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| St. Matthais the Apostle |
St. Matthias The
Apostle
The Greek Matthias, is a name derived from Mattathias,
Hebrew Mattithiah, signifying “Gift of Yahweh“
Patron Saint of alcoholism,
carpenters, diocese of Great Falls-Billings Montana, reformed alcoholics,
smallpox, tailors
Matthias was the apostle chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to
replace Judas Iscariot following Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and suicide. His
calling as an apostle is unique in that his appointment was not made personally
by Jesus, who had already ascended to heaven, and, it was made before the
descending of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church.
According to Acts 1, in the days following the Ascension of Jesus,
to the assembled disciples, who numbered about one hundred and twenty, that
they nominated two men to replace Judas: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as
Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show
us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry,
which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell
to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:23-26)
All
further information concerning the life and death of Matthias is vague and
contradictory. According to Nicephorus, he first preached the Gospel in Judea,
then in Ethiopia and was crucified. The Synopsis of Dorotheus contains this
tradition: Matthias preached the Gospel
to barbarians and cannibals in the interior of Ethiopia, at the harbour of the
sea of Hyssus, at the mouth of the river Phasis. He was stoned at Sebastopolis in 80 AD and
was buried there, near the Temple of the Sun. Some relics can be found in the abatical church of Triers, others in Saint
Mary Major in Rome
Still
another tradition maintains that Matthias was stoned at Jerusalem by the Jews,
and then beheaded. It is said that St.
Helena brought the relics of St. Matthias to Rome, and that a portion of them
was at Trier. Bollandus doubts if the relics that are in Rome are not rather
those of the St. Matthias who was Bishop of Jerusalem about the year 120, and
whose history would seem to have been confounded with that of the Apostle. The Latin Church celebrates the feast of St.
Matthias on 24 February and the Greek Church on 9 August. L ater, the Latin
Church moved the feast of St. Matthias to 14 May.
From a homily on the Acts of the
Apostles
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| St. Matthais the Apostle |
by Saint John Chrysostom
"In those days, Peter stood
up in the midst of the disciples and said..." As the fiery spirit to whom
the flock was entrusted by Christ and as the leader in the band of the
apostles, Peter always took the initiative in speaking: "My brothers, we
must choose from among our number." He left the decision to the whole
body, at once augmenting the honor of those elected and avoiding any suspicion
of partiality.
Did not Peter then have the right
to make the choice himself? Certainly he had the right, but he did not want to
give the appearance of showing special favor to anyone. "And they
nominated two," we read, "Joseph, who was called Barsabbas and
surnamed Justus, and Matthias." He himself did not nominate them; all
present did. But it was he who brought the issue forward, pointing out that it
was not his own idea but had been suggested to him by a scriptural prophecy.
And they all prayed together,
saying: "You, Lord, know the hearts of men; make your choice known to us.
You, not we." Appropriately they said that he knew the hearts of men,
because the choice was to be made by him, not by others.
They spoke with such confidence,
because someone had to be appointed. They did not say "choose" but
"make known to us" the chosen one; "the one you choose,"
they said, fully aware that everything was being preordained by God.
from a homily on the Acts of the
Apostles by Saint John Chrysostom
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