Matthew the Evangelist and his distinctive features. The name Matthew in the Orthodox calendar (Saints)

On November 29, the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of memory of the apostle and evangelist Matthew. In the churches of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, at evening and morning services, they recalled the labors and deeds of the saint, prayerfully asked for his intercession. In the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, in the Nikon chapel of the Trinity Cathedral, a particle of the relics of the Apostle Matthew is kept. The Royal Doors from the Trinity Cathedral are stored in the Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve Laurel. One of the images that make up their composition is the icon of the apostle and evangelist Matthew.

App icon. Matthew. Fragment.

Royal Doors from the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra,1420s.,

Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve

Tradition keeps the details of the saint's life. The lives of Dimitry of Rostov describe his labors and deeds. The gospels speak of him. It is known that Matthew - the son of Alpheus, otherwise called Levi (Mark 2:14. Matt. 9:9. Luke 5:27), lived in the Galilean city of Capernaum. He was a wealthy man and held the position of publican. His compatriots despised and shunned him, like all his kind. But Matthew, although he was a sinner, was at the same time not only no worse, but also much better than the Pharisees, who were proud of their imaginary outward righteousness. And so the Lord fixed His Divine gaze on this despised publican. Once, during His stay in Capernaum, the Lord left the city and went to the sea, accompanied by the people. On the shore He saw Matthew sitting by the trough. And said to him:

Follow me!

Hearing these words of the Lord not only with bodily hearing, but also with the eyes of the heart, the publican immediately got up from his place and, leaving everything, followed Christ. Matthew did not hesitate, was not surprised that Great Teacher and the Wonderworker calls him, the contemptible publican; he listened to His words with all his heart, and unquestioningly followed Christ. In joy, Matthew prepared a great meal in his house. The Lord did not refuse the invitation and entered Matthew's house. And a multitude of his neighbors, friends and acquaintances, all publicans and sinners, gathered at Matthew's house and reclined at the table together with Jesus and His disciples. Some of the scribes and Pharisees also happened to be there. Seeing that the Lord does not abhor sinners and publicans, but reclining next to them, they murmured and said to His disciples:

How does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

The Lord, having heard their words, said to them:

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

From that time on, Matthew, leaving all his possessions, followed Christ (Luke 5:28) and, as a faithful disciple of Him, after that he no longer separated from Him. In a short time, he was honored to be numbered among the 12 chosen Apostles (Matthew ch. 10; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:13-16). Together with other disciples of the Lord, Matthew accompanied Him on his travels in Galilee and Judea, listened to His Divine teaching, saw His countless miracles, went preaching to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, witnessed the sufferings on the Cross and the atoning death of the Savior and His glorious ascension to heaven.

After the ascension of the Lord and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, Saint Matthew first remained in Palestine, together with other Apostles, preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem and its environs. But now the time has come for the Apostles to disperse from Jerusalem different nations to convert them to the faith of Christ. Before the departure of the Apostle from Jerusalem, Jerusalem Christians asked him to leave for them the writings of deeds and the teachings of Jesus Christ. And Saint Matthew, fulfilling the common desire, wrote the Gospel, 8 years after the Ascension of Christ.

Holy Apostle Matthew

Having retired from Jerusalem, the holy Apostle Matthew preached the Gospel in many countries. Evangelizing Christ, he went through Macedonia, Syria, Persia, Parthia and Media and went around all of Ethiopia, on which his lot fell, and enlightened her with the light of the Evangelical mind. Finally, guided by the Holy Spirit, he came to the land of cannibals, to the black-skinned beast-like people, entered the city called Mirmeny, and there, having converted several souls to the Lord, he made his companion Plato bishop for them and created a small church; he himself ascended a nearby mountain and remained fasting on it, fervently praying to God for the conversion of that unfaithful people. And the Lord appeared to him in the form of a beautiful youth, having right hand wand Giving the rod to the saint, He commanded him to come down from the mountain and set up the rod at the door of the church he built.

This rod, - said the Lord, - by My power will grow into tall tree, and that tree will bear abundant fruit, greater in size and sweetness than all other fruits of the garden; and from its root shall spring a spring of pure water. After bathing in the water of the spring, the cannibals will receive a splendor of the face, and anyone who only tastes from that fruit will forget the bestial customs and become a kind and meek person.

Matthew, having received the rod from the hand of the Lord, descended from the mountain and went into the city to fulfill what he was commanded. The ruler of that city, an Ethiopian prince named Fulvian, had a wife and son possessed by demons. Meeting the Apostle on the way, they yelled at him in wild, threatening voices:

Who sent you here with this staff to destroy us?

The apostle rebuked the unclean spirits and cast them out; those who were healed bowed down to the Apostle and meekly followed him. Upon learning of his arrival, Bishop Plato met him with the clergy, and Saint Matthew, entering the city and approaching the church, did as he was commanded: he hoisted up the rod given to him by the Lord, and immediately, in the sight of all, the rod became great. a tree spreading many-leaved branches, and beautiful fruits appeared on it, large and sweet, and a fountain of water flowed from the root.

All who saw it were amazed. The whole city converged on such a miracle, and they ate the fruits of the tree and drank clean water. And the holy Apostle Matthew, standing on a high place, preached to the assembled people the word of God in their own language; and immediately all believed in the Lord, and the Apostle baptized them in a miraculous spring. And all the cannibals who were baptized, according to the word of the Lord, came out of the water with beautiful faces and white skin; they received not only bodily, but also spiritual whiteness and beauty, putting off the old man and putting on the new man - Christ. Upon learning of what had happened, the ruler at first rejoiced at the healing of his wife and son, but then, according to the demonic teaching, he became angry with the apostle because all the people came to him, leaving their gods, and planned to destroy him. But on the same night the Savior appeared to the Apostle, commanding him to be of good courage and promising to be with him in the coming tribulation. When morning came, and the Apostle in the church, together with the faithful, sang praises to God, the ruler sent four soldiers to take him; but when they came to the temple of the Lord, immediately darkness enveloped them, and they could hardly turn back. When they were asked why they did not bring Matthew, they answered:

We heard him talking, but we could not see or take him.

Fulvian became even more angry. He sent even more soldiers with weapons, commanding them to bring Matthew by force, and whoever resists and defends Matthew, kill them. But these soldiers also returned with nothing, for when they approached the temple, the heavenly light shone on the Apostle, and the soldiers, being unable to look at him, came into great fear and, throwing down their weapons, ran back half dead from fear. Fulvian was terribly furious and went with all his many servants, wanting to seize the apostle himself. But as soon as he had time to approach the apostle, he suddenly became blind. Then he began to beg the apostle to forgive him his sin and to enlighten his blinded eyes. The apostle, having made the sign of the cross in the eyes of the prince, granted him insight. The prince received his sight, but only with bodily eyes, and not spiritual ones, for malice blinded him, and he attributed such a great miracle not to God's power, but to sorcery. Taking the hand of the apostle, he led him to his palace, as if wanting to honor him, and in his heart deceitfully plotting to burn the apostle of the Lord like a sorcerer. But the apostle, seeing the secret movements of his heart and crafty plans, rebuked the ruler, saying:

Flattering tormentor! Will you soon do what you planned to do to me? Do what Satan has put into your heart, and as you can see, I am ready to endure everything for my God.

Then the prince ordered the soldiers to seize St. Matthew and stretch him on the ground, face up, and nail his hands and feet firmly. When this was done, the servants, at the command of the tormentor, gathered a lot of branches and brushwood, brought pitches and sulfur, and, putting it all on Saint Matthew, set it on fire. But when the fire flared up with a great flame and everyone thought that the Apostle of Christ had already burned down, suddenly the fire cooled and the flame went out and Saint Matthew turned out to be alive, unharmed and glorifying God. Seeing this, all the people were horrified by such a great miracle and gave praise to the God of the apostle. But Fulvian was even more furious. Not wanting to recognize in what happened the power of God, which kept the preacher of Christ alive and intact from the fire, he raised an unlawful accusation against the righteous, calling him a sorcerer.

By sorcery, - he said, - Matthew extinguished the fire and remained alive in it.

Then he ordered to bring even more firewood, branches and brushwood, and, putting it on Matthew, to light it, and pour pitch on top; in addition, he ordered to bring twelve of his golden idols and, placing them around the fire, called them for help, so that by their power Matthew could not get rid of the flame, and would turn into ashes. The apostle, in flames, prayed to the Lord that He would show His invincible strength, reveal the impotence of the pagan gods and shame those who hope in them.

And suddenly a fiery flame with a terrible thunder rushed at the golden idols and they melted like wax from the fire, and besides, many of the infidels standing around were scorched; and from the melted idols a flame came out, in the form of a serpent, and rushed at Fulvian, threatening him, so that he could not escape and get rid of the danger until he called out with humble prayer to the apostle for deliverance from death.

The apostle forbade the fire, and immediately the flame went out and the likeness of the fiery serpent disappeared. Fulvian wanted to bring the saint out of the fire with honor, but having made a prayer, he delivered his holy soul into the hands of God. Then the prince ordered to bring a golden bed and on it to lay the honest body of the Apostle, undamaged by fire, and, dressing him in precious clothes, raised him together with his nobles and brought him to his palace. But he did not yet have perfect faith, and therefore he ordered an iron ark to be forged, densely filled with tin on all sides and thrown into the sea, while saying to his nobles:

If He who kept Matthew safe from fire also keeps him from being drowned in water, then surely He is One God and we will worship Him, leaving all our gods who could not save themselves from perishing in the fire.

After this iron ark with honest relics was thrown into the sea, the saint appeared at night to Bishop Plato, saying:

Tomorrow go to the seashore to the east of the prince's palace and there take my relics brought to the land.

In the morning, the bishop, accompanied by many believers, went to the place shown and found an iron ark with the relics of the holy Apostle Matthew, as had been announced to him in a vision.

Having learned about this, the ruler came with his nobles and, this time already fully believing in our Lord Jesus Christ, he was baptized, taking the name of the apostle in baptism, the prince tried to imitate the life of the apostle: he soon transferred his princely power to another, refused completely from worldly vanity, gave himself up to prayer in the Church of God and was awarded the priesthood by Bishop Platon. And when, after three years, the bishop died, the holy Apostle Matthew appeared in a vision to the princely presbyter Matthew, who had left power, and exhorted him to accept the episcopal throne after the blessed Plato. Having accepted the bishopric, Matthew labored well in the gospel of Christ and, turning many away from idolatry, led them to God, and then he himself departed to Him, after a long pious life, and, standing with the holy Evangelist Matthew at the throne of God, pray for the Lord for us, so that we were heirs of the eternal kingdom of God. Amen.

Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl) at Divine Liturgy

November 29 is the day of the Angel of the ever-memorable resident of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl), the musical soul of the Lavra St. Sergius over many decades of the 20th and early XXI century.

The united choir of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and Moscow theological schools under the direction of Archimandrite Matthew sounded at all festive church events in Russia; repeatedly speaking abroad, he presented the Russian church singing art to the world. These speeches were of great missionary significance. During the years of Soviet persecution, when the Church was presented as something archaic, as some kind of superstition and prejudice, the highest examples of church culture, church singing testified precisely to the fact that the Church is the most living and most creative thing on earth.

On the day of memory of the apostle and evangelist Matthew, his heavenly patron, the chief regent of the joint choir of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra and Moscow theological schools, Archimandrite Matthew always led the service as a priest.

Possessing an outstanding musical and organizational talent, Father Matthew tried to make church singing such that it would bring the souls of believers into a state of prayer and reverence. Having passed away, he left behind a whole direction in church singing, his style, his school. He left behind followers, disciples, with whom he shared his amazing gift, thus increasing the talents given to him by the Lord.

Eternal memory to our ever-memorable father Archimandrite Matthew!

On the day of the namesake of the legendary conductor of the Lavra choir, Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl), we present to your attention photographs from the archive of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Life of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew

Few facts are known from the biography of the holy apostle and evangelist Matthew, who is also called Levi Matthew or Levi Alfeev. In history, his name appears from the moment when Christ, seeing him sitting at the temple, as the holy evangelist Luke writes, ordered him to leave everything and follow him. Until now, Levi Matthew acted as a tax collector in Galilee, the city of Capernaum, the ruins of which have survived to this day, they are called Tel Gum.

Galilee was part of Judea, and Judea was a Roman province, where the Jews fiercely hated the Roman pagans - enslavers. The Roman rulers understood that it would be better to entrust the duties of a publican to a person who knew both the territory and the material possibilities of the population, and therefore they hired people from the local population for this thankless and unclean work.

The tax collector is always an uninvited and unwanted guest in the house, and even if this is a person from his own, he was considered a traitor among the Jews, he became an outcast. They tried not to communicate with the publicans, they did not call them to the table, in general, they considered any communication with them to be a desecration of the faith and put them on a par with serious sinners. Since, in extracting taxes in favor of the Romans, the tax collectors had to apply hardness of heart even to those from whom they took the last, they, of course, did not earn respect. In addition, this occupation was not controlled, and among the publicans there were dishonest people: those who overestimated taxes, putting the unrighteous surplus in their pocket.

However, there were those who went for it, because at all times the profession of a tax collector was very profitable, and among them were different people including the good and the pure in heart. So Levi Matthew was not a poor man: he had his own house and a decent fortune, but his soul was not corrupted either by cruelty or excessive love of money.

The Lord chooses a person for his service, looking into his heart. In Capernaum, Christ performed many miracles, and, being near the temple, Matthew heard His words, and the soul of the publican was inclined to the truths about God that he had heard. Therefore, apparently, the call of Christ to follow Him was accepted by the publican overnight and without doubt. He got up, left his purse in the dust of the road with all his means and followed the Teacher.

The feeling of gratitude of the former publican was great, and Matthew invited the Lord to a meal in his house, and He agreed. Jews, scribes and Pharisees, the main Jewish preachers and zealots of the Jewish faith, seeing how Jesus eats and drinks in the house of a man whom everyone treated with squeamish contempt, began to condemn Him. The answer of Christ is known from the Gospel - He said that not the healthy, but the sick need a doctor, called them to go learn what is mercy and what is sacrifice, and said that He did not come to save the righteous, but sinners (Matt. 9 ; 9–17).

This was Levi Matthew's last meal in his house. After that, he got up, left everything and followed Him to preach His teaching until the end of his days. In his inseparable following of Christ, he preached, saw Christ's miracles, listened to His words together with other first disciples, memorized them, he was with Christ until the Last Supper and His taking, and Resurrection, and Ascension. The memory of these days, of these events and sermons then formed the basis of the Gospel of Matthew - the first one that we read when opening New Testament. It was written at the request of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, when the holy Apostle Matthew, after receiving the Holy Spirit, was about to leave the city to preach the Word of Christ.

The peculiarity of the Gospel of Matthew is that it illuminates in detail the genealogy of Christ, proving that Christ is the very true Messiah, Who was announced by all Old Testament prophets and Whom is mentioned in all the main events of the Old Testament. The holy Apostle-Evangelist Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew, then it was translated into Greek, and the Hebrew original no longer exists.

Having finished writing the Gospel - the year of its creation, historians suggest as the 41st from the Nativity of Christ, the holy apostle withdrew from Jerusalem to preach. A large part of Asia Minor and part of Africa was left to him for conversion: he preached among the Persians, Syrians, Parthians, Medes and other peoples who inhabited this territory.

He also preached in Ethiopia, where the preaching of the doctrine had a miraculous effect on the inhabitants, and many apostatized from paganism, offering human sacrifices to idols and converted to the true faith. He created a small church there, leaving with her as a bishop to maintain and increase the faith of the companion of his wanderings, Plato. Once, during a solitary prayer on a nearby mountain, the Lord appeared to the holy apostle in the guise of a bright-faced youth. He gave him a rod and ordered to bring it to the city of Mirmena to set it up near the temple. A certain Fulvian then ruled in this city, which in Latin means “red-haired”.

On the way to the city, the holy apostle met the wife and son of the ruler Mirmen, and since they were possessed by an evil spirit, at the sight of the rod they began to rage and shout that Saint Matthew was coming into the city to destroy them. The holy apostle offered up a prayer to the Lord, and these two were immediately healed and went along with the apostle.

Arriving in the city, the holy apostle Matthew, at the command of the Lord, set up a rod near the temple, and the rod immediately turned into a beautiful strong tree with attractive sweet fruits, and a clear stream murmured from its roots. And many black residents began to come to the temple to look at the miracle. They ate the fruits from the tree, listening to the apostolic sermon, which entered their hearts like grace-filled food into the body, and it was very similar to the meal of the Teacher with the disciples. The special properties of these fruits were also revealed to the holy apostle in a vision that was given to him when he received the miraculous rod. All those who believed were immediately baptized in the miraculous waters of the spring. Among those gathered near the temple were Fulvian's wife and son. Fulvian, learning about this, became angry and ordered that Saint Matthew be taken into custody.

At night, Christ Himself appeared to Saint Matthew and said that torment awaited the apostle, however, he ordered him to put all his hopes on Him, since He Himself would henceforth be inseparable from Saint Matthew. During morning prayer four guards arrived for the holy Apostle Matthew to take him, but then the temple was enveloped in darkness, so much so that they did not know how to get out of it, and returned with nothing. Fulvian became even more angry and again sent guards after the apostle, but now a light shone around the apostle, which was impossible to look at. The warriors dropped their weapons in fear and ran away.

Then Fulvian himself went to arrest the apostle, and as soon as he approached him, he became blind. Frightened, he began to ask the apostle to restore his sight. Saint Matthew made the sign of the cross over him, and Fulvian again received his sight.

However, the hypocritical Fulvian received his sight bodily, but not spiritually. He invited St. Matthew to his house, allegedly in order to show honor, and in his soul he planned to kill him - he believed that all the miracles performed by the apostle were not a manifestation of the will of God, but sorcery, and he wanted to destroy the saint as a sorcerer. Matthew, led by the Lord, immediately read Fulvian's thought and told him to do everything he had in mind without hypocrisy, for the saint was ready to endure all the torments in the name of the Lord.

Fulvian thrice betrayed Saint Matthew to fiery torments, but each time the apostle prayed away the fire, in which eventually melted like wax and burned the idols - the object of worship of the pagans, and then the fire that came out of them turned into a fiery serpent, which began to pursue Fulvian himself. He, in horror, begged the apostle to stop the snake, and was already ready to pay honor to the apostle himself, but Saint Matthew made a prayer and the Lord accepted him to Himself.

The death of the holy Apostle Matthew took place approximately in the year 60 after the Nativity of Christ. Now his remains are kept in Italy in the city of Salerno, the patron saint of which is the holy apostle, where they were transferred around the 10th century. Apart from Orthodox icons, his image was captured three times by the famous Renaissance painter Caravaggio.

What a miracle happened

Together with the repose of the holy Apostle Matthew, the miracles performed by him did not end. Despite everything Fulvian had seen and the protection given to him from the fiery serpent, his soul was still full of doubts. He ordered the remains of the saint to be dressed in precious clothes, placed in a wrought iron ark, soldered with tin and thrown into the sea, saying that if the One who protected the apostle from the fire did not allow his relics to drown, then he, Fulvian, would bow God, and with him all will renounce belief in idols.

The next night, Saint Matthew came in a vision to his friend and disciple, Bishop Plato, and said that the bishop should go ashore in the morning to the east of the ruler’s house – there the ark with his relics would be thrown out of the sea. Plato did just that.

When Fulvian learned of this, he also, accompanied by many, came ashore and saw a heavy ark thrown out of the waves. Then he believed, and the people with him. Fulvian bowed to God, received holy baptism with the name Matthew, renounced worldly life, began to live a church life and received a priestly rank.

The meaning of the icon

In addition to the fact that the holy apostle-evangelist Matthew is the patron of those whose activities are related to finances, customs, tax collection, his image reminds of the need to read the Holy Scriptures and, in particular, the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew differs from the others in that it specifically emphasizes kinship Jesus with the Jewish people through the genealogy of the Mother of God, indicating that He is the Messiah, the High Priest in the order of Mechilsedec, the son of David and Abram, Whom the prophets so awaited and Whom their descendants did not recognize and crucified. Therefore, the holy Apostle-Evangelist Matthew is often depicted on icons together with a youth resembling an angel, obviously as a reminder of the vision when the Lord in youthful form handed over a miraculous rod to Saint Matthew.

The icon of Matthew the Apostle is available in the catalog of our website.
Saint Matthew was one of the twelve apostles. Prior to this, Matthew was a tax collector for Rome, that is, he served as a publican. When the voice of the Lord came to him and said: “Follow me,” Matthew left his work and went after the Lord. Saint Matthew began to preach in Palestine, after he received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of his preaching path, he wrote the Gospel, at the request of the Jews who remained in Jerusalem. The New Testament The Gospel of Matthew is among the first books. The book was written in Hebrew. Matthew outlined in the book all the deeds and speeches of the Savior in three aspects of ministry - in the role of the Prophet and Lawgiver, the King over the visible and the invisible, and the High Priest, who offered a sacrifice for the sins of all people.

St. Matthew went around Persia, Media, Syria and Parthia with preaching and evangelism, and in Ethiopia his preaching work was completed due to martyrdom. At that time, tribes of cannibals with cruel customs lived in the country. The sermon of St. Matthew influenced many pagans, and they accepted Christian faith. He founded the Church in the city of Mirmena, where Plato was appointed bishop. The Apostle Matthew fervently prayed that the Ethiopians would accept the faith of the Lord, and during the prayer the Lord appeared to him in the form of a young man who held a staff in his hands. He told Matthew to set up the rod at the door of the temple. The Lord told Matthew that this rod would turn into a tree bearing fruit, and a fountain of water would flow from the roots. When the Ethiopians eat the fruit and bathe in this water, they will become meek and kind. Saint Matthew took the rod and went to the door of the temple to plant it. Along the way, he met the wife and son of the emperor, who were possessed by an unclean spirit. Matthew healed them. After learning about this miracle, many pagans gained faith in the Lord. But the emperor did not want his people to stop worshiping pagan deities, he gave the order to seize Saint Matthew and execute him.

The saint was laid face down and brushwood was poured over his body and set on fire. Everyone saw that the fire did not harm the saint. Emperor Fulvian said to add more brushwood. They poured tar on Matthew and placed 12 idols around him. The flame flared up and scorched the idols and Fulvian. The frightened emperor rushed to the saint asking for mercy. Through prayer, Saint Matthew calmed the fire and the flame subsided. The saint's body was not damaged in the fire. Soon he went to the Lord and his body was placed in an iron coffin and thrown into the sea by order of the emperor. Fulvian said that if the saint's body was not damaged by fire and not damaged by water, then it is still worth believing in the true God. At night, Saint Matthew appeared to Bishop Platon and said that his body should be found on the seashore. The coffin, along with the body, was carried out by a wave and was transferred with honors to the temple. The emperor asked Matthew for forgiveness and was baptized with the name Matthew, after which he began to enlighten the people of Ethiopia.

The icon of the Holy Apostle Matthew depicts the face of the Great Martyr, who, with his sermon, was able to convert many people to Christianity.

Memory Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew takes place in Orthodox Church November 29, according to the new style, as well as July 13, the day of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.

New Testament about the Apostle Matthew
Matthew was one of the twelve closest apostles of Jesus Christ who followed Him in the last three years of His earthly life. The name of the apostle is mentioned in some New Testament books: in the Gospel of Luke and Mark, in the book of Acts, as well as in the first Gospel, the author of which the Church considers St. Matthew himself. Sometimes in the gospel story he is mentioned under the name Levi Alfeev.
It is known from the Gospel that Matthew was a publican, that is, a tax collector in ancient Judea. This position was considered highly shameful among the Jews, since publicans served the Roman emperor and were thus perceived as traitors to the Jewish people. In his gospel, Matthew repeatedly emphasizes his occupation before being called by Christ, which he is believed to have done out of special humility.
Tradition has not conveyed to us any information about the later life of the Apostle Matthew. It is believed that he preached after the Ascension of Christ in Ethiopia, where he was martyred around the year 60.

Gospel of Matthew
Church Tradition calls the Apostle Matthew the author of the first Gospel. The time of writing the book cannot be precisely established, but most researchers are inclined to believe that it was created in the 40-50s. This gospel was originally written in Hebrew, unlike all other New Testament books written in Greek.
The Apostle Matthew addressed his book to the Jewish community, which was clearly reflected in the theological features of his Gospel, the main theme of which was the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah about whose coming the prophets wrote. Matthew assures his readers that Jesus was exactly the One that Jewish society had been waiting for for centuries. Matthew often uses scriptural quotations to support his idea of ​​Jesus' messianic worth as well as his divine origin.
The most important part of the gospel narrative is the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, in which Christ reveals the foundations of His moral teaching. It is believed that the main thoughts of Christianity are concentrated in the Sermon on the Mount, therefore this part of the Gospel of Matthew is the most important for believers.
The Gospel of Matthew also includes a large number of parables dedicated to the teaching of Jesus Christ about the Church as a way of man to salvation, as well as speaking about the end of the world and His Second Coming. Many of the parables recorded by Matthew are preserved only in his Gospel.

Iconic images of the Apostle Matthew
The first icons of the Apostle Matthew appeared quite late, around the 8th century, and on them the saint was depicted as an old man with gray hair. This image was kept long time in Byzantine art. As an evangelist, the holy apostle is depicted with attributes indicating his writing activity, which are a book or a scroll in his hands. On some iconographic images, Matthew is written sitting at a table with a book and a pen in his hand and writing down the words of an angel standing in front of him, who dictates the words of the Gospel to the apostle.
The symbol of St. Matthew is the Angel, since in his Gospel he Special attention devoted to the Incarnation and the fulfillment of prophecies about the messianic ministry of the Son of God, about which the Old Testament prophets spoke, inspired by the messengers of God, the Angels.

Troparion, tone 3:
Diligently from the tax collector to the caller of the Mistress of Christ, I appear on earth as a man for goodness, following that, the chosen apostle appeared thou and the herald of the gospel of the universe is eloquent. For this sake, we honor your honorable memory, Matthew the God-speaking, pray to the Merciful God, that forgiveness of sins will give our souls.

Kontakion, tone 4:
He rejected the ordeal of the yoke, the truth was attracted to the yoke, and thou art the most worthy merchant, wealth brought south from the height of wisdom. Otonu already preached the word of truth and raised up the despondent souls, writing the hour of judgment.

Greatness:
We magnify you the Apostle of Christ Matthew / and we honor your illnesses and labors, / you worked in the image of Christ in the gospel of Christ.

Prayer:
Oh, glorious Apostle Matthew, who betrayed his soul for Christ and fertilized His pasture with your blood! Hear your children prayers and sighs, now offered with a broken heart. Behold, we are overshadowed by lawlessness, and for the sake of misfortunes, like clouds, we will be overlaid, barely a good life, impoverished very much, and we will not be able to resist the predatory wolf, which they boldly strive to plunder the heritage of God. Oh strong! Bear our infirmities, do not leave us in spirit, may we not be parted in the end from the love of God, but protect us with your strong intercession, may the Lord have mercy on all of us for your prayers, may he destroy the handwriting of our immeasurable sins, and may he be blessed with all the Saints Kingdom and marriage of His Lamb, to Him be honor and glory, and thanksgiving and worship, forever and ever. Amen.

He was the brother of the Apostle Jacob Alfeev. By the nature of his occupation, Matthew was a publican, i.e. collected a collection for Rome, because, as you know, the Jews were in the power of the Roman state. Matthias lived in Capernaum, when he heard the call of Christ to follow Him, he left everything and followed the Savior.
It was Matthew who invited the Teacher and His disciples to his house, who did not reject this invitation, but ate a meal with the publican's acquaintances, who were as sinful as he was. This fact struck the scribes and Pharisees in the strongest way, because the publicans were identified by everyone with the concept of greed and cruelty. They collected taxes for their obvious benefit, and many people did not consider themselves able to communicate with them. But the Lord, by His step, wanted to show everyone that He had come to call not the righteous, but sinners. The Apostle Matthew repented of his sins, he distributed to those whom he had robbed earlier, sums four times as large. For his devotion and faith, he was honored to see the suffering of Christ on the Cross, His Ascension to heaven.
On the Day of Pentecost, the gifts of the Holy Spirit descended upon him, and the apostle began preaching in Palestine. At the same time, in the Gospel, he captured all the earthly events of the life of Christ.
The sermon of the Apostle Matthew spread to Persia, Parthia, Lydia, and Syria. Ethiopia became his last refuge. This country was inhabited by cannibals with savage customs. The apostle, in his own words, converted many to Christ, built a temple, and a companion of St. Matthew, Plato, was appointed bishop in the city of Mirmena.
The apostle from the bottom of his heart ardently in prayer turned to the Lord with a request to turn the Ethiopians to the truth. At this time, Christ himself appeared to him and gave him a rod, which he ordered to be placed near the temple next to the doors, it was also said that a huge tree would grow from this rod, and water would flow from the roots, washing in which and tasting the fruits from the tree, the Ethiopians would become humble and meek.
But, when the apostle decided to fulfill everything that the Savior bequeathed to him, he met the son and wife of the ruler of this country, who were obsessed. Saint Matthew healed them in the name of the Lord. This miracle helped many pagans to believe. But the ruler did not want Christians in his state, and therefore he ordered the execution of the apostle.
He was laid face down, sprinkled with brushwood and set on fire. But the fire did not touch the body of the evangelist. Then the ruler Fulvian ordered more brushwood and resin to be added, but the body still remained unharmed, after this miracle the pagan turned to the saint with a plea for mercy, the apostle Matthew prayed fervently and the flame went out. After that, the holy apostle and evangelist Matthew departed to the Lord.
But Fulvian did not fully believe in Christ, he ordered to put the body of the apostle in a coffin and throw it into the sea. He said that if God preserves the body of the Evangelist Matthew, then only He should be worshiped.
The next morning, on the seashore, the inhabitants found a coffin, it was transferred to the temple. Fulvian asked for forgiveness from the apostle and received from the hands of Bishop Plato Holy Baptism with the name Matthew, later he accepted the bishopric and did many good deeds in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.