serm. 2)" (Smith). It would seem, however, that Paul was the divine appointee to fill the vacancy in the col- lege of the apostles. Monographs in Latin on his elec- tion have been written by Scharff (Viteb. 1652), Bittel- maier (ib. 1676), and llammerschmid (Prag. 1760).
MATTHI'AS is likewise the name of one person mentioned in the Apocrypha (M«rra.^(«g) and of sev- eral in Josephus QAa-^iac), especially as Jev.'ish high- priests.
1. Given (1 Esdr. ix, 33) in place of the Heb. ^Mat- TATHiAH (Ezra X, 33).
2. A son of Ananus, made high-priest by Agrippa (soon after the appointment of Petronius as president of SjTia), in place of Simon Cantheras, after that honor had been declined by Jonathan as a second term (Jose- phus, A nt. xix, G, 4).
3. Son of Theophilus of Jerusalem, made high-priest by Herod in place of Simon, son of Boethius (.!«('. xvii, 4, 2) ; removed again by Herod to make room for Joaza (ib. 6, 4, where Josephus relates his temporarj- disquali- fication on the day of annual atonement), and again re- instated b}^ Agrippa in place of Jesus, son of Gamaliel (ib. XX, 9, 7).
Josephus likewise mentions Matthias, son of Boethius, as " one of the high-priests" betrayed by Simon during the last siege of Jerusalem {War,\, 3,1), but it does not appear whether he ^vas one of the above. See
HiGH-rKlEST.
Matthias, a religious impostor whose real name was Robert Matthews, was born in Washington County. N. Y., about 1790. He kept a country-store, but failed in 1816, and went to New York City. In 1827 he re- moved to Albanj', where he became much excited by the preaching of Messrs. Khk and Finney ; made him- self active in the temperance cause ; claimed to have re- ceived a revelation, and began street-preaching ; failing to convert Albanj', he prophesied its destruction, and fled secretly to New York City, where he was tried and acquitted on the charge of poisoning a wealthy disciple in whose family he had lived. His impositions exposed, he soon disappeared from public view. See Matthias and his Impostures, by W. L. Stone (New York, 1835) ; Drake, Diet. A mer. Biog. s. v.
Matthias CoryTnus, king of Hungary, second son of John Hunj^ady (q. v.), was born in 1443, and came to the throne in 1458, His accession was hailed with the utmost enthusiasm over the whole country. But the Hungarian crown at this time was no chaplet of roses ; two sovereigns, alike formidable, the one, Mohammed II, from his military talents and immense resources, the other, Frederick III, from his intriguing policy, were busily conspiring against the boy-king. To meet these dangers IMatthias rapidly carried out his measures of defence, and, scarcely prepared, fell on the Turks, who had ravaged the countr}' as far as Temesvar, infiicted upon them a bloody defeat, pursued them as far as Bos- nia, took the stronghold Jaieza, there liberated 10,000 Christian prisoners, and then returned to Weisenberg, to be crowned Avith the sacred crown of St. Stephen, in 1464. He next suppressed the disorders of Wallachia and Moldavia; but feeling that.his plans were counter- acted by the intrigues of the emperor Frederick III to gain possession of Hungary, IVIatthias besought the as- sistance of pope Pius II, but to no purpose. After a second successful campaign against the Turks, he turned his attention to the encouragement of arts and letters, and adorned his capital with the works of renowned sculptors, in addition to a library of 50,000 volumes. He sent a large staff of literary men to Italy for the pur- ]iose of obtaining copies of valuable MSS. (even nov,- the Collectio Corvinn is celeljrated), and adorned his court by the presence of the most eminent men of Italy and Germany. He was himself an author of no mean ability, and possessed a delicate appreciation of the fine arts. At the same time the affairs of government were not neglected. The finances were brought into a flour-
MATTHIAS
900
MATTHIAS
ishing coiulition, industn- and commerce were promoted l)v wise legislation, and justice was strictly administered to peasant and noble alike. But the promptings of his ambition, and the pressure exercised by the Romish party, cast an indelible blot on Matthias's otherwise spotless escutcheon; he wantonly attacked Podiebrad, liis father-in-law, the Hussite king of Bohemia, to wrest from Podiebrad the sceptre which he was holding by the ileclared will of the people. In this action Matthias was inlluenced especially by pope Pius II and his successor, Paul II. See Hussites, vol. iv, especially p. 424, col. 2. After a bloody contest of seven years' duration between these kings, the greatest generals of the age, the Hun- garian power prevailed, and Moravia, Silesia, and Lusa- tia were wrested from Bohemia. A third war with the Turks closed as successfully as the former two. The emperor also was humUiated by Matthias, and expiated his guilt in poverty and disgrace. Matthias was sud- denly cut down in the midst of his successes at Vienna, April 5, 1490. See Butler, Eccles. Hist, ii, 165 ; Gieseler, Eccles. Hist, iii, 370 sq. See Lauislaus of Poland ; Pus II.
Matthias of Kujtwalde, one of the first ministers of the Ancient jNIoravian Brethren (q. v.), flourished in the IGth century. He was appointed at the Synod of Lhota, in Bohemia, in 14G7, On that- occasion nine men, of high repute for piety, were elected by ballot. Then twelve lots were prepared, nine being blank, and three inscribed with the Bohemian word Jest (He is). Thereupon a fervent prayer was oifered up beseeching God to designate of these nine nominees, either one, or two, or three, as the ministers of the Church ; but, if tliis should not be the time which he had ordained for such a consummation, to cause all the nine to receive blanks. In this event the Brethren woidd have de- ferred further action to some future period. Nine lots having been drawn singly from a vase and given to the nominees, it appeared that Matthias of Kunwalde, Thomas of Prelouc, and Elias of Chrenovic, had each received one marked Jest. The synod rose to its feet, sang a thanksgiving hymn, composed for the occasion, and accepted these three men as the future ministers of the Church. In tlie same year, after the episcopacy liad been secured, jNIatthias, although oidy twenty-five years of age, was consecrated a bishop, and, upon the resignation of bishop INIichael, became president of the Church Council. He administered its affairs, according to the extreme views of discipline entertained by Greg- ory ((J. v.), until 1494, when he resigned his presidency and united with the liljeral party. In 1500, while on his ^vay to a synod in Moravia, he died at Leipnik, after having, in his last will and testament, which he ad- dresseil to the Brethren, exhorted them to avoid scliisms, and to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace. He was buried at Prerau. (E. de S.)