com/greek/921.htm |url-status=live }} Gives Thayer's Greek 
Lexicon and [[Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible]].</ref> In the [[Syriac Bible]], the explanation of Barnabas's name in Acts 4:36 is  translated {{lang|arc|ܒܪܐ ܕܒܘܝܐܐ}} {{transliteration|syc|bara dbuya'a}} "son of consolation."<ref>{{cite web |title=Acts 4 |url=https://biblehub.com/pes/acts/4.htm |website=BibleHub |access-date=2019-03-06 |archive-date=2019-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306181015/https://biblehub.com/pes/acts/4.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>  In any case, the author of Acts embraces this etymology of Barnabas's name by creating a wordplay (a ''figura etymologica'') on it in Acts 11:22–24, where he records that Barnabas “son of encouragement” ({{lang|grc|υἱὸς παρακλήσεως}} {{transliteration|grc|hyios paraklēseōs}}) was sent to Antioch, where he “encouraged” (παρεκάλει ''parekalei'') everyone to remain in the Lord with steadfastness of heart.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reece |first=Steve |title=Wordplay on Proper Names in Luke-Acts |publisher=E.J. Brill |year=2025 |isbn=978-90-04-74641-1 |location=Amsterdam |pages=125-129}}</ref>

== Biblical narrative ==
[[File:St-barnabé-veronese-rouen.jpg|thumb|''Barnabas curing the sick'' by [[Paolo Veronese]], [[Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen]], {{c.|1566}}]]
Barnabas appears mainly in [[Acts]], a history of the early [[Christian church]]. He also appears in several of [[Paul the Apostle|Paul's]] [[Paul's epistles|epistles]].

Barnabas, a native of [[Cyprus]] and a [[Levite]], is first mentioned in the [[Acts of the Apostles]] as a member of the early Christian community in [[Jerusalem]], who sold the land that he owned and gave the proceeds to the community.<ref name=toy/> When the future Paul the Apostle returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, Barnabas introduced him to the apostles. [[Matthew George Easton|Easton]], in his [[Easton's Bible Dictionary|Bible Dictionary]], supposes that they had been fellow students in the school of [[Gamaliel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eastonsbibledictionary.org/453-Barnabas.php|title=Barnabas|website=eastonsbibledictionary.org|access-date=2018-03-21|archive-date=2016-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316145025/http://eastonsbibledictionary.org/453-Barnabas.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

The successful preaching of Christianity at Antioch to non-Jews led the church at Jerusalem to send Barnabas there to oversee the movement. He found the work so extensive and weighty that he went to [[Tarsus (city)|Tarsus]] in search of Paul (still referred to as Saul), "an admirable colleague", to assist him. Paul returned with him to Antioch and labored with him for a whole year. At the end of this period, the two were sent up to Jerusalem (44 AD) with contributions from the church at Antioch for the relief of the poorer Christians in Judea.<ref name=fransmed>{{Cite web |url=https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-barnabas |title="Saint Barnabas", Saint of the Day, Franciscan Media |access-date=2021-09-27 |archive-date=2021-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927163759/https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-barnabas |url-status=live }}</ref>

They returned to Antioch taking [[John Mark]] with them, the cousin or nephew of Barnabas. Later, they went to Cyprus and some of the principal cities of [[Pamphylia]], [[Pisidia]], and [[Lycaonia]]. After recounting what the governor of Cyprus [[Sergius Paulus]] believed, Acts 13:9<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|13:9}}</ref> speaks of Barnabas's spiritual brother no longer as Saul, but as Paul, his [[Roman naming conventions|Roman name]]. From that point forward, when Acts refers to the two as a pair, it generally no longer uses "Barnabas and Saul", but "Paul and Barnabas". Only in Acts 14:14<ref name="bibleverse|Acts|14:14">{{bibleverse|Acts|14:14}}</ref> and Acts 15:12,25<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|15:12–25}}</ref> does Barnabas again occupy the first place; in Acts 14:14 with reference to Barnabas being mentioned first two verses earlier in Acts 14:12,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|14:12}}</ref> and in Acts 15:12,25, because Barnabas stood in closer relation to the Jerusalem church than Paul. Paul appears as the more eloquent missionary, whence the [[Lystra]]ns regarded him as [[Hermes]] and Barnabas as [[Zeus]].<ref name=fransmed/>

Acts 14:14<ref name="bibleverse|Acts|14:14"/> is also the only biblical verse where Barnabas is referred to using the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] word for [[Apostle (word)|Apostle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/interlinear/acts/14.htm|title=Acts 14 with the Greek-English intelrinear text|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185734/https://biblehub.com/interlinear/acts/14.htm|archive-date=July 9, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Breenbergh, Bartholomeus, Saints Paul and Barnabas at Lystra (Sacrifice at Lystra), 1637.jpg|thumb|left|''Saints Paul and Barnabas at Lystra (Sacrifice at Lystra)'' by [[Bartholomeus Breenberg]], 1637, [[Princeton University Art Museum]]]]

Returning from this first missionary journey to Antioch, they were again sent up to Jerusalem to consult with the church there regarding the relation of Gentiles to the church.<ref name=fransmed/> According to Galatians 2:9–10, Barnabas was included with Paul in the agreement made between them, on the one hand, and [[James, brother of Jesus|James]], [[Saint Peter|Peter]], and [[John the Apostle|John]], on the other, that the two former should in the future preach to the pagans, not forgetting the poor at Jerusalem. This matter having been settled, they returned again to Antioch, bringing the agreement of the [[Council of Jerusalem|council]] that [[Gentiles]] were to be admitted into the church without having to adopt Jewish practices.

After Paul and Barnabas returned from the Jerusalem council to Antioch, Peter also came to Antioch. Peter associated freely with the Gentiles there, including eating with them, until he was criticized for this by some disciples of James, as doing so was contrary to Mosaic law. Peter then refused to eat any longer with the Gentiles, apparently through fear of displeasing these disciples, and Barnabas followed his example. Paul then stated that Peter and Barnabas "walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" (Galatians 2:14) and upbraided them before the whole church.<ref name=Fenlon>{{CE1913 |inline=1 |last=Fenlon |first=John Francis |wstitle=St. Barnabas |volume=2}}</ref> In Galatians 2:11–13,<ref>{{bibleverse|Galatians|2:11–13}}</ref> Paul says, "And when [[Kephas]] [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews (also) acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy."

Paul then asked Barnabas to accompany him on another journey. Barnabas wished to take John Mark along, but Paul did not, as John Mark had left them on the earlier journey. The dispute ended by Paul and Barnabas taking separate routes. Paul took [[Silas]] as his companion, and journeyed through [[Syria]] and [[Cilicia]]; while Barnabas took John Mark to visit Cyprus.<ref name=Fenlon/>

Little is known of the subsequent career of Barnabas. He was still living and labouring as an Apostle in 56 or 57 AD, when Paul wrote [[1 Corinthians]] (1 Corinthians 9:5–6), in which it is stated that he, too, like Paul, earned his own living. The reference indicates also that the friendship between the two was unimpaired. A few years later, when Paul was a prisoner in Rome (61–63 AD), John Mark was attached to him as a disciple, which is regarded as an indication that Barnabas was no longer living (Colossians 4:10).<ref name=Fenlon/>

== Barnabas and Antioch ==
[[Antioch]], the third-most important city of the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria,{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=78|loc=Antioch}} then the capital city of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria province]], today [[Antakya]], Turkey, was where Christians were first called thus.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|11:26}}</ref>

Some of those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went to Antioch, which became the site of an early Christian community.{{sfn|Arbez|1907}} A considerable minority of the Antioch church of Barnabas's time belonged to the merchant class, and they provided support to the poorer Jerusalem church.{{sfn|Durant|1944|p=583}}

== Martyrdom ==
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix=[[Saint]]
|name=Barnabas
|image=File:San Bernabé o San Mateo (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando).jpg
|caption=''Saint Barnabas or Saint Matthew'', {{abbr|attrib.|attributed to}} [[Juan Martín Cabezalero]], c. 1640|titles=Apostle, Disciple, Preacher, and Martyr
|birth_date=1st century AD 
|death_date=
|feast_day=June 11
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Churches]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], [[Anglican Communion]], [[Lutheran Church]]
|birth_place=[[Salamis, Cyprus|Salamis]], [[Roman Cyprus]]
|death_place=Salamis, Roman Cyprus
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=[[Pre-Congregation]]
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes= [[Christian martyrs#Degrees of martyrdom|Red Martyr]], [[Pilgrim]]'s staff; [[olive branch]]; holding the [[Gospel of Matthew]]
|patronage=Cyprus, [[Antioch]], against [[hailstorms]], invoked as peacemaker
|major_shrine=[[Monastery of St Barnabas]] in [[Famagusta, Cyprus]]}}
{{Main|Christian martyrs}}
Church tradition developed outside of the canon of the New Testament describes the martyrdom of many saints, including the legend of the martyrdom of Barnabas.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=160|loc=Barnabas}} It relates that certain Jews coming to Syria and Salamis, where Barnabas was then preaching the gospel, being highly exasperated at his extraordinary success, fell upon him as he was disputing in the synagogue, dragged him out, and stoned him to death. His kinsman, John Mark, privately interred his body.{{sfn|Fleetwood|1874|p=600}}

Although it is believed he was [[martyr]]ed by being stoned, the [[apocrypha]]l [[Acts of Barnabas]] states that he was bound with a rope by the neck, and then being dragged only to the site where he would be burned to death.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

According to the ''History of the Cyprus Church'',<ref>Church of Cyprus, History of Cyprus Church, The Autocephaly of the Cyprus Church [http://www.churchofcyprus.org.cy/article.php?articleID=92 churchofcyprus.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723150830/http://www.churchofcyprus.org.cy/article.php?articleID=92 |date=2011-07-23 }}</ref> in 478 Barnabas appeared in a dream to the Archbishop [[Anthemios of Cyprus]] and revealed to him the place of his sepulchre beneath a [[carob]]-tree. The following day Anthemios found the tomb and inside it the remains of Barnabas with a manuscript of Matthew's Gospel on his breast. Anthemios presented the Gospel to Emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] at [[Constantinople]] and received from him the privileges of the [[Cypriot Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus]], that is, the purple cloak which the [[List of archbishops of Cyprus|Greek Archbishop of Cyprus]] wears at festivals of the church, the imperial sceptre and the red ink with which he affixes his signature.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Anthemios then placed the venerable remains of Barnabas in a church which he founded near the tomb. Excavations near the site of a present-day church and monastery, have revealed an early church with two empty tombs, believed to be that of St. Barnabas and Anthemios.<ref>Cyprus Commemorative Stamp issue: 1900th Death Anniversary of Apostle Barnabas, [http://www.philatelism.com/details.php?issueid=22 philatelism.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128113219/https://independent.academia.edu/ReinhardMarkner |date=2012-11-28 }}</ref>

St. Barnabas is venerated as the [[patron saint]] of [[Cyprus]]. He is also considered a patron saint in many other places in the world, including [[Milan]] in [[Italy]]. On the island of [[Tenerife]] ([[Spain]]), St. Barnabas was invoked in historical times as patron saint and protector of the island's fields against drought, together with [[Benedict of Nursia|St. Benedict of Nursia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://lalagunaahora.com/san-benito-patron-por-sorteo-de-los-frutos-y-ganados-de-tenerife-desde-1535-por-carlos-rodriguez-morales-y-iii/|title=San Benito, patrón por sorteo de los frutos y ganados de Tenerife desde 1535. Por Carlos Rodríguez Morales (y III)|date=29 June 2018 }}</ref>

Barnabas the Apostle is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] in the [[Church of England]] with a [[Festival (Anglicanism)|festival]] on 11 June.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-03-27|website=The Church of England|language=en|archive-date=2021-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309204842/https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Other sources==
Although many assume that the biblical [[Mark the cousin of Barnabas]]<ref>[[Colossians 4:10]]</ref> is the same as John Mark<ref>{{bibleref2|Acts|12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37|NKJV}}</ref> and [[Mark the Evangelist]], the traditionally believed author of the [[Gospel of Mark]], they are listed as three distinct people in [[Pseudo-Hippolytus]]' ''On the Seventy Apostles of Christ,'' which includes Barnabas himself as one of the [[Seventy-two Disciples|Seventy-Two Disciples]].<ref>Ante-Nicean Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and A. Cleaveland Coxe, vol. 5 (Peabody MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999), 255–6</ref> There are two people named Barnabas among Hippolytus' list of Seventy Disciples, One (#13) became the bishop of Milan, the other (#25) the bishop of Heraclea. Most likely one of these two is the biblical Barnabas; the first one is more likely, because the numbering by Hippolytus seems to indicate a level of significance, and Barnabas is traditionally credited with founding the [[See of Milan]]. [[Clement of Alexandria]]<ref>''Stromata'', ii, 20</ref> also makes Barnabas one of the [[Seventy Disciples]] that are mentioned in the [[Gospel of Luke]].<ref>[[Luke 10|10:1ff]]</ref>

Other sources bring Barnabas to [[Rome]] and [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]]. In the [[Clementine literature|"Clementine Recognitions"]] (i, 7) he is depicted as preaching in Rome even during Christ's lifetime.

Cypriots developed the tradition of his later activity and martyrdom no earlier than the 3rd century. The question whether Barnabas was an apostle was often discussed during the Middle Ages.<ref>Compare [[C. J. Hefele]], ''Das Sendschreiben des Apostels Barnabas,'' Tübingen, 1840; [[Otto Braunsberger]], "Der Apostel Barnabas," Mainz, 1876.</ref>

== Alleged writings ==
[[Tertullian]] and other Western writers regard Barnabas as the author of the [[Letter to the Hebrews]]. This may have been the Roman tradition—which Tertullian usually follows—and it may have been in Rome that the epistle had its first readers. Modern biblical scholarship considers its authorship unknown, though Barnabas is one of those who has been proposed as a possible author.<ref>Mitchell, Alan C. ''Hebrews'' (Liturgical Press, 2007) p. 6.</ref>

"[[Photios I of Constantinople|Photius]] of the ninth century, refers to some in his day who were uncertain whether the Acts was written by Clement of Rome, Barnabas, or Luke. Yet Photius is certain that the work must be ascribed to Luke."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=IcwSvPYSpvkC&pg=PA7 ''Commentary on the Acts''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140618000902/http://books.google.com/books?id=IcwSvPYSpvkC&pg=PA7 |date=2014-06-18 }} Edwin Wilbur Rice, 1900, p.7. Adolf Harnack mistakenly wrote that Photius believed Barnabas was the author in the 1908 Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume 1, p. 487</ref>

He is also traditionally associated with the [[Epistle of Barnabas]], although some modern scholars think it more likely that the epistle was written in Alexandria in the 130s.

The 5th century ''[[Decretum Gelasianum]]'' includes a ''Gospel of Barnabas'' amongst works condemned as [[apocrypha]]l; but no certain text or quotation from this work has been identified.

Another book using that same title, the [[Gospel of Barnabas]], survives in two post-medieval manuscripts in Italian from the 16th century and Spanish from the 17th century.<ref>Compare [[T. Zahn]], ''Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons,'' ii, 292, Leipsig, 1890.</ref> Contrary to the canonical Christian [[Gospel]]s, and in accordance with the [[Islamic view of Jesus]], this later Gospel of Barnabas states that [[Jesus]] was not God or the [[son of God]], but a [[Prophets of Islam|prophet]] and messenger and that he was not killed or crucified but that [[Judas Iscariot]] by God’s miracle was transformed to look like Jesus and was crucified in his place as a divine punishment from God for his betrayal of Jesus and describes [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] as a false prophet who was deceived and deceived others into making others believe that the law was abrogated, permitting every unclean meat, abrogating circumcision laws and deifying Jesus. It also states that Jesus explicitly gave the good news of Prophet Muhammad to come after him by name.

==The Barnabites==
In 1538, the Catholic religious order officially known as "Clerics Regular of St. Paul" (''Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli''), acquired as their main seat the monastery of Saint Barnabas by the city wall of [[Milan]]. The Order was thenceforth known by the popular name of ''[[Barnabites]]''.<ref name=schaff>{{cite Schaff-Herzog |last=Zöckler |first=O. |title=Barnabites |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc01.html?term=Barnabites |volume=1}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Catholic Church in Cyprus]]
* [[Lectionary 214]] – apocryphal ''Apodemia'' of Barnabas
* [[List of early Christian saints]]
* [[Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/June 11|Saint Barnabas, patron saint archive]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
*{{cite CE1913 |wstitle=Antioch |first=Edward Philip |last=Arbez |volume=1}}
* Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. "The Penguin Dictionary of Saints," 3rd edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1993. {{ISBN|0-14-051312-4}}
*{{cite book|last1=Cross|first1=Frank Leslie|author-link1=Frank Leslie Cross|last2=Livingstone|first2=Elizabeth A.|title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|access-date=2020-06-12|archive-date=2019-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515065637/https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|last=Durant|first=Will|author-link=Will Durant|title=Caesar and Christ: The Story of Civilization|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.15167/page/n637/mode/2up?q=swelling+funds|volume=III|year=1944|publisher=Simon and Schuster}}
*{{cite book|last=Fleetwood|first=John|title=The Life of Our Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: And the Lives and Sufferings of His Holy Apostles and Evangelists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huZBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA600|year=1874|publisher=Garretson|access-date=2020-06-12|archive-date=2020-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612071706/https://books.google.com/books?id=huZBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA600|url-status=live}}
* {{cite Schaff-Herzog|title=Barnabas|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc01.html?term=Barnabas|first=A. |last=Harnack|volume=1}}
*{{cite book|last=Stern|first=David H.|author-link=David H. Stern|title=Jewish New Testament Commentary: A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cS89SwAACAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Jewish New Testament Publications|isbn=978-965-359-011-3|access-date=2020-06-12|archive-date=2020-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613111110/https://books.google.com/books?id=cS89SwAACAAJ|url-status=live}}

'''Attribution'''
*{{Catholic Encyclopedia|last=Fenlon |first=John Francis |wstitle=St. Barnabas |volume=2}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
* Die Apostolischen Väter. Griechisch-deutsche Parallelausgabe. J.C.B. Mohr Tübingen 1992. {{ISBN|3-16-145887-7}}
* Der Barnabasbrief. Übersetzt und erklärt von Ferdinand R. Prostmeier. Series: Kommentar zu den Apostolischen Vätern (KAV, Vol. 8). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: Göttingen 1999. {{ISBN|3-525-51683-5}}
* {{cite CE1913 |wstitle=Epistle of Barnabas |first=Paulin  |last=Ladeuze |volume=2}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Barnabas|first=James Vernon |last=Bartlet|volume=3}}
* {{cite book|first1=Lonsdale|first2=Laura|last1=Ragg|last2=Ragg|title=The Gospel of Barnabas|location=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press|date=1907|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/gbar/index.htm|access-date=2019-08-23|archive-date=2012-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126110722/http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/gbar/index.htm|url-status=live}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Saint Barnabas}}
* [http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-01/anf01-41.htm The Epistle of Barnabas]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051109023644/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb12.htm ''St. Barnabas the Apostle'']
* [http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/famagusta/stbarnabas/index.html St Barnabas Monastery and Icon Museum, Famagusta, Cyprus]
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/barnabas.html St. Barnabas] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian Iconography] web site.
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/barnabas.htm The Life of St. Barnabas the Apostle] in Caxton's translation of the Golden Legend

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{{New Testament people|prophets}}
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