Memorial of St Barnabas
St Barnabas was born as Joseph, a Cypriot Jew and Levite. In the Acts of the Apostles we read of him selling his property and giving the monies to the Church in Jerusalem. The Apostles then renamed him Barnabas which means “son of encouragement.”
After St Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus and working with St Paul in Antioch, St Barnabas accompanied St Paul to Jerusalem. He introduced St Paul to the Apostles and confirmed his conversion and his suitability for ministry. St Barnabas along with St Paul and St John Mark (the same St Mark that wrote the Gospel) evangelised in Cyprus.
Although St Barnabas and St Paul had a disagreement over St John Mark accompanying them on a revisit to Cyprus causing St Barnabas to go with St John Mark to Cyprus and St Paul to go with Silas to Syria, they were all reconciled later.
St Barnabas is remembered as someone who dedicated his life to God. As it says in the Acts of the Apostles “he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24)
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