Happy Feast Of St. Matthew, Patron Saint Of Tax Geeks

It’s been quite a streak of religious holidays! Rosh Hashanah and Eid were both celebrated over the weekend and now… It’s the Feast of St. Matthew.

Okay, many of you may not be familiar with the significance of the Feast of St. Matthew (I’ll admit that I was not) so here’s the scoop:

Matthew is one of the Twelve Apostles named in the New Testament of the Christian Bible and is the author of the Book of Matthew. He was a tax collector – sometimes referred to as a “publican” – among the Jews, which was a pretty unpopular job back then, even worse than it is now. In the time of the Romans, tax collectors didn’t receive a salary; they were expected to earn a commission, of sorts, by collecting whatever extra they could in the guise of taxes. Most were cheats and widely despised. In fact, even Jesus lumped them together with the worst of the worst, having dinner with a group of people so terrible that the Pharisees were prompted to ask, “Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?”

Today, Matthew is recognized as a Saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches. He is the patron saint of:

• Accountants
• Bankers
• Bookkeepers
• Tax collectors

So there you have it, a patron saint for tax geeks. Who knew?

(Hat Tip: @taxplaya)

Kelly Phillips Erb

Kelly Phillips Erb is a tax attorney, tax writer, and podcaster.

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