After the Apostles sent Barbabas to Antioch, he found St. Paul in Tarsus and brought him to Antioch to help preach the Good News. After a year in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem, bringing money from the Antioch Christians to aid those suffering from famine. When they returned to Antioch, the Holy Spirit revealed to the Christian community that Paul and Barnabas were to be “set apart” for a special mission. The two were ordained as bishops and sent forth on a mission, bringing with them Barnabas’ relative, John Mark, the Gospel writer. Over the next year, they traveled to Seleucia, Cyprus, Salamis, Paphos, Perga of Pamphylia, Antioch of Pisidia, Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, and back to Antioch, Syria. They won many converts but also encountered opposition, including a failed attempt to stone Paul. The two returned to Jerusalem to help settle disputes about Gentile converts before being sent on another mission. Before the second journey, Barnabas and Paul disagreed about whether to include John Mark, who had left them while in Pamphylia. Unable to agree, Barnabas and John Mark went to Cyprus, while Paul took Silas with him to Syria and Cilicia. Nothing else is known for certain about Barnabas’ missionary activity with John Mark in Cyprus. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and his letter to the Colossians indicate that he and Barnabas maintained their friendship; Paul even mentioned John Mark affectionately in a later epistle. According to a fifth-century tradition, Barnabas was preaching the Gospel around the year 61 and was arrested, dragged out of the city, and either burned or stoned. Another legend holds that in 478, Saint Barnabas appeared to the Archbishop of Cyprus and revealed his burial site to him. Archbishop Anthemios found Saint Barnabas’ body incorrupt, holding the Gospel of Matthew. The Roman emperor erected a church at the site and buried Saint Barnabas there. The church was later lost to history, but excavations uncovered what people believed to be Saint Barnabas’ tomb. Saint Barnabas is the patron saint of Cyprus because he was the first missionary bishop on that island. *St. Barnabas, pray for us*