St. Matthew's Feast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

St. Matthew's Feast - Essay Example St. Matthew's Feast is September 21st. He is the patron saint of accountants and tax collectors. St. Matthew's symbols are the sword, for his martyrdom, and the money bag, as he used to work as a tax collector ("Biography of St. Matthew"). Levi (Matthew) was born in the 1st century. His birth place is Palestine ("St. Matthew Biography. Evangelist, Saint"). He was raised in the city called Capernaum. St. Matthew's nationality is Jew, he was born and raised as he was. His father's name was Alphaeus. Matthew obtained a wide knowledge of languages; apart from Hebrew, he knew also Aramaic and Greek ("Biography of St. Matthew"). It was useful for his apostolic activity. His missionary movement was at initially limited to the Palestine's society. Nothing clear is known about his further life. Traditionally Ethiopia is indicated as his field of work. Other views add Parthia and Persia. There are contradicting views on his death: some point on his natural death but mainly martyrdom is noted: â€Å"Roman martyrology, the official record of saints for the Roman Catholic Church, holds that Matthew was martyred 'in Ethiopia',† ("Biography of St. Matthew"). Another sources are not so sure about the proofs of it. St. Matthew's Gospel was composed to fill a painfully felt need for his kindred compatriots, both devotees and unbelievers. It served as a token of his view and as a consolation in the trial to come, particularly the risk of falling back to Judaism. This goal is higher, probably any religion intends to focus people.