MATTHEW THE EVANGELIST

'Matthew the Evangelist' (מתי, "Gift of the LORD", Standard Hebrew and Tiberian Hebrew: ''Mattay''; Septuagint Greek: Ματθαίος, ''Matthaios''), most often called 'Saint Matthew', is an important Christian figure, and one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles.

Contents

Name

Life

Recognition and Modernity

References

See also

Name

The proper name and title of Matthew the Evangelist is debated.
The gospel accounts discuss a man named Matthew only five times, and the first occurrence of his name is found in Matthew 9:9. It is possible that James, son of Alphaeus, had been distinguished from James, son of Zebedee by the former's other name "Levi" and that James, son of Alphaeus was called to the Apostolate along with Matthew. Believers of this interpretation point to the fact that both Mark and Luke call him simply "Matthew" in their lists of the Apostles [3] [4], as does Matthew himself [5]. However, the Catholic Encyclopedia asserts that Matthew once could have been called "Levi", according to Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27. The Encyclopedia also states that "The fact of one man having two names is of frequent occurrence among the Jews." ^[1] Other gosepel passages that refer to Matthew or Levi are Mark 2:1-22 and Luke 5:27-39.

Life

Very little about Matthew's life is certain, and many accounts of it are contradictory. The Gospel of Matthew introduces him as a publican, or tax-collector, probably near Capernaum.
Some contend that Matthew's father, Alphaeus, ^[2][3] may be the same Alphaeus who was father to the apostle, James (also called James the Lesser), and that the two were brothers. However, the Gospels never describe Matthew as John's brother, even in passages where John and James or Peter and Andrew are described as brothers.
According to Luke's Gospel, on the same day Jesus called him, he made a "great feast" (Luke 5:29) to which he invited Jesus and his disciples. The last notice of him in the New Testament is in Acts 1:13. He is one of the few disciples mentioned by name in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, suggesting he was of more importance in the early Church than surviving evidence indicates. Legend speculates that he preached the gospel for a long time after the Ascension and carried it all the way to Ethiopia, where he was killed.
The time and manner of Matthew's death are also unclear. According to Edward Ullendorff, the seventh book of a work he calls the "Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles" contains an account of the baptism of King Aeglippus of Ethiopia by Matthew, after having travelled to its capital, Naddayer. However, Matthew is said to have been killed by Aeglippus' brother, Hyrtacus, when he took the throne. Hyrtacus is said to have killed Matthew because the evangelist refused to sanction his marriage to Epiphigenia, Aeglippus' daughter.^[4] Other traditions say that Matthew was martyred in Hierapolis of Parthia. According to Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, Matthew was martyred in Hierapolis, and Saint Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot among the twelve Apostles, is actually the one who died in Ethiopia. Recently, there have been some controversial investigations into a fourteenth-century document assigning Matthew's burial site to a place called "Issyk-Kul."
Matthews relics were carried to Campania, in the Diocese of Capaccio. Retrieved by Lombards, they were moved to Salerno, where they are currently kept in the Cathedral's crypt. The Encyclopedia Brittanica describes, "In the crypt (of the cathedral of San Matteo) is the sepulchre of San Matteo [Saint Matthew], whose body, according to legend was brought to Salerno (Italy) in the tenth century."^[5]

Recognition and Modernity

Matthew is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The Eastern Orthodox celebrate his feast day on November 16, whereas September 21 is observed in Latin churches.
Like the other three evangelists, Matthew is often depicted in Christian art. He is usually depicted with a winged man, a reference to the angel who is supposed to have dictated to Matthew as he wrote his gospel. The three paintings of Matthew by Caravaggio in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome are among the landmarks of Western art.

References

1. Catholic Encyclopedia - ''
2. The Thirteen Disciples (Not Twelve?)
3. Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 1
4. Edward Ullendorff, ''Ethiopia and the Bible'' (Oxford: University Press for the British Academy, 1968), pp. 12f
5.
Encyclopaedia Britannica "Salerno", , , , Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc, 1983, 0-85229-400-X

See also

★ Gospel of Matthew

★ Mark the Evangelist

★ Luke the Evangelist

★ John the Evangelist