The holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew was one of the Twelve Apostles. Before his conversion to Christ, Matthew served as a tax collector, gathering taxes for Rome. Hearing the voice of Jesus Christ: “Follow Me” (Matthew 9:9), he left his position and followed the Savior. Having received the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Matthew first preached in Palestine. Before departing to preach in distant lands, at the request of the Jews who remained in Jerusalem, the apostle wrote his Gospel. In the series of New Testament books, the Gospel according to Matthew stands first. It was written in Hebrew. Matthew presents the words and deeds of the Savior in accordance with the three aspects of Christ’s ministry: as Prophet and Lawgiver, King over the visible and invisible world, and High Priest who offers Himself as a Sacrifice for the sins of all people.
The holy Apostle Matthew traveled with the good news through Syria, Media, Persia, and Parthia, concluding his preaching labors with a martyr’s death in Ethiopia. This country was inhabited by tribes of cannibals with crude customs and beliefs. By his preaching the holy Apostle Matthew converted several idol-worshippers to faith in Christ, founded a Church, and built a temple in the city of Mirmena, appointing his companion named Platon as bishop there. While the apostle fervently prayed to God for the conversion of the Ethiopians, during prayer the Lord Himself appeared to him in the form of a youth and, giving him a staff, commanded him to plant it at the doors of the temple. The Lord said that from this staff a tree would grow and bear fruit, and from its root a spring of water would flow. Having washed in the water and tasted the fruit, the Ethiopians would change their wild nature, becoming good and meek. When the apostle carried the staff to the temple, he met on the way the wife and son of the ruler of that country, Fulvian, who were possessed by an unclean spirit. The holy Apostle Matthew healed them in the name of Jesus Christ. This miracle turned many more pagans to the Lord. But the ruler did not want his subjects to become Christians and cease worshiping pagan gods. He accused the apostle of sorcery and ordered him to be executed. The holy Matthew was laid face down, covered with brushwood, and set on fire. When the fire blazed up, everyone saw that the flames did no harm to the holy Matthew. Then Fulvian ordered more brushwood to be added to the fire, poured oil over it, and placed twelve idols around it. But the flames melted the idols and scorched Fulvian. Terrified, the Ethiopian turned to the holy apostle with a plea for mercy, and at the apostle’s prayer the flames subsided. The body of the holy apostle remained unharmed, and he departed to the Lord (in the year 60).
The ruler Fulvian bitterly repented of what he had done, but did not abandon his doubts. He ordered the apostle’s body to be placed in an iron coffin and thrown into the sea. At the same time Fulvian said that if the God of Matthew preserved the apostle’s body in the water as He had preserved it in the fire, then one should worship this one true God. That same night the Apostle Matthew appeared to Bishop Platon in a dream and commanded him to go with the clergy to the seashore and find his body there. Fulvian came to the shore with his retinue as well. The coffin carried by the waves was reverently transferred to the temple built by the apostle. Then Fulvian asked Matthew for forgiveness, after which Bishop Platon baptized him with the name Matthew, which was given to him by God’s command. Fulvian later accepted the episcopate and continued the work of enlightening his people.