The name "Andrew" (meaningmanly, brave, fromAncient Greek:ἀνδρεία,romanized: andreía,lit. 'manhood, valor'), like other Greek names, appears to have been common among theJews and otherHellenised people since the second or third century B.C.[9] NoHebrew orAramaic name is recorded for him.
Andrew the Apostle was born to a Jewish family inBethsaida, inGalilee,[10] possibly between 5 and 10 AD[11] TheNew Testament states that Andrew was the brother ofSimon Peter,[12] and likewise a son of Jonah. "The first striking characteristic of Andrew is his name: it is not Hebrew, as might have been expected, but Greek, indicative of a certain cultural openness in his family that cannot be ignored. We are in Galilee, where the Greek language and culture are quite present".[7]
Both Andrew and his brother Peter were fishermen by trade and also Simon Peter who became a "fisher of men", hence the tradition thatJesus called them to be hisdisciples by saying that he will make them "fishers of men" (Ancient Greek:ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων,romanized: halieîs anthrṓpōn).[13] According toMark 1:29, at the beginning of Jesus' public life, they occupied the same house atCapernaum.[9]
In theGospel of Matthew[14] and in theGospel of Mark[15] Simon Peter and Andrew were both called together to become disciples of Jesus and "fishers of men". These narratives record that Jesus was walking along the shore of theSea of Galilee, observed Simon and Andrew fishing, and called them to discipleship.
In the parallel incident in theGospel of Luke[16] Andrew is not named, nor is reference made to Simon having a brother. In this narrative, Jesus initially used a boat, solely described as being Simon's, as a platform for preaching to the multitudes on the shore and then as a means to achieving a huge trawl of fish on a night which had hitherto proved fruitless. The narrative indicates that Simon was not the only fisherman in the boat (they signalled to their partners in the other boat ...)[17] but it is not until the next chapter[18] that Andrew is named as Simon's brother. However, it is generally understood that Andrew was fishing with Simon on the night in question.Matthew Poole, in hisAnnotations on the Holy Bible, stressed that "Luke denies not that Andrew was there".[19]
TheGospel of John states that Andrew was a disciple ofJohn the Baptist, whose testimony first led him, and another unnamed disciple of John the Baptist, traditionally believed to beJohn the Apostle, to follow Jesus and spend the day with him, thus becoming the first two disciples called by Jesus.[20] Andrew at once recognized Jesus as theMessiah and hastened to introduce him to his brother.[21] For this reason theEastern Orthodox Church honours him with the nameProtokletos, which means "the first called".[7] Thenceforth, the two brothers were disciples of Christ. On a subsequent occasion, prior to the final call to theapostolate, they were called to a closer companionship, and then they left all things to follow Jesus.[9]
Subsequently, in the gospels, Andrew is referred to as being present on some important occasions as one of the disciples more closely attached to Jesus.[a] Andrew told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes,[7] and when certain Greeks went to see Jesus, they came to Philip, but Philip then had recourse to Andrew.[22] Andrew was present at theLast Supper. Andrew was one of the four disciples who came to Jesus on theMount of Olives to ask about the signs ofJesus' return at the "end of the age".[23]
Andrew is said to have beenmartyred bycrucifixion at the city ofPatras (Patræ) in Achaea, in AD 60.[23] Early texts, such as the Acts of Andrew known toGregory of Tours[27] (6th century), describe Andrew as bound, not nailed, to aLatin cross of the kind on which Jesus is said to have been crucified; yet a tradition developed that Andrew had been crucified on acrux decussata (X-shaped cross, or "saltire"), now commonly known as a "Saint Andrew's Cross" — supposedly at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus had been.[b] Theiconography of the martyrdom of Andrew — showing him bound to an X-shaped cross — does not appear to have been standardized until the laterMiddle Ages.[28][c]
TheapocryphalActs of Andrew, mentioned byEusebius,Epiphanius of Salamis, and others, is among a disparate group ofActs of the Apostles that were traditionally attributed toLeucius Charinus, but it shows several signs of a mid-2nd-century origin.[29] It describes the supposed travels of the title character, the miracles he performed during them, and finally a description of his martyrdom. Eusebius knew the work, which he dismissed as the product of aheretic and absurd.[30] The Acts, as well as aGospel of St Andrew, appear among rejected books in theDecretum Gelasianum connected with the name ofPope Gelasius I.Dennis MacDonald posits the theory that the non-canonical Acts of Andrew was a Christian retelling ofHomer's Odyssey.[31]
Andrew's remains were preserved at Patras. According to one legend, Regulus (Rule), a monk at Patras, was advised in a dream to hide some of the bones. Shortly thereafter, most of the relics were transferred fromPatras toConstantinople by order of theRoman emperorConstantius II around 357 and deposited in theChurch of the Holy Apostles.[32]
Regulus was said to have had a second dream in which an angel advised him to take the hidden relics "to the ends of the earth" for protection. Wherever he was shipwrecked, he was to build a shrine for them. He set sail, taking with him a kneecap, an upper arm bone, three fingers, and a tooth. He sailed west, towards the edge of the known world, and was shipwrecked on the coast ofFife, Scotland. However, the relics were probably brought to Britain in 597 as part of theAugustine Mission, and then in 732 to Fife, by BishopAcca of Hexham, a well-known collector of religious relics.[21]
The skull of Saint Andrew, which had been taken to Constantinople, was returned to Patras byByzantine emperorBasil I, who ruled from 867 to 886.[33]
In 1208, following thesack of Constantinople, those relics of Saint Andrew and Saint Peter which remained in the imperial city were taken toAmalfi, Italy,[34] by CardinalPeter of Capua the Elder, a native of Amalfi. Acathedral was built, dedicated to Saint Andrew, as is the town itself, to house a tomb in its crypt where it is maintained that most of the relics of the apostle, including an occipital bone, remain.
Thomas Palaiologos was the youngest surviving son of Byzantine EmperorManuel II Palaiologos. Thomas ruled the province ofMorea, the medieval name for thePeloponnese. In 1461, when theOttomans crossed the Strait of Corinth, Palaiologos fled Patras for exile in Italy, bringing with him what was purported to be the skull of Saint Andrew. He gave the head toPope Pius II, who had it enshrined in one of the four central piers ofSt. Peter's Basilica in theVatican and then inPienza, Italy.[3]
In September 1964,Pope Paul VI, as a gesture of goodwill toward theGreek Orthodox Church, ordered that the one relic of Saint Andrew held inVatican City be returned to Patras. CardinalAugustin Bea, head of the Vatican'sDicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, led a delegation that presented the skull to Bishop Constantine of Patras on 24 September 1964.[35][36] The cross of Saint Andrew was taken from Greece during the Crusades by the Duke of Burgundy.[37][38] It was kept in thechurch of St Victor inMarseille[39] until it returned toPatras on 19 January 1980. The cross of the apostle was presented to theBishop of Patras Nicodemus by a Catholic delegation led by CardinalRoger Etchegaray. All the relics, which consist of the small finger, the skull (part of the top of the cranium of Saint Andrew), and the cross on which he wasmartyred, have been kept in theChurch of St. Andrew at Patras in a special shrine and are revered in a special ceremony every 30 November, hisfeast day.
A 13th-century fresco depicting Saint Andrew, fromKintsvisi Monastery, Georgia
Thechurch tradition of Georgia regards Andrew as the first preacher of Christianity in the territory of Georgia and as the founder of the Georgian church. This tradition derives from Byzantine sources, particularlyNiketas David Paphlagon (diedc. 890) who asserts that "Andrew preached to theIberians,Sauromatians,Taurians, andScythians and to every region and city, on theBlack Sea, both north and south."[49] The version was adopted by the 10th–11th-century Georgian ecclesiastics and, refurbished with more details, was inserted in theGeorgian Chronicles. The story of Andrew's mission in the Georgian lands endowed the Georgian church with apostolic origin and served as a defence argument toGeorge the Hagiorite against the encroachments from theAntiochian church authorities onautocephaly of the Georgian church. Another Georgian monk,Ephraim the Minor, produced a thesis, reconciling Andrew's story with an earlier evidence of the 4th-century conversion of Georgians byNino and explaining the necessity of the "second Christening" by Nino. The thesis was made canonical by the Georgian church council in 1103.[50][51] The Georgian Orthodox Church marks two feast days in honour of Saint Andrew, on 12 May and 13 December. The former date, dedicated to Andrew's arrival in Georgia, is apublic holiday in Georgia.
Cypriot tradition holds that a ship which was transporting Andrew went off course and ran aground. Upon coming ashore, Andrew struck the rocks with his staff at which point a spring of healing waters gushed forth. Using it, the sight of the ship's captain, who had been blind in one eye, was restored. Thereafter, the site became a place of pilgrimage and a fortified monastery, theApostolos Andreas Monastery,[52] stood there in the 12th century, from whichIsaac Comnenus of Cyprus negotiated his surrender toRichard the Lionheart. In the 15th century, a small chapel was built close to the shore. The main monastery of the current church dates to the 18th century.
Other pilgrimages are more recent. The story is told that in 1895, the son of a Maria Georgiou was kidnapped. Seventeen years later, Andrew appeared to her in a dream, telling her to pray for her son's return at the monastery. Living in Anatolia, she embarked on the crossing to Cyprus on a very crowded boat. As she was telling her story during the journey, one of the passengers, a young Dervish priest, became more and more interested. Asking if her son had any distinguishing marks, he stripped off his clothes to reveal the same marks, and mother and son were thus reunited.[52]
Apostolos Andreas Monastery (Greek:Απόστολος Ανδρέας) is amonastery dedicated to Saint Andrew situated just south ofCape Apostolos Andreas, which is the north-easternmost point of the island ofCyprus, inRizokarpaso in theKarpass Peninsula. The monastery is an important site to theCypriot Orthodox Church. It was once known as "the Lourdes of Cyprus", served not by an organized community of monks but by a changing group of volunteer priests and laymen. BothGreek Cypriot andTurkish Cypriot communities consider the monastery a holy place. As such, it is visited by many people for votive prayers.
St. Andrew (Maltese:Sant' Andrija) is the patron saint ofLuqa. The patron saint's traditional feast (festa) is celebrated on the first Sunday of July, with the liturgical feast being celebrated on 30 November.[53] A local niche dedicated to him is found in Luqa, which is two storeys high. The first reference regards the small chapel at Luqa dedicated to Andrew dates to 1497. This chapel contained three altars, one of them dedicated to Andrew. The painting showingMary with Saints Andrew and Paul was painted by the Maltese artistFilippo Dingli. At one time, many fishermen lived in the village of Luqa, and this may be the main reason for choosing Andrew as patron saint. The statue of Andrew was sculpted in wood by Giuseppe Scolaro in 1779. This statue underwent several restoration works including that of 1913 performed by the Maltese artist Abraham Gatt. TheMartyrdom of Saint Andrew on the main altar of the church was painted byMattia Preti in 1687.
Although the exclusive presence in the Romanian language of Latin vocabulary for concepts of Christian faith may indicate the antiquity of Daco-Roman Christianity,[55] according to some modern Romanian scholars, the idea of early Christianisation (preceding theEdict of Milan) is unsustainable. They take the idea to be a part of the ideology ofDacianism, which they claim to purport that the Eastern Orthodox Church has been a companion and defender of the Romanian people for its entire history, aspect supposedly used for propaganda purposes during the communist era.[56] Historians such asIoan-Aurel Pop consider Romanians to be the first to adopt Christianity among the peoples which now inhabit the territories bordering Romania,[57] conversion to Christianity until the third century (in the province ofRoman Dacia, dissolvedc. AD 271/275) playing a significant part in theethnogenesis of the Romanians.
ScholarMircea Eliade argues in favor of structural links betweenZamolxism and Christianity,[58] thus suggesting a higher likelihood of early conversion. As such, if Andrew the Apostle had preached in Dobruja (in proximity to the Thracians he had also preached to) and not in Crimea as per the Russian Orthodox Church, Christianity in Romania can be considered of apostolic origin.[54][59]
Between the 4th and 6th centuries, the region of Scythia Minor played an influential role in the development ofChristian theology.[d]
One of the foundational narratives associated with the history ofOrthodoxy in Russia is found in the 12th-centuryPrimary Chronicle, which says that theApostle Andrew visitedScythia andGreek colonies along the northern coast of theBlack Sea before making his way toChersonesus inCrimea.[24][60] According to this legend, Andrew reached the future location of the capital ofKievan Rus' and foretold the foundation of a great Christian city in Kiev (modernKyiv) with many churches.[24] Then, "he came to the [land of the]Slovenians whereNovgorod now [stands]" and observed the locals, before eventually arriving inRome.[24] Despite the lack of historical evidence supporting this narrative, modern church historians in Russia have often incorporated this tale into their studies.[61]
TheSaltire (or "Saint Andrew's Cross") is the nationalflag of Scotland.Saint Andrew (carvingc. 1500) in the National Museum of ScotlandTraditional stone fireplace in northern England. The carved Saint Andrew's cross in the left-hand wooden post was to prevent witches from flying down the chimney, inRyedale Folk Museum,Hutton-le-Hole.
According to legendary accounts given in 16th-century historiography,Óengus II in AD 832 led an army ofPicts andScots into battle against theAngles, led byÆthelstan, near modern-dayAthelstaneford,East Lothian. The legend states that he was heavily outnumbered and hence whilst engaged in prayer on the eve of battle, Óengus vowed that if granted victory he would appoint Andrew as the patron saint of Scotland. On the morning of battle white clouds forming an X shape in the sky were said to have appeared. Óengus and his combined force, emboldened by this apparent divine intervention, took to the field and despite being inferior in numbers were victorious. Having interpreted the cloud phenomenon as representing thecrux decussata upon which Andrew was crucified, Óengus honoured his pre-battle pledge and duly appointed Andrew as the patron saint of Scotland. The white saltire set against a celestial blue background is said to have been adopted as the design of theflag of Scotland on the basis of this legend.[62] However, there is evidence that Andrew was venerated in Scotland before this.
Andrew's connection with Scotland may have been reinforced following theSynod of Whitby, when theCeltic Church felt that Columba had been "outranked" by Peter and that Peter's brother would make a higher-ranking patron. The 1320Declaration of Arbroath cites Scotland's conversion to Christianity by Andrew, "the first to be an Apostle". Numerous parish churches in theChurch of Scotland and congregations of other Christian churches in Scotland are named after Andrew. The former national church of the Scottish people inRome,Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi, was dedicated to Saint Andrew.
A localsuperstition uses the cross of Saint Andrew as ahex sign on the fireplaces in northern England and Scotland to preventwitches from flying down thechimney and entering the house to do mischief. By placing the Saint Andrew's cross on one of thefireplace posts orlintels, witches are prevented from entering through this opening. In this case, it is similar to the use of awitch ball, although the cross will actively prevent witches from entering, whereas the witch ball will passively delay or entice the witch, and perhaps entrap it.
St. Andrew was the patron saint of the Dukes of Burgundy. A form of St. Andrew's cross called theCross de Bourgogne was used as the flag of the Duchy of Burgundy, and after the duchy was acquired by Spain, by the Spanish Crown, and later as a Spanish naval flag and finally as an army battle flag up until 1843.[64] Today, it is still a part of various Spanish military insignia and forms part of the coat of arms of the king of Spain.
Thefeast of Andrew is observed on 30 November in both the Eastern and Western churches, and is a bank holiday in Scotland,[67] There are week-long celebrations in the town of St Andrews and in some other Scottish cities.
In the Catholic Church, Advent begins with First Vespers of the Sunday that falls on or closest to the feast of Saint Andrew.[68] Andrew the Apostle isremembered in theChurch of England with aFestival on30 November.[69]
TheQur'anic account of thedisciples ofJesus does not include their names, numbers, or any detailed accounts of their lives. Muslimexegesis, however, more or less agrees with theNew Testament list and says that the disciples included Andrew.[70]
^The legends surrounding Andrew are discussed inDvornik 1958
^According toRéau 1958, p. 79, St. Andrew's Cross appeared for the first time in the tenth century, but did not become an iconographic standard before the seventeenth.Calvert 1984 was unable to find a sculptural representation of Andrew on thesaltire cross earlier than anarchitecturalcapital fromQuercy, of the early twelfth century.
^Several Scythian Monks, such as Dionysius Exiguus, had been of romanized Geto-Dacian origin.
^abcd"General Audience of 14 June 2006: Andrew, the "Protoclete" - Benedict XVI".vatican.va.Andrew, then, was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Exactly for this reason the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honours him with the nickname: "Protokletos", [protoclete] which means, precisely, "the first called".
^Sanidopoulos, John (28 November 2010)."Synaxis of the Achaean Saints".Orthodox Christianity Then and Now.Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved30 April 2023.
^Jefferson, Samuel (1840).The History and Antiquities of Leath Ward - In the County of Cumberland: with Biographical Notices and Memoirs. Creative Media Partners. p. 36.ISBN978-1-345-71364-0.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Andrew".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John;The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 3rd edition, New York, Penguin Books, 1993ISBN0-14-051312-4
Djobadze, Wachtang Z. (1976). "Materials for the Study of Georgian Monasteries in the Western Environs of Antioch on the Orontes".Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium. 372, subsidia 48. Louvain:82–83.
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