St. Barnabas, Apostle
Patron of Cyprus, peacemakers, Antioch
Saint Barnabas, a Cypriot Levite whose original name was Joseph, was renamed by the apostles 'Son of Encouragement' (Acts 4:36). He sold a field and laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet, sponsored the converted Saul into the Jerusalem community, and was sent with him on the first missionary journey to Cyprus and Asia Minor. The Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians names him by a single mention alongside Peter and Paul as a pillar apostle. Tradition makes him the founder of the Church in Cyprus, where he was stoned to death at Salamis around 61, the Gospel of Matthew laid upon his breast.