Matthew the Apostle

Matthew the Apostle (Hebrew: מַתִּתְיָהוּ‎ Mattithyahu or מתי Mattay, "Gift of YHVH"; Greek: Ματθαῖος Matthaios; also known as Saint Matthew and as Levi) was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to Christian tradition, one of the four Evangelists.

In the Bible

Among the early followers and apostles of Jesus, Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and Matthew 10:3 as a publican who, while sitting at the "receipt of custom" in Capernaum, was called to follow Jesus. Matthew may have collected taxes from the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas. Matthew is also listed among the twelve, but without identification of his background, in Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13. In passages parallel to Matthew 9:9, both Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 describe Jesus' calling of the tax collector Levi, the son of Alphaeus, but Mark and Luke never explicitly equate this Levi with the Matthew named as one of the twelve.

Early life

Matthew was a 1st-century Galilean (presumably born in Galilee, which was not part of Judea or the Roman Iudaea province), the son of Alpheus. As a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic and Greek. After his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This prompted Jesus to answer, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32)

St. Matthew (Michelangelo)

St. Matthew is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo, dating to 1506 and now held in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence.

External links

Media related to Saint Matthew by Michelangelo Buonarroti at Wikimedia Commons

Media related to Sculptures by Michelangelo Buonarroti at Wikimedia Commons

San Matteo (Genoa)

San Matteo is a Roman Catholic church in Genoa, in the region of Liguria, Italy.

History

The church was founded in 1125 by Martino Doria, as the private chapel of his family. In 1278 it was totally renewed in Gothic style.

The building was again renovated in the mid-16th century by order of Andrea Doria, who commissioned the work to Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (changes included the presbytery and the dome). It was further renovated in 1557–1559, under design by Giovanni Battista Castello (nave and aisles) and decoration, realized by Luca Cambiaso among the others.

Description

Of the Gothic building, the nave, aisles and the façade are in white (marble) and black (slate) stripes, divided into three sectors by fake columns with Lombard bands; in the center is a large rose window, while on the sides are two double mullioned windows. The façade includes a late Roman sarcophagus with an Allegory of the Autumn, which originally was used as the tomb of Lamba Doria, who had taken it to Genoa from Korčula in Dalmatia. At one time, large chains, which once had protected the harbor of Pisa and which had been obtained as booty after the victory at the Battle of Meloria (1284), were draped across the facade. In the 19th century, they were returned to Pisa.