View source for Matthias the Apostle

{{Short description|Apostle of Jesus (died circa AD 80)}}
{{Redirect|Saint Matthias}}

{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
| name            = Matthias the Apostle
| image           = File:Rubens apostle Matthias grt.jpg
| imagesize       = 
| caption         = ''St Matthias'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]], {{c.|1611}}
| titles          = Apostle and Martyr
| birth_date      = 1st century AD
| birth_place     = [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]], 

| death_place     = [[Jerusalem]], Judaea<br>or<br>[[Colchis]]
| venerated_in    = {{ubl|[[Catholic Church]]|[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]|[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]|[[Anglican Communion]]|[[Lutheran Church]]}}
| beatified_date  = 
| beatified_place = 
| beatified_by    = 
| canonized_date  = [[Pre-congregation]]
| canonized_place = 
| canonized_by    = 
| major_shrine    = 
| feast_day       = {{ubl|14 May ([[Roman Catholic Church]], some places in Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church)|9 August (Eastern Orthodox Church)|24 February (in leap years 25 February) (pre-1970 [[General Roman Calendar]], [[Western Rite Orthodoxy]], Anglican Communion, [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]], some places in Lutheran Church)}}
| attributes      = [[Axe]], [[Christian martyrdom]]
| patronage       = [[Alcoholic]]s; carpenters; tailors; [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings|Great Falls-Billings]], Montana; [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier|Trier]]; [[smallpox]]; [[hope]]; [[wikt:perseverance|perseverance]]
| issues          = 
| suppressed_date = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Coptic}}

'''Matthias''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|θ|aɪ|ə|s}}; [[Koine Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Μαθθίας}}, {{transliteration|grc|Matthías}} {{IPA|el|maθˈθi.as|}}, from [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]] {{lang|hbo|מַתִּתְיָהוּ}} {{transliteration|hbo|Mattiṯyāhū}}; {{langx|cop|ⲙⲁⲑⲓⲁⲥ}}; died {{c.|AD 80}}) was, according to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], chosen by God through the [[Twelve Apostles|apostles]] to replace [[Judas Iscariot]] following the latter's [[betrayal of Jesus]] and his subsequent death.<ref>{{bibleref2|Acts|1|NET}}</ref> His calling as an apostle is unique, in that he was elected by fellow disciples following Jesus' [[Ascension of Jesus|Ascension into Heaven]], though Matthias knew Jesus throughout his earthly ministry.

==Biography==
There is no mention of a Matthias among the lists of disciples or followers of Jesus in the three [[synoptic gospel]]s, but according to [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]], he had been with Jesus from his [[Baptism of Jesus|baptism]] by [[John the Baptist|John]] until his [[Ascension of Jesus|Ascension]]. In the days following, [[Saint Peter|Peter]] proposed that the assembled disciples, who numbered about 120, nominate two men to replace Judas. They chose [[Joseph Barsabbas|Joseph called Barsabbas]] (whose surname was Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, "Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all [men], shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|1:24–25|9}}</ref> Then they [[Cleromancy|cast lots]], and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was numbered with the eleven apostles.<ref name="Jacquier">Jacque Eugène.  [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10066a.htm Jacquier, "St. Matthias."] ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia|The Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 10 August 2014</ref>

No further information about Matthias is to be found in the [[Biblical canon|canonical New Testament]]. Even his name is variable: the Syriac version of [[Eusebius]] calls him throughout not Matthias but "Tolmai", not to be confused with [[Bartholomew the Apostle|Bartholomew]] (which means Son of Tolmai), who was one of the twelve original Apostles; [[Clement of Alexandria]] refers once to [[Zacchaeus]] in a way which could be read as suggesting that some identified him with Matthias;<ref>[[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume II/CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA/The Stromata, or Miscellanies/Book IV|Stromata]] Book 4 Ch 6 The New Advent Translation says "It is said, therefore, that Zaccheus, or, according to some, Matthew, the chief of the publicans, on hearing that the Lord had deigned to come to him, said, Lord, and if I have taken anything by false accusation, I restore him fourfold;" but the [http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Clement%20of%20Alexandria_PG%2008-09/Stromata.pdf Greek] has 4.6.35.2 Ζακχαῖον τοίνυν, οἳ δὲ Ματθίαν φασίν, ἀρχιτελώνην, ἀκηκοότα τοῦ κυρίου καταξιώσαντος πρὸς αὐτὸν γενέσθαι, ἰδοὺ τὰ ἡμίση τῶν ὑπαρχόντων μου δίδωμι ἐλεημοσύνην φάναι, κύριε, καὶ εἴ τινός τι ἐσυκοφάντησα, τετραπλοῦν ἀποδίδωμι. ἐφ' οὗ καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ εἶπεν· can just about be read as "by some said to be Matthias")</ref> the ''[[Clementine literature|Clementine Recognitions]]'' identify him with [[Barnabas]]; [[Adolf Bernhard Christoph Hilgenfeld]] thinks he is the same as [[Nathanael (follower of Jesus)|Nathanael]] in the [[Gospel of John]].

==Ministry and death==
All information concerning the ministry and death of Matthias is vague and contradictory. The tradition of the Greeks says that St. Matthias spread Christianity around [[Cappadocia]] and on the coasts of the [[Caspian Sea]], residing chiefly near the port [[Hyssus]].<ref name=Butler>Butler, Alban. [https://www.bartleby.com/210/2/241.html "Saint Matthias, Apostle"], ''The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints'', D. & J. Sadlier, & Company, 1864</ref> 

According to [[Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos|Nicephorus]] (''Historia eccl.'', 2, 40), Matthias first preached the Gospel in [[Iudaea Province|Judaea]], then in Aethiopia (by the region of [[Colchis]], now in modern-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]) and [[Crucifixion|was crucified]].<ref name=Jacquier/> An extant [[Copt]]ic ''[[Acta Andreae et Matthiae apud Anthropophagos|Acts of Andrew and Matthias]]'', places his activity similarly in "the city of the cannibals" in [[Ethiopia (mythology)|Aethiopia]].{{efn|The Ethiopia/Aethiopia mentioned here as well as in the quote from the "Synopsis of Dorotheus" is that region identified with an ancient Egyptian [[military colony]] in the [[Caucasus]] mountains on the river [[Alazani]].}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clarke |first=Hyde |date=1874 |title=On the Egyptian Colony and Language in the Caucasus, and its Anthropological Relations |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2841305 |journal=The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=3 |pages=178–200 |doi=10.2307/2841305 |jstor=2841305 |issn=0959-5295|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A marker placed in the ruins of the Roman fortress at [[Gonio (settlement)|Gonio]] (Apsaros) in the modern Georgian region of [[Adjara]] claims that Matthias is buried at that site.

The ''Synopsis of Dorotheus'' contains this tradition: "Matthias preached the Gospel to barbarians and meat-eaters in the interior of Ethiopia, where the sea harbor of Hyssus is, at the mouth of the river 
[[Rioni|Phasis]]. He died at [[Sukhumi|Sebastopolis]], and was buried there, near the Temple of the Sun."<ref name=Catholic/>

Alternatively, another tradition maintains that Matthias was stoned at Jerusalem by the local populace, and then [[Decapitation|was beheaded]] (cf. [[Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont|Tillemont]], ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire ecclesiastique des six premiers siècles'', I, 406–7).<ref name=Catholic>{{Catholic|last=Jacquier|first=Jacque  Eugène|wstitle = St. Matthias|volume=10|year=1911|inline=1}}</ref> According to [[Hippolytus of Rome]], Matthias died of old age in Jerusalem.

[[Clement of Alexandria]] observed (''Stromateis''<!--?--> vi.13.):

<blockquote>Not that they became apostles through being chosen for some distinguished peculiarity of nature, since also Judas was chosen along with them. But they were capable of becoming apostles on being chosen by Him who foresees even ultimate issues. Matthias, accordingly, who was not chosen along with them, on showing himself worthy of becoming an apostle, is substituted for Judas.</blockquote>

==Writings==
Surviving fragments of the lost [[Gospel of Matthias]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/traditionsmatthias.html |title=The Traditions of Matthias |publisher=Earlychristianwritings.com |access-date=12 May 2011}}</ref> attribute it to Matthias, but Early [[Church Fathers]] attributed it to [[heresy|heretical]] writings in the 2nd century.

==Veneration==
The feast of Saint Matthias was included in the Roman Calendar in the 11th century and celebrated on the sixth day to the Calends of March (24 February usually, but 25 February in leap years). In the [[Mysterii Paschalis|revision]] of the [[General Roman Calendar]] in 1969, his feast was transferred to 14 May, so as not to celebrate it in [[Lent]] but instead in [[Eastertide]] close to the [[Ascension of Jesus|Solemnity of the Ascension]],<ref>"Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 92; cf. p. 117</ref> the event after which the Acts of the Apostles recounts that Matthias was selected to be ranked with the [[Twelve Apostles]].

The Eastern Rites of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] celebrate his feast on 9 August. Yet the [[Western Rite Orthodoxy|Western Rite]] parishes of the Orthodox Church continues the old Roman Rite of 24 and 25 February in leap years.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

The [[Church of England]]'s ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'', as well as other older common prayer books in the Anglican Communion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prayerbook.ca/resources/bcponline/calendar/|title=The Prayer Book Society of Canada " The Calendar|work=The Prayer Book Society of Canada|date=16 October 2013|access-date=23 February 2014|archive-date=22 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022221459/http://prayerbook.ca/resources/bcponline/calendar/|url-status=dead}}</ref> celebrates Matthias on 24 February. According to the newer ''[[Common Worship]]'' liturgy, Matthias is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] in the [[Church of England]] with a [[Festival (Anglicanism)|Festival]] on 14 May,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=27 March 2021|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref> although he may be celebrated on 24 February, if desired.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oremus.org/calendar/index05.html |title=web site |publisher=Oremus.org |access-date=12 May 2011}}</ref> In the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] as well as some in the [[Lutheran Church]], including the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] and the [[Lutheran Church–Canada]], his feast remains on 24 February.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=768|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106225311/http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=768|title=Misc. Info. on Minor Festivals – The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod|archive-date=6 January 2011}}</ref> In ''[[Evangelical Lutheran Worship]]'', used by the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] as well as the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada]], the feast date for Matthias is on 14 May.<ref>''[[Evangelical Lutheran Worship]]'', (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2007), 15</ref>

It is claimed that St Matthias the Apostle's remains were brought to Italy through Empress [[Helena of Constantinople|Helena]], mother of Emperor [[Constantine I]] (the Great); part of these relics were interred in the [[Abbey of Santa Giustina]], [[Padua]], and the remaining in the [[St. Matthias' Abbey, Trier|Abbey of St. Matthias]], [[Trier]], Germany. According to Greek sources, the remains of the apostle are buried in the castle of [[Gonio (settlement)|Gonio-Apsaros]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Kakhidze |first=Emzar |editor-last=Bilde |editor-first=Pia Guldager |editor2-last=Petersen |editor2-first=Jane Hjarl |title=Meetings of Cultures – Between Conflicts and Coexistence. Black Sea Studies. 8 |publisher=Aarhus University Press |date=2008 |pages=303–332 |chapter=Apsaros: A Roman Fort in Southwestern Georgia |chapter-url=http://www.pontos.dk/publications/books/BSS%208 |archive-date=22 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122044357/http://www.pontos.dk/publications/books/BSS%208 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<gallery widths=200 heights=200>
File:Matthias_the_Apostle1.jpg|Saint Matthias ([[Good Friday processions in Baliwag]], 1863)
File:Santa Giustina (Padua) - Tomb of Saint Matthias.jpg|His reliquary in [[Padua]].
File:Saint Matthias Helsinki Cathedral.jpg|Statue of Saint Matthias by [[Hermann Schievelbein]] at the roof of the [[Helsinki Cathedral]].
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Acta Andreae et Matthiae apud Anthropophagos]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|chapter=[[s:A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture/LXXXIV. The Election of Matthias — Descent of the Holy Ghost|The Election of Matthias—Descent of the Holy Ghost]]|title=A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture|year=1910|publisher=B. Herder|first=Friedrich Justus|last=Knecht}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Saint Matthias}}
{{EB1911 poster|Matthias (disciple)|Matthias}}

{{Apostles}}
{{New Testament people}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Coptic saints}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthias the Apostle}}
[[Category:1st-century births]]
[[Category:80 deaths]]

[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]
[[Category:Saints from the Holy Land]]
[[Category:1st-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:1st-century Christian martyrs]]
[[Category:People in Acts of the Apostles]]
[[Category:Christian saints from the New Testament]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Matthias' Abbey]]
[[Category:Seventy disciples]]
[[Category:Twelve Apostles]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]