My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 16th of November, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
the holy Glorious Apostle and Evangelist MATTHEW.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Third Tone
O HOLY Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, intercede with the Merciful
God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.
Kontakion Hymn. Fourth Tone
When thou didst cast away the publican’s balance and wast united
to the yoke of uprightness, then didst thou prove a merchant of
great excellence, one that gathered in the wealth of the wisdom of
Heaven; for this cause, the word of truth, thou didst herald, O
Matthew, and didst arouse the souls of sluggish men by signifying
the dread day of reckoning.
The holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, the son of Alphaeos, otherwise known as Levi, lived in the Galilean city of Capernaum. He was a man of means and held a position as a tax collector. His compatriots despised and shunned him, as did all who were similarly employed; but Matthew, although he was a sinner, was nevertheless no worse than many of the Pharisees who prided themselves on their outwardly seeming righteousness. But, lo! The Lord brought His Divine gaze to rest upon this tax collector, who was disdained by all. One day, while He was sojourning in Capernaum, the Lord left the city and went down to the sea in the company of many people. On the shore thereof He saw Matthew sitting in his customs booth; and He said to him, "Follow thou Me" [Matthew 9:9]. Hearing these words of the Lord not only with the ears of his body, but with the ears of his heart as well, the tax collector straightway rose from his place and, leaving all behind, followed after Christ. Matthew did not stop to consider nor was he amazed that the Great Teacher and Wonder-Worker had summoned him, a hated tax collector; but, with all his heart he took His words to himself and unwaveringly followed Him. Moreover, the Lord did not spurn his invitation, but entered Matthew’s house. There gathered in Matthew’s home a multitude of his neighbors, all of them tax collectors and sinners; and they sat down at table with Jesus and His Disciples. These also happened to be present certain of the Scribes and Pharisees who, seeing that the Lord was not shunning the sinners and tax collectors, but was reclining with them, murmured and said to His Disciples, "Why eateth your Teacher with the tax collectors and sinners?" [Matthew 9:11] And the Lord, hearing their words, said to them, "They who are strong have no need of a physician, but they who are ill. But go and learn what this is, ‘I WISH MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE" [cf. Hos. 6:7(6). For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" [Matthew 9:12-13).
Thenceforth, Matthew, forsaking all his possessions, followed after Christ and, as His faithful Disciples, did not part from Him thereafter. Soon he was accounted worthy of being numbered among the choir of the Twelve chosen Apostles. In company with the other Disciples of the Lord, Matthew joined Him on His journeys throughout Galilee and Judaea, hearkened to His DivineTeaching, beheld His countless miracles, went forth to preach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and was witness to the Savior's sufferings on the Cross, His Redemptive death, and His Most Glorious Ascension into heaven.
And the Lord's Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, the holy Matthew remained at first in Palestine, preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem and its environs, together with the other Apostles. Yet, behold! The time came for the Apostles to disperse from Jerusalem to various other lands, to convert them to the Christian Faith. Before Matthew departed from Jerusalem, the Jewish Christians of that city besought him to set down in writing for them the acts and teachings of Jesus Christ. The other Apostles then living in Jerusalem expressed their approval of such an undertaking, and Saint Matthew, in fulfillment of the common desire, wrote down the Gospel in the Hebrew (Aramaic) dialect, some eight years after the Ascension of Christ.
After departing from Jerusalem, the holy Apostle Matthew preached the glad tidings of the Gospel in many lands. Proclaiming the good ndw of Christ, he passed through Macedonia, Syria, Persia, Parthia, and Media, establishing Churches there and in other places. He underwent many tortures, thirs, hunger, and scourgings, all of which he endured, for God was his helper. He travelled all about Ethiopia, which has fallen to him by lot, and enlightened it with the Light of the Knowledge of the Gospel. Finally, guided by the Holy Spirit, he arrived in the land of the cannibals, who were a dark skinned and savage people. There he entered a city known as Mirmena and, after he had converted several souls to Christ, appointed Platon, his fellow traveler, to be their bishop, and built a little church. The divine Apostle, burdened with tribulations, dangers, and hardships by these people, thought to find quiet in some place. He therefore ascended a mountain situated not far away and abided there in fasting, earnestly entreating God for the conversion of that unbelieving nation. He struggled a long time alone and in stillness, sojourning there without even the shelter that a cave would have afforded, with only the sky for his roof. There the Lord appeared to him in the guise of a youth of great comeliness, Who held in His right hand a staff and greeted him to go down from the mountain and plant the staff at the doors of the church he had constructed. "This staff shall," said the Lord, "through My power, grow into a lofty tree, and the tree shall bring forth abundant fruit, surpassing all the other fruits of the orchard n magnificence and sweetness; and from its root a spring of pure water shall flow forth. Washing in the water of that spring, the canniiblas shall receive comeliness of visage, and everyone that but tasteth of that fruit shall forget his bestial habits and shall become a good and meek person."
After taking the staff from the Lord's hand, Matthew descended the mountain and took himself to the city to carry out that which had been commanded him. The wife and son of Fulvian, the Prince of that city, were possessed by demons. Encountering the Apostle along the way, they cried out against him with wild, threatening voices, "Whohas sent thee hither with that staff, for our destruction?" The Apostle rebuked the unclean spirits and expelled them; and those who were healed fell down before the Apostle and meekly followed after him. Upon learning of his arrival, Bishop Platon went forth to meet him with his clergy, and the holy Matthew, entering the city and drawing near to the church, did as he had been commanded. He planted the staff which the Lord had given him in the ground, and straightway, in the presence of all, the staff became a great tree which spread forth branches of goodly foliage, and thereon there appeared beauteous fruit, large and sweet, and a spring of water flowed from beneath its roots. All that beheld this were struck with amazement. The entire city gathered to behold such a marvel, and they partook of the fruit of the tree and drank of the pure water. The holy Apostle Matthew, standing on a high place, preached to the assembled multitude the word of God in their own language; and all came immediately to believe in God, and the Apostle baptized them in the miraculous spring. As the Lord had promised, all the cannibals who were baptized left the waters comely of countenance; and they received not only bodily cleansing, but purification and beauty of soul as well, having put off the old man and arrayed themselves in Christ, the new Man.
When he was informed of what had transpired, Prince Fulvian at first rejoiced over the healing of his spouse and son, but later, at the prompting of the demons, he became enraged at the Apostle because the whole city was going over to him, forsaking its gods. He began thinking of how to bring about Matthew's destruction. That very night, the Savior appeared to the Apostle, commanding him to take courage, and promising to remain with him throughout his tribulation. When the morning dawned, the Apostle, together with the faithful, chanted praises unto God in the church. The Prince sent four warriors to arrest him, but when they arrived at the temple of the Lord, darkness immediately seized them, and they were barely able to turn back. Then Fulvian flew into a dreadful rage and went forth with a multitude of his servants, intending to lay hold of the Apostle, then suddenly he was struck blind and had to ask for a guide. Then he begs the Apostle to forgive him his sin and give light to his blind eyes. The Apostle, making the sign of the Cross over the eyes of the Prince, restored his sight. Thus the Prince recovered the sight of his bodily eyes, but not that of his soul; for it was blinded by malice.
The hate-filled Prince commanded his warriors to lay hold of the holy Matthew and to stretch him out face down upon the ground and to torture him by placing upon him branches and brushwood and pitch and brimstone and seting it afire. They all thought that the Apostle perished but when the fire was extinguished everyone saw that the Apostle was unharmed. The evil Prince attempted a number of other horrific torments but the holy Apostle preserved His servant unharmed. The holy Apostle prayed, "Lord, into Thy hands I surrender my soul!" and the Lord granted him his request and he departed into heavenly bliss. The Prince ordered his servants to bring forth a golden bier and to set thereon the precious body of the Apostle, which has not been harmed by the flame and, after having arrayed it in costly vesture, he and his nobles bore it up and carried it to his palace. Yet even then he did not have perfect faith, and for this cause commanded that an iron coffin he forged and that the remains of the Apostle be placed therein. When this had been done, it was sealed on all sides with lead and cast into the sea. He said to his nobles, "It He that kept Matthew whole in the midst of the fire will preserve him also from the depths of the sea, truly He is the only God, and Him will we worship, forsaking all our gods who were powerless to deliver us from destruction in the fire!"
No sooner had the iron coffin with the precious relics been cast into the sea, than the Saint appeared at night to Bishop Platon, saying, "Go thou tomorrow to the shore of the sea, to the east of the Prince's palace, and there take up my remains, which will have been borne to the dry land." In the morning, the bishop, in company with a multitude of the faithful, set out for the indicated place. There he beheld the coffin riding high upon the waves, and they praised the Lord with hymns of jubilation for delivering His worthy servant from fire and water. Upon learning thereof, the Prince and his nobles came and, this time fully believing in our Lord Jesus Christ, confessed aloud that He is the One True God Who preserved unharmed His servant Matthew, both when he was alive in the fire, and after his death in the water. And falling down before the casket containing the holy relics of the Saint, Fulvian besought the holy one's forgiveness and expressed a heartfelt desire to be baptized. Bishop Platon, perceiving the faith and fervor of Fulvian catechized him and, having taught him the truths of the holy Faith, then baptized him. And when he placed his hand on Fulvian's head and was ready to utter his name, there came a voice from on High, saying, "Call him not Fulvian, but Matthew!"
Having thus received the Apostle's name in Baptism, the Prince strove to emulate the life of the holy Apostle. he purged all his kingdom of idols by smashing them and had all his subordinates baptized. The holy Apostle Matthew then appeared in a vision to Bishop Platon and said, "Ordain the Prince a priest and his son a Deacon. After three years, thou will depart to the Lord. Let the king, who beareth my name, become bishop, and let his son be his successor." Thus, after three years the holy Platon departed to the Lord. After he received ordination to the Episcopate, Bishop Matthew labored well in spreading the glad tidings of Christ, and, having converted many from idolatry, he brought them to God. Then he himself passed on to the Lord, after a long and God-pleasing life. And standing with the holy Evangelist Matthew before the Throne of God, he prays in our behalf to the Lord, that we also may be heirs of the Everlasting Kingdom of God. Anen. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]
Through the intercessions of Thy Saints,
O Christ God, have mercy ons us. Amen.
________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 