Saint Matthew the Hermit (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: القديس مار متى الناسك; ''Mor Mattai'') was a 4th-century Christian priest. He is venerated as a saint in the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

and the

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac ...

. His feast day is on the 18th of September.

Biography

Matthew was born in the early 4th century in a village north of

Amida Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Ro ...

, 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.
القديس مار متى الناسك والشهداء مار بهنام وسارة ورفاقهما الأربعين
''. Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate Upon the ascension of Emperor

Julian the Apostate Julian (; ; 331 – 26 June 363) was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism ...

in 361, and subsequent persecution of Christianity, Matthew and other monks fled to the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

, and took up residence on

Mount Alfaf Mount Alfaf (, ṭūrāʾ Alfaf), also known as Mount Maqlub (جبل مقلوب in Arabic), is a mountain in the Nineveh Plains region in northern Iraq. The mountain lies 30 km to the northeast of Mosul and some 15 km from Bartella. The ...

. Matthew practised asceticism in a cave on the mountain and gained renown as a miracle-worker.Rassam (2005), pp. 31–32 Having received a dream in which an angel instructed him to seek Matthew, Behnam, son of King Sinharib of

Assur Aššur (; AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; ''Āšūr''; ''Aθur'', ''Āšūr''; ', ), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Midd ...

,Radner (2015), p. 7 met with the saint and discussed Christianity together.
Dayro d-Mor Matay
'. Syriac Orthodox Resources Aware of Matthew's reputation as a miracle-worker, the prince requested he join him on his return to Assur and heal his sister Sarah of leprosy, to which he agreed.
Sts. Behnam, Sarah, and the 40 Martyrs
'. Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church 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. 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. They returned to Assur and the saint baptised Sinharib and his wife, and, at the request of Matthew, the king constructed a monastery on Mount Alfaf, which later became known as the Monastery of St. Matthew. Matthew resided at the monastery until his death and was buried there.

References

Bibliography

* *{{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 Christians in the Sasanian Empire 4th-century births 4th-century deaths Oriental Orthodox saints 4th-century Christian saints 4th-century Byzantine monks Mesopotamian saints Miracle workers