Saint Matthew
Studio Unknown - After 1950
To The Glory of God in Loving Memory of George W. Reynolds 1876 - 1926
Ida M. Reynolds 1876 - 1947
DESCRIPTION: The window representing Saint Matthew joins the windows of Saint Mark, Saint John and Saint Luke, to complete the quartet of Gospels represented in St. Paul's Church. Matthew is depicted as a bearded man wearing a loose fitting white garment with a bluish green cloak. In his left hand there is a quill; in his right hand a blue book ornamented with a Latin Cross. This window, so similar in style to Saint Mark (Window #121), whose artist is also not known, was possibly made by the same company. The banderole over Saint Matthew's head reads:
Jesus Saw a Man Named Matthew
Matt. IX. 9
THE STORY: Matthew, known as Levi before he began following Jesus, was a tax collector. Early in his ministry, Jesus called Levi, who left everything behind and followed Jesus. As such, Matthew was one of the first of the 12 disciples. The former tax collector wrote an inspired account of the life of Jesus Christ from birth to post-resurrection. His gospel, placed first in the New Testament, is abridged from old to new. Through Matthew we are told of the relationship of Jesus to the Law and Prophesy of the Old Testament. Matthew quotes from the Old Testament more frequently than any other New Testament writer. For example, Matthew opens his gospel with Jesus introduced as the son of David, the king of Israel 1000 years before Jesus was born. (Matthew 1:1)
MEMORIAL: George W. Reynolds owed his residence in Key West to the fact that his mother was shipwrecked on the reef of Key West on her way to New Orleans and decided to stay. George was a cigarmaker, lawyer, and Clerk of the Circuit Court from 1893 to 1905. He was married to Blanche Stanhope Williams in February 1883, who is remembered in Raising Jairus' Daughter (Window #19). After her death, George married Ida. George died on September 5, 1926. Ida died in December 1947, and was buried from St. Paul's with The Reverend James MacConnell officiating.
Source: The Golden Cockerel: The Art, Symbolism & History of the Stained Glass Windows, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Key West, Florida by Winifred Shine Fryzel.
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