Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew (Greek: Andreas, "manly"), called in the Orthodox tradition Protocletos, or the First-called, is the Christian Apostle, brother of Saint Peter.

Related Topics:
Andrew - Greek - Orthodox - Apostle - Saint Peter

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Andrew was born at bethsaida on the Lake of Galilee. Since he was a Jew, Andreas was almost certainly not his given name, but no Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him. He had been a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:37-40) and was one of the first to follow Jesus. He lived at Capernaum (Mark 1:29). In the gospel story he is referred to as being present on some important occasions as one of the disciples more closely attached to Jesus (Mark 13:3; John 6:8, 12:22); in Acts there is only a bare mention of him (1:13).

Related Topics:
Galilee - John the Baptist - John - Jesus - Capernaum - Mark - Acts

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Eusebius quotes Origen as saying Andrew preached in Asia Minor and in Scythia, along the Black Sea as far as the Volga. Hence he became a patron saint of Romania and Russia. Traditionally, he was the first bishop of Byzantium, a position which would later become Patriarch of Constantinople.

Related Topics:
Eusebius - Origen - Asia Minor - Scythia - Black Sea - Volga - Romania - Russia - Bishop - Byzantium - Patriarch of Constantinople

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He is said to have suffered crucifixion at Patras (Patrae) in Achaea, on a cross of the form called Crux decussata (X-shaped cross) and commonly known as "St Andrew's cross". According to tradition his relics were removed from Patras to Constantinople, and thence to St Andrews (see below).

Related Topics:
Patrae - Achaea - Constantinople - St Andrews

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The apocryphal Acts of Andrew, mentioned by Eusebius, Epiphanius and others, is among a disparate group Acts of Apostles that were traditionally attributed to Leucius Charinus. "These Acts may be the latest of the five leading apostolic romances. They belong to the third century: ca. A.D. 260," was the opinion of C.R. James, who edited them in 1924. The Acts, as well as a Gospel of St Andrew, appear among rejected books in the Decretum Gelasianum connected with the name of Pope Gelasius I. The Acts of Andrew was edited and published by Constantin von Tischendorf in the Acta Apostolorum apocrypha (Leipzig, 1821), putting it for the first time into the hands of a critical professional readership. Another version of the Andrew legend is found in the Passio Andreae, published by Max Bonnet (Supplementum II Codicis apocryphi, Paris, 1895).

Related Topics:
Apocrypha - Acts of Andrew - Eusebius - Epiphanius - Leucius Charinus - Decretum Gelasianum - Pope Gelasius I - Constantin von Tischendorf - Leipzig

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Andrew is represented in art as an old man with long white hair and a beard, holding the Gospel in his right hand, and leaning on his characteristic saltire cross.

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Relics: St. Andrew Basilica - Patras (Greece), St. Anrea Dome - Amalfi (Italy), and St. Andrew & St. Albert church - Warsaw (Poland)

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