Matthew the Evangelist (מתי "Gift of the LORD", Standard Hebrew and Tiberian HebrewMattay; SeptuagintGreekΜατθαιος, Matthaios) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Matthew. He was the son of Alphaeus, and was a publican or tax-collector at Capernaum. On one occasion Jesus, coming up from the side of the lake, passed the custom-house where Matthew was seated, and said to him, "Follow me." Matthew arose and followed him, and became his disciple (Matthew 9:9).
He is called Levi in Luke (5:27). Although Mark calls him Matthew in his list of the apostles, when recounting the story how the publican is called to be a disciple, he calls him Levi (2:14). Some explain this discrepancy by saying he formerly was known as Levi, but then he changed it, possibly in grateful memory of his call, to Matthew. The same day on which Jesus called him he made a "great feast" (Luke 5:29), a farewell feast, to which he invited Jesus and his disciples, and probably also many of his old associates. 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 apocryphalGospel of Thomas, suggesting he was of more importance in the early church than surviving evidence indicates. The time and manner of his death are unknown.
Some traditions say that Matthew was martyred in Ethiopia, others say that he was martyred in Hierapolis of Parthia. According to Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, Matthew the Evangelist was martyred in Hierapolis, and the Matthew who replaced Judas Iscariot among the twelve apostles is the one who died in Ethiopia.
Like the other three Evangelists, Matthew is often depicted in Christian art. His particular attribute is a winged man, a reference to the angel who is supposed to have dictated to him as he wrote. The three paintings of his life by Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio) in the church of San Luigi Dei Francesci in Rome are among the landmarks of Western art.
On January 26th, 1905, an application was made for incorporation as St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church of Erie, Pa., for the purpose of public worship, according to the faith, doctrine, discipline and usages of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as set forth in the member of the Pittsburgh Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
On February 4th, 1905, the application was notarized; and on March 6th, 1905, it was approved by the President Judge, Emory A. Walling, of the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County.
On May 12th, 1905, ownership of the property was conveyed from St. Johns to St Matthews for the remaining indebtedness of $2,5000, and payment of the 1905 taxes.
SaintMatthew's Churches is a place of worship for people of all Communions.
SaintMatthew's Churches believes that ministers of God's church should be reaching out, in love and compassion, to all people worldwide, regardless of their background or beliefs.
SaintMatthew's Mother Church, the Cathedral of SaintMatthew, is located in Houston, Texas.
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