The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Matthias the Apostle
d. c. 63 (trad.) · Apostle · Chosen to complete the Twelve · Jerusalem
The Apostolic Age
Who Matthias the Apostle was
Put forward with Joseph Barsabbas as one who had “companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John,” Matthias was chosen by lot after prayer to take the apostleship from which Judas fell — restoring the Twelve before Pentecost. The New Testament says no more; Clement of Alexandria preserves sayings ascribed to him (“to fight the flesh and use it, without pampering it”), and the traditions of his mission divide between Judaea and “Aethiopia” by the Black Sea, with a traditional martyrdom around 63.
Common questions
When did Matthias die?
Matthias the Apostle is dated d. c. 63 (trad.) in the archive, which places Matthias in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Matthias?
Matthias the Apostle is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Luke and Clement of Alexandria. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Matthias from?
The archive associates Matthias the Apostle with Jerusalem.
Who were Matthias’ contemporaries?
The archive links Matthias the Apostle to 4 other figures, including Joseph Barsabbas Justus, Simon Peter, Judas Iscariot and Basilides of Alexandria. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Acts 1:26
c. AD 85And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.Luke · read ↗
Stromateis III.4 (sayings of Matthias)
c. AD 200They say that Matthias also taught thus: to fight the flesh and treat it with contempt, yielding nothing to it for pleasure, but to make the soul grow through faith and knowledge.Clement of Alexandria · III.4 · source text
Stromateis II.9 (the Traditions of Matthias)
c. AD 200As it is said in the Traditions of Matthias, 'Wonder at the things before you,' making this the first step to the knowledge beyond.Clement of Alexandria · Stromateis II.9 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Matthias, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.