11 June - Barnabas, or Barnabas, is a Levite Jew with ties to the island of Cyprus (Acts 4,36), who holds an important place in the Acts of the Apostles as the one who introduced St. Paul to the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 9, 27) and later to the Christians of Antioch, and was his first companion on his journey, of which he is head of mission.
Barnabas was not part of the group of the twelve apostles. However, the Acts of the Apostles gives him the title in the broadest sense, as it did to Paul (Acts 14, 14): "When the apostles Barnabas and Paul were informed of the matter, they tore their clothes. Barnabas was the cousin of Mark the evangelist, whose mother Mary was his aunt at that time (Acts 12, 12 and Col. 4, 10). According to the rules of the early church in Jerusalem he sold a field and put the proceeds of the sale at the disposal of the apostles (Acts 4, 36-37). Even though he is not one of the twelve Apostles, Barnabas is a figure of almost apostolic rank. Clement of Alexandria indicates that he was one of the seventy disciples of Jesus and that they received "gnosis" through the intermediary of the twelve after the Resurrection.
Barnabas is the leader of the first missionary journey in which Paul and Mark accompany him. He is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 15 in the context of the Council of Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas disagreed about the composition of their team during Paul's second apostolic journey. Barnabas wanted to take Mark with him, but Paul did not agree. So they separated and formed two teams. Paul and Silas went to Lycaonia, while Barnabas and Mark went to evangelize Cyprus (Acts 15,36-40).
Barnabas would have gone to the island of Cyprus to evangelize it. There he died martyred near Salamis, not far from present-day Famagusta. The form of martyrdom varies according to the sources: hanging or cremation or stoning. His tomb, discovered under Emperor Zenon (5th century), is said to have contained a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Very close to this tomb is the monastery of Saint-Barnabas.
