• Orthodox Remembrance Day: November 16
• Name means: God’s gift (Greek – Hebrew)
• Apostle, Evangelist, Martyr
• Attributes: Man or angel, for in his Gospel he described the human being of Christ,
  sword, purse
• Patron: bank employees, finance, tax and customs officers, changers and accountants,
  against drunkenness, against incurable diseases, for the flow of milk in women
• Died in Parthia, such as today’s Iran

Matthew was one of the apostles, he appears in all lists. The first three Gospels mention that he was a customs officer in the ancient port city of Capernaum – an abandoned place on the Sea of Galilee – i.e. one of the tax collectors despised by the Jews – because he was in the service of the Roman occupying power. The gospel that bears his name tells how Jesus called him away from the customs table and ate with him (Matthew 9:9). From his profession as a customs officer, one can conclude that Matthew must have had a certain education. Mark calls him Levi, the son of Alphaeus (Gospel of Mark 2:14) – that is why he is also identified as the son of Alphaeus and thus brother of James the Younger, Luke simply calls him Levi (Luke 5:27).