Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Bartholomew, one of the 12 apostles, named explicitly in the apostolic lists of the Synoptic Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles. Bartholomew is probably not his personal name, but a patronymic from the Aramaic Bartalmei, meaning son of Ptalmei. An ancient Christian tradition identifies him with Nathaniel, whom we meet in today's gospel, largely because Nathaniel is closely associated with Philip in John, while Bartholomew is associated with Philip in the synoptic lists.