Saint Matthias
Feast Day: February 24
An
apostle of
Jesus Christ, Matthias (from the
Hebrew "Mattithiah": "gift of
Yahweh") was originally one of the seventy
disciples of Christ. In
Acts 1, the apostles drew lots to decide between Matthias and
Joseph Barsabbas to replace
Judas Iscariot as one of the twelve, and Matthias was chosen. He is not mentioned again in the
Bible.
Christian traditions differ on the eventual fate of Matthias, though they agree that he was
martyred. Some sources claim he preached in
Judea and
Colchis and was
crucified at
Sebastopolis. Another says he was
stoned to death and beheaded by
Jews in
Jerusalem.
Greek Orthodox tradition places him preaching the
gospel in
Cappadocia,
Turkey, where he was either crucified or hacked to bits.
An
apocryphal Gospel of Matthias is generally dismissed by the Church. What were thought to be the remains of Matthias were brought to
Rome from Jerusalem by Saint
Helena, mother of
Constantine the Great.