The apostle Saint Bartholomew first preached the faith in India, where he left many converts and disciples. Afterward, he passed through Japan and returned to Arabia via the Red Sea, heading toward Abyssinia. Here, he converted King Polymius and raised a dead man to life. In the royal city of this country, there were many sick people who were brought before the idols.
From the moment Bartholomew arrived, the idol fell silent. There was a house there filled with demon-possessed women. Bartholomew healed and delivered these people, evangelized them, and baptized them after they publicly abjured their errors and their commerce with demons.
The apostle frequently spent long periods conversing with King Polymius, who asked many questions and often left him to consult his own writings. The apostle answered him and resolved his difficulties. Regarding the king's claim that people were healed of their diseases when they went before the idol, the apostle declared to him that the people were first influenced by the devil and appeared to be sick; then, when they were presented before the idol, they feigned being cured so that the people would not turn away from the worship of demons. He told him that, from that moment on, the demon of that idol had been reduced to impotence and could no longer work wonders.
He told him that he would see all of this more clearly if he consented to consecrate the temple to the true God and if he and his people allowed themselves to be baptized, embracing the faith of Christ. The king ordered the whole town to be summoned, and while the false priests were offering sacrifices, Satan cried out from the idol, telling them not to do it, that he could no longer do anything, as he was bound by the Son of God. Bartholomew commanded him, in the name of God, to reveal the deceptions of his healings, and Satan confessed it, speaking through the idol. Afterward, Bartholomew taught in an open place and commanded the demon to show himself as he truly was, so that the pagans could see whom they were worshipping. The demon appeared in the form of a black and terrifying man, and before them, he then sank into the earth. King Polymius then ordered all the idols to be torn down. Bartholomew consecrated the temple to the true God and baptized the king, his entire family, and gradually his whole army.
Bartholomew taught, healed the sick, and was dearly loved by all the people. The apostle received a heavenly command to go and see the Mother of God. Meanwhile, the priests of the idols went to Astyages, Polymius's brother, and accused Bartholomew of being a sorcerer. When Bartholomew returned after meeting with the other apostles, he did not manage to enter, for he was seized by Astyages's henchmen and brought before him, who spoke to him thus: "You have seduced my brother into worshipping your God. I want to teach you to sacrifice to my god." Bartholomew replied: "That God who gave me the power to show your brother whom he was worshipping—that is, Satan—and to cast him into hell, from whence he had come, also gives me the strength to shatter your false gods and bring the faith to you yourself." At that moment, a messenger arrived with the news that Astyages's idol had fallen to the ground, smashed to pieces.
The king, furious at this event, tore his garments and ordered the holy apostle to be scourged. He was tied to a tree and flayed, while he, with a clear voice, continued to preach; finally, his throat was pierced with a dagger. The executioners skinned him from his feet up and placed his skin in his hands. After his death, they threw his sacred body to the wild beasts; however, it was rescued that night by the new converts. I have seen that King Polymius arrived with many people and gave him an honorable burial. A church was built over his tomb. Astyages and those who had martirized Bartholomew found themselves seized by fury and terror after thirteen days, and they ran to the saint's tomb imploring his help. King Astyages eventually converted; not so the idolatrous priests, who died miserably after some time.