Apostle Barnabas of the Seventy

Ministry with Paul

Barnabas was among the first to recognize Paul after his conversion, introducing him to a community still wary of the former persecutor. From this beginning the two became inseparable companions in missionary work, traveling together through Cyprus and the Hellenized cities of Asia Minor, including the regions of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia.

The book of Acts records that at Lystra the people, astonished by the apostles, took Barnabas for Zeus and Paul for Hermes. Their partnership was not without tension: Paul rebuked both Peter and Barnabas at Antioch over table fellowship with Gentiles, and the two apostles later separated over whether John Mark should accompany them. The parting did not end their shared standing in the early Church, and both are remembered among its foundational missionaries.

Founder of the Church of Cyprus

After parting from Paul, Barnabas returned to his native Cyprus with John Mark and continued to preach there. He is venerated as the founder of the Church of Cyprus and the patron saint of the island.

By tradition the discovery of his relics in the fifth century, with a copy of the Gospel of Matthew laid upon him, was decisive for the standing of the Cypriot Church: it was taken as proof of the Church's apostolic foundation and helped secure its independence from the claims of the see of Antioch. The Byzantine emperor is said to have granted the Church of Cyprus special privileges in consequence.

Relics & Shrines

Tradition relates that Barnabas was buried at Salamis on Cyprus and that his grave was lost for generations. His relics were found beneath a carob tree, with the Gospel of Matthew upon his breast, in a discovery linked to Archbishop Anthemios of Cyprus in the fifth century. The monastery of St. Barnabas near the ancient city of Salamis preserves his memory as the principal Cypriot shrine associated with the apostle.