Saint Matthias Saint Matthias Matthias (Hebrew transliteration: "Mattityahu"; Koine Greek: Μαθθίας; ; died c. 80 AD) was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas' betrayal of Jesus and his (Judas') subsequent death. His calling as an apostle is unique, in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended into heaven, and it was also made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church. There is no mention of a Matthias among the lists of disciples or followers of Jesus in the three synoptic gospels, but
Judas Iscariot truest disciple." The article points to some evidence that the original document was extant in the 2nd century: "Around A.D. 180, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon in what was then Roman Gaul, wrote a massive treatise called "Against Heresies" [in which he attacked] a 'fictitious history,' which 'they style the Gospel of Judas.'" Before the magazine's edition was circulated, other news media gave exposure to the story, abridging and selectively reporting it. In December 2007, a "New York Times" op-ed article by April DeConick asserted that the "National Geographic"s translation is badly flawed: For example, in one instance the "National Geographic"