Acta Matthiae
Standard abbreviation: Acts Matt.
Other titles: Passion of Matthew
Clavis numbers: ECCA 420; CANT 267
Category: Apocryphal Acts
Related literature: Acts of Andrew and Matthias, Acts of Matthew in the City of the Priests; Nicephorus Callistus, Historia Ecclesiastica 2.41 (PG 145:865–70; summary)
Compiled by Tony Burke, York University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Acts of Matthew.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/acts-of-matthew/
Created November 2022. Current as of January 2024.
1. SUMMARY
Acts Matt. has several affinities to the Acts of Andrew and Matthias—so much that it could be called a sequel. However, readers would expect the hero of the story to be Matthias, not Matthew, and indeed some manuscripts do give the name of the apostles as Matthias. Still, the first episode of the text makes it clear that Matthew is intended. It begins with Matthew on a mountain praying. Jesus appears to him in the likeness of one of “the infants who sing in paradise” (i.e., the children slain by Herod in Bethlehem). Matthew asks the boy about Herod and is told that he is in Hades. Then Jesus gives Matthew a rod and tells him to go to Myrna, the city of the man-eaters (likely meaning Myrmidonia), and plant a rod by the gate of the church established there by Andrew and Matthew. The rod will bear fruit and a fountain will issue from its roots; when the man-eaters eat the fruit and wash themselves in the water, they will be changed to humans.
On the way to the city, Matthew meets several members of the royal family: Queen Fulvana (later named Ziphagia), her son Fulvanus and daughter-in-law Erva. They are possessed by an unclean spirit, who is later identified as Asmodaeus. Matthew casts the spirit out and enters the city with the family. He goes to the church and meets the bishop Plato. Then he plants the rod, it grows, and the people eat and wash and become human, just as Jesus promised. From the same water, Matthew baptizes the royal family. King Fulvanus is pleased to learn about the healing of his family but is jealous about their attachment to Matthew. The demon Asmodaeus, in the guise of a soldier, advises the king about how to seize the apostle. After several failed attempts, an angel forces Asmodaeus to reveal his identity and he confesses that Matthew cannot be captured unwillingly. So the king tries subterfuge, asking Matthew for an audience under the pretense that he wishes to become his disciple. Matthew is aware of the king’s plan but allows himself to be taken prisoner, knowing that it is time for his martyrdom.
Matthew is brought to the sea-shore, where he is laid out, his hands and feet pierced by iron nails, and smeared with dolphin oil and other flammable materials. The fire is lit but it changes to dew. The king orders coals to be brought from the bath to reignite the flames and the palace’s twelve gods of gold and silver are placed in a circle around the fire. Matthew calls upon God to burn up the gods and to make the fire, in the form of a dragon, chase the king. At the king’s entreaty, Matthew calls off the dragon. Then he utters a final prayer in Hebrew and dies. His body is unstained from the fire.
Soldiers carry the apostle to the palace on a bed. People who touch the bed are cured and they witness Matthew’s spirit ascend to heaven, led by a beautiful boy. Twelve men greet him and a crown is placed upon his head. The king places the body in an iron coffin, seals it with lead, and throws it in the deep part of the sea. A voice tells Plato to perform a service—with hymns, readings, and a Eucharist meal—at the seashore. When the service is over, the people see Matthew walking toward them on the sea led by the beautiful boy and followed by a cross and Matthew’s coffin. Terror-stricken at the sight, the king runs to the site and begs to be baptized. Matthew renames the king and his son Matthew, and their wives Sophia and Synesis. The king and queen are also made presbyters and the other two become deacons.
The king writes a decree to his kingdom that all idols must be destroyed and anyone found to still be worshipping the gods are to be executed. Later, Matthew appears to Plato and tells him that he will die in three years; at that time the king will give up his throne and become bishop, and his son after him. The text concludes with the date of Matthew’s martyrdom, given here as November 16.
People: Asmodaeus (demon), Erva, Fulvana/Ziphagia, Fulvanus (king), Fulvanus (prince), Herod (the Great), Jesus Christ, Matthew (apostle), Plato (bishop).
Places: Bethlehem, Gehenna, Hades, Myrna (Myrmidonia).
2. RESOURCES
2.1 Web Sites and Other Online Resources
“S00791: Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.” The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity.
“Matthew the Apostle.” Wikipedia.
2.2 Art and Iconography
Illustration of Timothy in the Menologion of Basil II, Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1613, p. 186 (10th cent.).
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Armenian
3.1.1.1 Armenian text (BHO 725–728)
Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 239 (222) (1335)
Venice, Mekhitarist Monastery of San Lazzaro, 17 (200) (1224)
Venice, Biblioteca dei Padri Mechitaristi San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 1014 (201) (12th/13th cent.)
Venice, Mekhitarist Monastery of San Lazzaro, 569 (234) (1518)
Venice, Mekhitarist Monastery of San Lazzaro, 986 (257) (14th/15th cent.)
Tchérakian, Chérubin. Ankanon girkh arakhelakankh: Thankgaran haykakan hin ew nor deprutheankh. Venice: Òazar, 1904 (edition based on V 239 [with readings from 17, 1014, 569, and 986 in apparatus], pp. 437–48).
Leloir, Louis. Écrits Apocryphes sur les apôtres: Traduction de l’édition Arménienne de Venise. 2 vols. Turnhout: Brepols, 1986 (French translation of Tchérakian’s edition, vol. 2, pp. 647–665; additional manuscripts listed pp. xvi–xxxv).
3.1.1.2 Synaxarion (16 November)
Bayan, George. “Les synaxaire arménien de ter-Israel IV: Mois de Tré.” Patrologia Orientalis 16.1 (1922): 5–185 (pp. 42–54).
3.1.2 Church Slavic (abridged version of Acts of Andrew and Matthias with Acts Matt. ch. 9f.)
Breslau, Ossolinski Library, 38, fols. 359r–363r (16th cent.) ~ de Santos Otero 21
Moscow, State Historical Museum, Uspenskij 988, fols. 798r–802r (=de Santos Otero 11; BHG 1224–1225); fols. 934r–935v (=de Santos Otero 9; BHG 1225m) (16th cent.) ~ Monologion of Makarios
Moscow, Russian State Library (F. 299), N. S. Tichonravov 702, fols. 275v–282r (17th cent.) ~ de Santos Otero 18; BHG 1225m
Archeografičeskaja Kommissîja, Velikîja minei četîi. (16–17 November). Moscow, 1911 (texts from Uspenskij 988, cols. 2068–2079 and 2639–2645).
Demina, Evgenija I. Tichonravovskij Damaskin. 17 vols. Sofia: Izdat. na B’lgarskata Akad. na Naukite, 1968– (edition of Moscow, Tichonravov 702, vol. 1, pp. 104–107).
Franko, Ivan. Apokryfy i legendy z ukra ï ns’kykh rukopysiv. 5 vols. Lviv: Nakladom Naukovoho Tovaristva îmeni, 1896–1910 (Church Slavic text from Breslau 38, in vol. 3, pp. 156–64).
Santos Otero, Aurelio de. Die handschriftliche Überlieferung der altslavischen Apokryphen. 2 vols. PTS 20 and 23. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1978–1981 (manuscripts listed vol. 1, pp. 130–35; vol. 2 pp. 247–48).
Thomson, Francis J. Review of Aurelio de Santos Otero, Die handscriftliche Überlieferung der altslavischen Apokryphen, vol. 2. Slavonic and East European Review 58 (1980): 256–68 at 262 (with corrections to de Santos Otero).
3.1.3 Greek (BHG 1224–1225)
3.1.3.1 Recension 1 (BHG 1224)
P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 881, fols. 291v–300v (10th cent.)
F Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Q.729 (olim Froehner), fols. 114v–131v (11th cent.)
3.1.3.2 Recension 2 (Δ) (BHG 1225)
E Escorial, Real Biblioteca, Υ. II. 06 (Andrés 314), fols. 207r–219v (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes
U Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 808, fols. 229v–243v (11th cent.)
V Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, hist. gr. 5, fols. 279v–289v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Additional Manuscripts:
Belgium, Bibl. des Bollandistes, 195 (287), fols. 104r–132v (17/18th cent.) ~ copy of Vat. gr. 808; Pinakes
Belgium, Bibliothèque Royal Albert Ier, 8230 (3335), fols. 76r–80r (17th cent.) ~ copy of Vat. gr. 808; Pinakes
Bonnet, Maximilien. “Martyrium Matthaei.” Pages 217–62 in vol. 2.1 of Acta apostolorum apocrypha. 2 vols. in 3 parts. Edited by Richard A. Lipsius and Maximilien Bonnet. Leipzig: Mendelssohn, 1889–1903; reprinted Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1959 (edition based on EFPUV and Latin EQ; introduction pp. xxxiii–xxxv).
Piñero, Antonio, and Gonzalo del Cerro. Hechos apócrifos de los Apóstoles. 3 vols. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2011 (Greek edition based on Bonnet with facing Spanish translation, vol. 3, pp. 323–61).
Tischendorf, Constantin. Acta apostolorum apocrypha. Leipzig: Avenarius et Mendelssohn, 1851 (editio princeps based on P and V, pp. 167–89; introduction, pp. lx–lxiii).
Vinogradov, Andrej. “Le début authentique du Martyre de Matthieu? Remarques sur le codex Froehner et les Actes d’André et de Matthias.” Apocrypha 19 (2008): 202–16 (text of the introduction to F, pp. 206–11, and French translation by Frédéric Amsler, pp. 212–16).
3.1.3.3 Epitome (BHG 1225e–f)
Athos, Monē Karakallou, 8, Mon. 48 (Lambros 1521), fol. 155v (10th/11th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Athos
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1485, fols. 116r–116v (10th cent.)
Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Chig. R.VI.39, fols. 190r–191r (12th cent.)
3.1.3.4 Synaxarium (BHG 1225m, BHG 1225n) ~ additional manuscripts listed on Pinakes
Athens, Ethnikē Bibliothēkē tēs Hellados, 1029, fols. 134r–137r (12th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Athens, Ethnikē Bibliothēkē tēs Hellados, 1034, fols. not provided (15th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Athens, Ethnikē Bibliothēkē tēs Hellados, 1038, fols. not provided (15th cent.) ~ Pinakes
Athos, Monē Koutloumousiou, 56 (Lambros 3125) (fol. numbers and date not provided) ~ Pinakes
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1579, fols. 113r–155r (15th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1582, fols. 135v–138r (14th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, sup. gr. 54, fols. 112r–114r (15th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica
3.1.3.5 Menologion of Basil II
Preliminary translation: November 16: Commemoration of the holy apostle and evangelist Matthew. The apostle Matthew was one of the twelve apostles, a publican, and the brother of James, surnamed Alphaeus. When the Lord saw him sitting at the tax booth, he called him to follow him: and he immediately enrolled him in the number of his disciples. In the eighth year after Christ’s ascension, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the holy Gospel written in his name, and delivered it to the holy church of Jerusalem. After that, having passed through many regions of the gentiles, spreading the word of Christ, he penetrated even to the cannibals, among whom he endured many tortures. He made Plato the bishop and departed to Hierapolis in Syria. And having taught many the word of Christ and baptizing, he completed his life.
Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1613, p. 186 (10th cent.) ~ Pinakes; BAV
Migne, Jacques-Paul. Patrologiae cursus completus: Series graeca. Vol. 117. Paris: Cerf, 1903 (Greek text with facing Latin translation, cols. 163–64).
3.1.4 Latin (BHL 5689); contains Martyrdom (ch. 9 f.) only
E Escorial, Real Biblioteca, b. I. 04 (11th cent.)
Q Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Lat. 12598, fols. 46r–46v (13th cent.) ~ Gallica
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Elliott, J. K. The Apocryphal New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993 (summary, pp. 520–23).
James, M. R. The Apocryphal New Testament. 1924. Repr., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1953 (summary, pp. 460–62).
Walker, Alexander. Apocryphal Gospels, Acts and Revelations. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1873. Repr. as vol. 16 of The Ante-Nicene Christian Library. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 24 vols. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1867–1883 (pp. 273–88).
3.2.3 French
Amsler, Frédéric, and Bertrand Bouvier. “Martyre de Matthieu.” Pages 541–64 in volume 2 of Écrits apocryphes chrétiens. Edited by Pierre Geoltrain and Jean-Daniel Kaestli. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade 516. Paris: Gallimard, 2005 (based on Bonnet’s edition of Recension 1).
Vinogradov, Andrej. “Le début authentique du Martyre de Matthieu? Remarques sur le codex Froehner et les Actes d’André et de Matthias.” Apocrypha 19 (2008): 202–16 (text of F, pp. 206–11, and French translation by Frédéric Amsler, pp. 212–16).
3.2.3 Italian
Erbetta, Mario. Gli apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 3 vols. Italy: Marietti, 1975–1981 (Italian translation based on edition by Bonnet, vol. 2, pp. 510–17).
Moraldi, Luigi. Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 2 vols. Classici delle religioni, Sezione quarta, La religione cattolica 24. Turin: Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, 1971 (summary in vol. 2, pp. 1635–36 [1973 ed.]).
3.2.1 Spanish
Piñero, Antonio, and Gonzalo del Cerro. Hechos apócrifos de los Apóstoles. 3 vols. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2011 (Greek edition based on Bonnet with facing Spanish translation, vol. 3, pp. 323–61).
García Lázaro, Concepción, and Gonzalo Aranda Pérez, eds. Hechos de Andrés y Mateo en la ciudad de los anthropófagos. Martiro del apóstol Mateo. Apócrifos cristianos 4. Instituto de Filologia Clásica y Oriental San Justino. Madrid: Editorial Ciudad Nueva, 2001 (introduction, pp. 81–104, 189–202; translation, pp. 203–50).
3.3 General Works
Klauck, Hans-Josef. The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles: An Introduction. Translated by Brian McNeil. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2008. English trans. of Apokryphe Apostelakten. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2005 (p. 244).
Lipsius, Richard A. Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. 2 vols. in 3. Braunschweig: Schwetschke und Sohn, 1883–1887 (see vol. 2.2, pp. 109–41).
Otero, Aurelio de Santos. “Later Acts of Apostles.” Pages 426–82 in New Testament Apocrypha. Vol. 2: Writings Relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses and Related Subjects. Edited by Wilhelm Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McLachlan Wilson. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1992 (see pp. 458–60).