St Barnabas

Saint Barnabas
Icon of Saint Barnabas
Prophet, Disciple, Apostle to Antioch and Cyprus, Missionary, and Martyr
Born	Cyprus
Died	reputedly AD 61 Salamis, Cyprus
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Major shrine	Monastery of St Barnabas in Famagusta, Cyprus
Feast	June 11
Attributes	Pilgrim's staff; olive branch; holding the Gospel of St Matthew
Patronage	Cyprus, Antioch, against hailstorms, invoked as peacemaker

Barnabas /ˈbɑːrnəbəs/ (Greek: Βαρνάβας), born Joseph, was an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36 Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Named an apostle in Acts 14:14, he and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They traveled together making more converts (c 45–47), and participated in the Council of Jerusalem (c 50). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia.

Barnabas' story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles.Tertullian named him as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but this and other attributions are conjecture.Clement of Alexandria and some scholars have ascribed the Epistle of Barnabas to him, but his authorship is disputed.