St. Andrew, Apostle
Saturday, November 30 (Feast of St. Andrew)
The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth:
For He shall glorify Me.
Ye shall be My witnesses:
Because ye have been with Me from the beginning.
Blessed are ye when ye are persecuted for My sake:
For the kingdom of heaven is yours.
—John 16:13, Matthew 5:10
A writing for the Feast of St. Andrew:
Today the Church commemorates St. Andrew, Apostle and Martyr. Andrew is known as the “First-Called,” having been the first disciple to follow Jesus. He was originally a disciple of St. John the Baptist, but recognized Jesus and immediately followed Him. He then introduced his brother, Simon Peter, to the Messiah.
The name “Andrew” means “manly, brave,” or literally from the Romanized Greek “manhood, valor.” It was apparently a common name among the Jews and other Hellenized people, roughly since the second or third century B.C. Andrew was born between 5 and 10 A.D., and was the brother of Simon Peter, and therefore son of Jonah. Interestingly, there is no Hebraic or Aramaic name for Andrew; his name appears only to have Greek roots, which has interesting implications for his family’s life.
Both he and Simon Peter were fishermen by trade. This provides a strong background for Jesus’ later disciples, whom Jesus said would be “fishers of men.” Jesus was walking alongside the Sea of Galilee, and noticed Simon Peter and Andrew fishing on the sea bank. He called them both, according to St. Mark and St. Matthew; St. Luke does not name Andrew directly until the next chapter, but this does not indicate that Luke denied Andrew’s presence.
In St. John’s Gospel, Andrew and other unnamed disciples are following St. John the Baptist, and, having recognized Jesus, Andrew follows Him. Throughout the Gospels, Andrew was present for many important moments of Jesus’ ministry. Andrew informed Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes, and when the Greeks went to see Jesus, they came to Philip, but Philip sent them to Andrew. Andrew was one of the four disciples who came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives to ask about the signs of Jesus' return at the “end of the age.”
In Church History, Eusebius quotes Origen, who wrote that Andrew preached in Scythia. The Chronicle of Nestor (1113) adds that he preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper River as far as Kyiv, and from there he travelled to Novgorod. According to Hippolytus of Rome, Andrew preached in Thrace, and the apocryphal Acts of Andrew records his presence in Byzantium.
According to tradition, he founded the See of Byzantium, which later became Constantinople, in AD 38, and installed Stachys as bishop. This diocese became the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople under Anatolius in 451. Along with Stachys, Andrew is recognized as the patron saint of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is also known that Basil of Seleucia (5th century) was also aware of Apostle Andrew's missions in Thrace, Scythia and Achaea. Due to his travels to the regions of Kyiv, Andrew also became a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia.
Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in Patras in A.D. 60. It is said that he was not nailed, but rather bound, to a Latin cross, the same cross on which Jesus was crucified. However, tradition developed that, at his own request, Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross, in large because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus. This iconography was not standardized until the late Medieval Ages, but has become quite common.
Andrew is remembered as being the first disciple whom Jesus called and the first disciple to have successfully evangelized, having introduced his brother, Peter, to Jesus. He is also known for his faithful preaching and steadfastness to the Word, to which he attested until the end. May the Church mirror such boldness in evangelizing and preaching, and follow in his willingness to suffer all, even death, for the faith.
Hymn of the Day for St. Andrew:
1 Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult
Of our life's wild, restless sea,
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, "Christian, follow Me."
2 As of old Saint Andrew heard it
By the Galilean lake,
Turned from home and toil and kindred.
Leaving all for His dear sake.
3 Jesus calls us from the worship
Of the vain world's golden store.
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, "Christian, love Me more."
4 In our joys and in our sorrows,
Days of toll and hours of ease,
Still He calls, in cares and pleasures,
"Christian, love Me more than these."
5 Jesus calls us; by Thy mercies,
Savior, make us hear Thy call,
Give our hearts to Thine obedience,
Serve and love Thee best of all. Amen.
Collect of the Day for St. Andrew:
Almighty God, by whose grace Thy Apostle Saint Andrew obeyed the call of Thy Son Jesus Christ, grant unto us also grace to follow Him in heart and life; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
What a lovely hymn!