The saints

Saint Matthias

Apostle · Feast day May 14 · First century · Judea

Saint Matthias was the disciple chosen after the resurrection to take the place of Judas among the twelve, having been a follower of Jesus from the beginning. He is the apostle who reminds us that the ranks of Christ are filled by the faithful who quietly followed all along.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.Acts 1:8 (KJV)

Chosen to complete the twelve

After Judas fell away, Peter stood among the believers, about a hundred and twenty, and said that one must be chosen to take his place, a man who had been with them the whole time, from the baptism of John to the ascension. Two were put forward, and after prayer the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. He had been there all along, an unnamed disciple, faithful in the crowd, until he was called to the front.

The hidden years of faithfulness

Scripture tells us nothing of Matthias before this moment, and that silence is its own witness. He had followed Jesus through the whole ministry without a single recorded word or deed, simply present, simply faithful, and that faithfulness is exactly why he was chosen when an apostle was needed.

Mission and martyrdom

By tradition Matthias preached the gospel in Judea and then abroad, in Cappadocia or by the Caspian Sea by various accounts, and was martyred for the faith. The early church honored him among the twelve, and his feast is kept in May.

Why Matthias still matters

Matthias is the patron of the faithful who serve unseen. He teaches that God notices the ones who simply keep following, year after year, without recognition, and that when he needs someone, he often calls the quiet, steady disciple who was there all along.

A note for all traditions: the saints are honored across the church as examples of faith and, in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, as friends who pray with us, never worshiped, for worship belongs to God alone. What Scripture records and what later tradition holds are distinguished above. In every tradition there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, and every believer, not only the saints, is called to follow him.

Related: Saint Peter · Saints for May 14 · Saint of the day