Last week we looked at the life of St. Matthias from the Bible, tradition, and Church history. St. Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot as the 12th Apostle after Jesus had ascended into Heaven and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:12-26). In addition to what we know of his life and ministry, St. Matthias left some writings.       We know of a “Gospel of Matthias,” but it either hasn’t survived, or has not yet been identified. The book is mentioned by Origen, St. Eusebius, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and St. Bede. It also appears in two list of books from the 6th and 7th Centuries. It may be apocryphal, written by another using Matthias’ name; but we don’t know.       Then there is a book called, “Traditions of Matthias.” Although the full text has been lost to history, St. Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-211/216), writing circa AD 210, gives us three quotes from what probably was origin...

        In the Bible, Acts 1:12-26, relates how St. Peter, based upon prophetic words in the Psalms, led the 11 Apostles to replace the 12th Apostle with St. Matthias (after Judas Iscariot’s defection). This occurred after Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven and before Pentecost.       St. Matthias is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. So does history or tradition tell us anything about who he was?       Yes. First, his name in Hebrew purportedly means the “Gift of Yahweh,” or (per St. Arator, died about 550) the “small one of Yahweh.” “Small” was understood to reflect his humility.       The tradition from the Eastern Church tells us St. Matthias was born in Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah. Apparently as a youth or young man, he studied the Law under St. Simeon, the one who received the Christ child when He came into the Temple as an infant (Luke 2:25-35). As Scripture implies Simeon w...