Austin Matthew: A Stalwart Priest

Canon Austin F. Matthew, or Padre Matthew, as he was called by his parishioners and friends, began his life of service as a missionary in Nyasaland, now Malawi, in 1910. He was working with the Universities’ Mission to Central Africa (UMCA). He left there in 1926 and arrived in Ethiopia in October 1928. His remit was to act as chaplain to the British Community, but in his time there he did so much more. He was involved in the revision and translation of the Amharic Bible from 1935 until his death in 1969. His vision of a church for his congregation in Addis Ababa was achieved in 1955, when St Matthew’s Church was dedicated. During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, he went to Jerusalem where he worked tirelessly for the welfare of the Ethiopian exiles there and for the Ethiopian church. He was indeed a truly stalwart priest.