Flayed for the Faith

Today we honour the holy apostle St. Bartholomew. After the Ascension, he preached in Egypt and Ethiopia before journeying to India, where he gave to his converts the gospel of St. Matthew In Armenia he converted King Polymius and the citizens of several cities but so enraged the pagan priests they caused the king's brother Astyages to have the apostle flayed alive and beheaded.

The Golden Legend by Jacob de Voraigne describes his visit to a temple in India where an idol, reportedly capable of curing the sick, suddenly stopped doing so. The sick in desperation went to another temple and enquired of that temple's idol the cause of their prayers going unanswered.

The devil, for in truth the idols were but devils is disguise, said, "Your god is bound with chains of fire that he neither dare draw breath nor speak after that Bartholomew, the apostle of God, entered into the temple."
And they [the sick] said to him: "Who is that Bartholomew?"
And the devil said: "He is the friend of God Almighty, and he is come into this province for to avoid all the gods of India."
And then they [the sick] said: "Tell us some tokens and signs that we may know him and find him."
And the devil said to them: "He hath his hairs black and crisp, his skin white, eyes great, his nostrils even and straight, his beard long and hoar a little, and of a straight and seemly stature. He is clad in a white coat, and a white mantle, which in every corner hath gems of purple and precious stones therein. And it is saith twenty-six years that his clothes never waxed old nor foul. He prayeth and worshippeth God on his knees a hundred times a day, and a hundred times by night. The angels go with him, which never suffer him to be weary nor to be an hungered, he is always of like semblance, glad and joyous. He seeth all things before, he knoweth all things, he speaketh all manner languages, and understandeth them, and he knoweth well what I say to you. And when ye seek him, if he will he may show himself to you, and if him dost not, not shall ye find him. And I pray you, when ye find him, that ye pray him that he come not hither, that his angels do not to me as they have done to my fellow."

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Tradent enim vos in conciliis,

et in synagogis suis flagellabunt vos,

et ante reges et praesides ducemini

propter me in testimonium illis, et Gentibus.