Saint Matthew, One of the twelve apostles of Jesus and one of the four evangelists. Tradition holds him to be the author of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Prior to following Jesus, he was a tax collector in the Jewish province of the Roman Empire.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that when Jesus called him he gave a great feast for Jesus and his disciples. And finally he’s mentioned in Acts. He is one of the few disciples mentioned in the Apocrypha in the Gospel of Thomas, showing his position in the early church. Legend has it that he preached after Jesus ascended to heaven until his death in Ethiopia. Details are sketchy. Some say he was martyred in Ethiopia, but others say he was martyred at Hirapolis in Parthia.