Saint Barnabas the Apostle
The collect for today, the Feast of St Barnabas the Apostle, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):
O LORD God Almighty, who didst endue thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Spirit: Leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lesson: Acts 11:22-26
The Gospel: St John 15:12-16
Artwork: Sandro Botticelli, San Barnaba Altarpiece (detail showing Saint Barnabas with the Virgin and Child), c. 1488. Tempera on panel, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
A church dedicated to St Barnabas was founded in the Republic of Florence in the 14th century after Florence’s army won two important victories on the saint’s feast day. Botticelli was commissioned to create the altarpiece for the main altar.
The San Barnaba Altarpiece shows the Virgin and Child with six saints. Barnabas, as the patron saint of the church, stands in the place of honour on the immediate right of the Virgin. To his right are Augustine and Catherine of Alexandria. On the left of the virgin are John the Baptist, Ignatius of Antioch, and the archangel Michael. Around the throne are four angels, two of whom hold instruments of Christ’s Passion–nails and the crown of thorns.
The altarpiece has been at the Uffizi since 1919.
Click here to see the complete San Barnaba Altarpiece.