In recent years, the Hebrew name Matvey has become increasingly popular, which until then was common only in the monastic everyday life of the Orthodox Church. Now many laymen wear it. In this article we will talk about when and in honor of whom Matthew's birthday is celebrated on the church calendar.
What you need to know about birthday
A name day is not just a celebration of a name. This is a day of remembrance of the patron saint, in whose honor a person was baptized (and not just called). Therefore, the prerogative to celebrate this holiday is only for baptized people. Its other name is angel's day.
The day of the angel is chosen at the same time that the saint is chosen, in whose honor a person wants to be baptized. In the case of infant baptism, parents do it for him. If later the name of the saint is forgotten, then once it is allowed to choose a patron again. It can be any canonized person in the face of saints. If the person himself cannot decide, then he can be helped by the procedure of formal calculation of the holy patron. To do this, in the holies the day is commemorated for the holy namesake of a man who would be as close as possible to his birthday. From that moment on, he becomes his patron, and the day of his general church memory becomes a personal holiday of a name day.
Below we will talk about the saints in whose honor Matthew's name day is celebrated. Perhaps, in fact, there are much more of them than we can imagine in this article, but no one has managed to collect all the names of saints over the past two thousand years. Another point - in the church tradition, the name Matvey sounds like “Matthew” or “Matthew”. And the name day of Matthew, this and their name day.
January 18th. Martyr Matthew (Gusev)
This martyr was born in 1886 in the Moscow province. During his life he was a peasant, had a family. In the church, he served as a member of the church council of his parish. On charges of anti-Soviet activity, he was sentenced in 1937 to ten years in correctional camps. But a year later he died from harsh conditions. Glorified in 2006.
October 13th. Martyr Matthew (Soloviev)
October 13 is celebrating the birthday of Matthew, whose angel day is dedicated to the memory of this martyr. He was born in 1868 in the Tver province. He served in the army, and then in the police. After the Revolution, he settled in his native village, where he began to farm. At the same time he visited the church and in 1929 was elected as chairman of the church council of the parish of one of the villages. In 1937 he was accused of anti-Soviet propaganda, for which he was subsequently shot. Glorified in 2003.
29th of November. Apostle Matthew
The Day of Matthew the Apostle is the most popular angel day for the Matthews. According to legend, he was the brother of the Apostle James Alfeyev. He came from Capernaum - a town in the Galilee and served as a tax collector in favor of Rome. Hearing the call of Christ, he followed him. What happened to him after the crucifixion of Christ, nothing is known. According to various versions, he was tortured in Ethiopia or Asia Minor for about 60 years. Also, the first of the canonical New Testament gospels is attributed to him, which, however, is very arbitrary.
August 27th. Holy Martyr Matthew (Pomerantsev)
Since 2000, Matvey’s name days have also been celebrated in honor of this saint, since it was then that he was canonized. In the world he was called Michael, and he died in the rank of archimandrite. Born in 1881. He was a graduate of the Kiev Academy. The last appointment is the rector of the Perm Theological Seminary. Was chopped down by sabers in a train in 1918.
November 25. Holy Martyr Matthew (Aloin)
This saint was born in 1879 near Ryazan. There he graduated from seminary and received the rank of priest. Subsequently replaced several dioceses. Like many others, he was arrested in 1937 and shot for anti-Soviet activities. Canonized in 2004. Matvey’s name day in memory of him falls on the day of his execution - November 25.
June 1st. Holy Martyr Matthew (Ascension)
This holy martyr was one of the Belgorod priests. Shot by soldiers of the red army in 1919. According to the church calendar, Matthew's name day falls on the first day of summer. The canonization took place in 2000.
29th of November. Prince and saint Matthew of Ethiopia
According to legend, this saint was a pagan ruler of Ethiopia, who executed the apostle Matthew who preached in her. But then he converted to a new faith and repented. In baptism in honor of the executed apostle, he took the name Matthew and renounced his princely authority. When the ruling bishop of Ethiopia, Plato, died, the former Prince Matthew was elected to the pulpit.
August 22nd. Apostle Matthew
According to the Bible, he was a disciple of Christ and was among the 70 apostles. After the ascension of Christ by lot, he became one of the 12 apostles, taking the place of Judas Iscariot. There is no reliable information about what happened to him later. It is believed that he died martyrly for Christ's preaching by the sentence of the Jewish authorities for about 63 years.