St Matthew the Apostle & Guardian Angel Folding Diptych
$69
Collectible Christian Orthodox named portable folding icon, a diptych for the home: “St Matthew the Apostle & Guardian Angel”. It consists of two portable pocket icons, each set in a wooden frame, joined together.
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The wood is pine; the icon images are produced by a printed reproduction process, laminated and carefully protected by glass. Both the front and the back of the diptych are covered in beautiful velvet. Its compact size makes it convenient to keep at home or to carry on the road while traveling. When folded, the diptych takes up minimal space and is secured by a side clasp. This portable Orthodox icon diptych makes a thoughtful and meaningful gift for every Christian, a loved one, or a person named Matthew who is celebrating a name day or another special occasion.
Made in Russia
- We ship to all 50 states within two business days
- Free shipping on orders of $99 or more
- 30-day returns · consecrated items are final sale
Dimensions and materials
- Folded
- 3.15 × 3.55 in (8 × 9.5 cm)
- Open
- 6.3 × 3.55 in (16.5 × 9.5 cm)
- Thickness
- 1.2 in (3.5 cm)
- Origin
- Made in Russia
Shipping
We pack every order within two business days and ship to all 50 states, DC and APO/FPO addresses. Shipping is free on orders of $99 or more, and $6.95 below that. Shipping policy
Returns
Return any item within 30 days of delivery for a refund. Consecrated items are final sale. Returns policy
St Matthew the Apostle
He left the tax table at two words: “Follow Me.”
Orthodox Christians pray to the Apostle Matthew for forgiveness of sins and for true repentance from the whole heart. He is the saint of every soul called out of an old life into a new one. Here he sits writing his Gospel, beside a full-length Guardian Angel.
Why this saint
Matthew, also called Levi, collected taxes for Rome in Capernaum, a trade his own people despised. When Jesus said, “Follow Me,” he left everything at once. He repaid fourfold anyone he had cheated and gave the rest to the poor. He saw the Passion, the Resurrection and the Ascension, and he wrote the first Gospel. Then he carried it to Syria, Persia, Parthia and Ethiopia. When the ruler Fulvian ordered him burned, the fire melted the idols instead. After his martyrdom Fulvian himself was baptized. The Church honors Matthew as a living icon of conversion. In the West he is also the patron of accountants and bankers.
Traditional patronage
- Prayed to for forgiveness of sins
- Prayed to for true repentance from the whole heart
- Prayed to for a change of life and a wholehearted following of Christ
- Prayed to for his strong intercession and protection
- Prayed to for the salvation of our souls
- Protector of those turning from a sinful life to Christ
- Patron of repentant sinners called to new life
- In the West, also patron of tax collectors, accountants, bankers and civil servants
- Feast days
16 November (29 November on the Old Calendar); Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles, 30 June (13 July on the Old Calendar).
- Name-day names
Matthew, Matvei, Matthaios, Mateo, Matej. (Not Matthias: the Apostle Matthias is kept on 9 August.)
- For whom
every Matthew or Matvei, a godson, a man who works in finance, a convert who knows what it is to leave an old life behind.
- Guardian Angel panel
full-length Angel, a different image from the standard panel.
The Guardian Angel on the other leaf
The angel given to you at baptism.
The Orthodox Church teaches that at holy baptism God gives every Christian a personal Guardian Angel. The angel stays beside that Christian for life: guarding from evil, helping in doing good, praying before God, and accompanying the soul after death. Christ said of the little ones that “their angels always behold the face of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). The canon to the Guardian Angel says the angel is given “from holy baptism” and “forever.” Every morning and evening Orthodox Christians pray, “O Angel of Christ, my holy guardian.” That is why Russian piety sets the Guardian Angel beside your patron saint: the two heavenly companions you received at baptism, in one icon.
Traditional patronage
- Prayed to for protection from every evil and danger
- Prayed to for help in doing good, and against one’s sins and passions
- Prayed to for intercession before God and guidance on the path of salvation
- Prayed to for safe journeys: “He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways”
- Protector of children from harm
- Protector on every road: of travelers and drivers
- Protector from evil spirits and their snares, and from sudden calamity
- Companion and guardian of the soul after death
- Feast
Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and all the Bodiless Powers, 8 November (21 November on the Old Calendar). The Orthodox Church has no separate feast of Guardian Angels. The 2 October feast is Catholic.
- Name day
Angelos / Angeliki (Greek custom, 8 November).
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