Matthew the Hermit: Difference between revisions
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|name=Saint Matthew |
|name=Saint Matthew the Hermit |
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|feast_day=18 September |
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|venerated_in= Oriental Orthodox Church, Syriac Catholic Church |
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|major_shrine=[[Mar Mattai Monastery|Monastery of St. Matthew]], Iraq |
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'''Saint Matthew the Hermit''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: القديس مار متى الناسك; {{lang-syr|ܡܪܝ ܡܬܝ}} ''Mor Mattai'') was a 4th-century Christian priest. He is venerated as a saint in the [[Oriental Orthodox Church]] and his feast day is 18 September. |
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==Biography== |
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'''Mor Mattai''' ({{lang-syr|ܡܪܝ ܡܬܝ}} ''Saint Matthew'', {{lang-ar|الشيخ متي}}), was a [[Christian monk|monk]] who is revered as a [[saint]] in [[Syriac Christian]] churches. |
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Matthew was born in the early 4th century in a village north of [[Amida (Mesopotamia)|Amida]], into a Christian family. He was educated at the Monastery of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus for seven years, after which he became a monk at the [[Zuqnin Monastery|Monastery of Zuqnin]] and was ordained as a priest.<ref name="SOP">{{in lang|ar}} ''[http://www.syrian-orthodox.com/readnews.php?id=215 القديس مار متى الناسك والشهداء مار بهنام وسارة ورفاقهما الأربعين] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035732/http://www.syrian-orthodox.com/readnews.php?id=215 |date=26 December 2018 }}''. Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate</ref> Upon the ascension of Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian the Apostate]] in 361, and subsequent persecution of Christianity, Matthew and other monks fled to the [[Sasanian Empire]], and took up residence on [[Mount Alfaf]].<ref>''[http://www.aina.org/aol/syriac.htm#Mattai Assyrian Monasteries] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227122045/http://www.aina.org/aol/syriac.htm |date=27 December 2015 }}''. Assyrian International News Agency</ref> Matthew practised asceticism in a cave on the mountain and gained renown as a miracle-worker.<ref name="Rassam">Rassam (2005), pp. 31–32</ref> Having received a dream in which an angel instructed him to seek Matthew,<ref name="SOP" /> [[Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs|Behnam]], son of King [[Sinharib]] of [[Assur]],<ref name="Radner">Radner (2015), p. 7</ref> met with the saint and discussed Christianity together.<ref>''[http://sor.cua.edu/ChMon/MosulDMattay/index.html Dayro d-Mor Matay]''. Syriac Orthodox Resources</ref> Aware of Matthew's reputation as a miracle-worker,<ref name="Rassam" /> the prince requested he join him on his return to Assur and heal his sister Sarah of leprosy, to which he agreed.<ref name="MOSC">''[http://www.neamericandiocese.org/feasts-memorials.60/sts-behnam-sarah-and-the-40-martyrs.aspx Sts. Behnam, Sarah, and the 40 Martyrs]''. Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church</ref> |
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Matthew met with Behnam and Sarah outside of the city of Assur and healed her affliction. Behnam, Sarah, and forty slaves subsequently converted to Christianity and the saint baptised them. Following this, Matthew returned to his cave on Mount Alfaf. Sinharib discovered his children's conversion and the group suffered martyrdom as they attempted to flee to Matthew on Mount Alfaf.<ref name="MOSC"/> The king became afflicted with madness and was brought to the place of the martyrs' death by Behnam's mother. Matthew met Sinharib and the queen here and healed the king of his madness.<ref name="Rassam" /> They returned to Assur and the saint baptised Sinharib and his wife,<ref name="Radner" /> and, at the request of Matthew, the king constructed a monastery on Mount Alfaf, which later became known as the [[Mar Mattai Monastery|Monastery of St. Matthew]].<ref name="Rassam"/> Matthew resided at the monastery until his death and was buried there.<ref name="SOP"/> |
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==Life== |
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Little is known about Mattai's early life except that he was born in the early 4th century in the city of [[Amid]] or in a village close by, and that he was a monk in that region when the anti-Christian persecution of [[Julian the apostate]] took place.<ref name="Bar Hebraeus">{{cite book|last=Bar Hebraeus, Budge|first=E. A. W.|title=The Chronography of Gregory AB?'L Faraj the Son of Aaron, the Hebrew Physician Commonly Known as Bar Hebraeus Being the First Part of His Political History of the World (Volume 1)|year=2003|publisher=Gorgias Press|isbn=978-1-59333-055-2|pages=53–55|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1cKlL1vjqTwC}}</ref><ref name=patriarchate>[http://www.syrian-orthodox.com/readnews.php?id=215 القديس مار متى الناسك والشهداء مار بهنام وسارة ورفاقهما الأربعين], Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate {{ar icon}}</ref> |
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In 361,<ref>http://www.aina.org/aol/syriac.htm#Mattai</ref> Mor Mattai and other monks were forced to flee to [[Nineveh]] where he found a hermitage on [[Alfaf Mountain]] in the [[Nineveh plains]]. |
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It was during that time that he met prince [[Saint Behnam|Behnam]], the son of [[Sennacherib_II|Sencharib]], during a hunting trip. Mattai taught him about Christianity and Behnam became a disciple of Mattai. Impressed by his teachings, Behnam went back to his mother and persuaded her to let him take his sister Sara, who had leprosy, to the saint. She was cured by the saint and after the miracle, both Sara and Behnam were baptized by the saint alongside Behnam's forty companions.<ref name="Bar Hebraeus"/> |
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Upon learning of his children's conversion, king Sencharib killed his children and their forty companions on a hill in [[Nimrud]]. However, the king later regretted his deed and was later baptised by Mor Mattai. He also built a monastery on the mount were Mor Mattai healed his daughter.<ref name="Bar Hebraeus"/> |
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==Monastery== |
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The [[Monastery of Mar Mattai|Monastery of Mor Mattai]] is traditionally attributed to Mor Mattai and is thought to have been commissioned by Sencharib and completed in the 4th century. It is considered one of the oldest functioning [[Syriac Orthodox]] monasteries in [[Mesopotamia]] and it has been the seat and the final resting place of a number of [[Syriac Orthodox patriarchs]] and scholars.<ref name=sor>[http://sor.cua.edu/ChMon/MosulDMattay/index.html Dayro d-Mor Matay], Syriac Orthodox Resources</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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==Bibliography== |
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*{{cite book |last= Radner|first=Karen |author-link = Karen Radner |date=2015 |title=Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urtpBgAAQBAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 9780198715900}} |
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*{{cite book |last= Rassam|first=Suha |date=2005 |title=Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GYC93sfHXAEC&dq=Saints+Behnam%2C+Sarah%2C+and+the+Forty+Martyrs&pg=PA31|publisher=Gracewing Publishing|isbn= 9780852446331}} |
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[[Category:Christians in the Sasanian Empire]] |
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{{Persondata |
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[[Category:4th-century births]] |
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| NAME = Mattai, Mar |
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[[Category:4th-century deaths]] |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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[[Category:Oriental Orthodox saints]] |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Syrian saint |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Amid]], [[Turkey]] |
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| DATE OF DEATH = |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Mount Alfaf]], [[Iraq]] |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattai, Mar}} |
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[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]] |
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:4th-century Byzantine monks]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Mesopotamian saints]] |
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[[Category:Miracle workers]] |
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Latest revision as of 20:44, 23 April 2024
Saint Matthew the Hermit | |
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| Venerated in | Oriental Orthodox Church, Syriac Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | Monastery of St. Matthew, Iraq |
| Feast | 18 September |
Saint Matthew the Hermit (Arabic: القديس مار متى الناسك; Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܡܬܝ Mor Mattai) was a 4th-century Christian priest. He is venerated as a saint in the Oriental Orthodox Church and his feast day is 18 September.
Biography[edit]
Matthew was born in the early 4th century in a village north of Amida, into a Christian family. He was educated at the Monastery of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus for seven years, after which he became a monk at the Monastery of Zuqnin and was ordained as a priest.[1] Upon the ascension of Emperor Julian the Apostate in 361, and subsequent persecution of Christianity, Matthew and other monks fled to the Sasanian Empire, and took up residence on Mount Alfaf.[2] Matthew practised asceticism in a cave on the mountain and gained renown as a miracle-worker.[3] Having received a dream in which an angel instructed him to seek Matthew,[1] Behnam, son of King Sinharib of Assur,[4] met with the saint and discussed Christianity together.[5] Aware of Matthew's reputation as a miracle-worker,[3] the prince requested he join him on his return to Assur and heal his sister Sarah of leprosy, to which he agreed.[6]
Matthew met with Behnam and Sarah outside of the city of Assur and healed her affliction. Behnam, Sarah, and forty slaves subsequently converted to Christianity and the saint baptised them. Following this, Matthew returned to his cave on Mount Alfaf. Sinharib discovered his children's conversion and the group suffered martyrdom as they attempted to flee to Matthew on Mount Alfaf.[6] The king became afflicted with madness and was brought to the place of the martyrs' death by Behnam's mother. Matthew met Sinharib and the queen here and healed the king of his madness.[3] They returned to Assur and the saint baptised Sinharib and his wife,[4] and, at the request of Matthew, the king constructed a monastery on Mount Alfaf, which later became known as the Monastery of St. Matthew.[3] Matthew resided at the monastery until his death and was buried there.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c (in Arabic) القديس مار متى الناسك والشهداء مار بهنام وسارة ورفاقهما الأربعين Archived 26 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate
- ^ Assyrian Monasteries Archived 27 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Assyrian International News Agency
- ^ a b c d Rassam (2005), pp. 31–32
- ^ a b Radner (2015), p. 7
- ^ Dayro d-Mor Matay. Syriac Orthodox Resources
- ^ a b Sts. Behnam, Sarah, and the 40 Martyrs. Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Bibliography[edit]
- Radner, Karen (2015). Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198715900.
- Rassam, Suha (2005). Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day. Gracewing Publishing. ISBN 9780852446331.