Saint Andrew, the Apostle:

Feast day : 30 November

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle and martyr. According to Scripture and tradition he is believed to be the brother of Saint Peter and one of the first who was called to be the apostle of Christ. After the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, he is believed to have preached the Gospel in Scythia, Sogdiana, Colchis, Epirus, Pontus, Greece and Poland. He attained his glorious martyrdom on an X shaped cross at Patr in Achaia. According to Saint Peter Damian, when he saw his cross at a distance, he is said to have cried out “Hail precious cross that hast been consecrated by the body of my Lord, and adorned with his limbs as with rich jewels. I come to thee exulting and glad; receive me with joy into thy arms. O good cross, that hast received beauty from our Lord’s limbs: I have ardently loved thee; long have I desired and sought thee: now thou art found by me, and art made ready for my longing soul: receive me into thy arms, taking me from among men, and present me to my Master, that He who redeemed me on thee, may receive me by thee.” He zealously preached the Gospel from the cross till his last breath.

Scripture:

Saint Andrew was a native of Bethsaida, a town in Galilee. He was the son of John and the brother of Simon Peter. In the Scriptures we read that Saint Andrew was a pious religious who was already a disciple of Saint John the Baptist. In the Gospel of Saint John 1 : 35-42, we read about the first encounter of St. Andrew with Jesus. St. Andrew was present with St. John the Baptist when Jesus passed by them and on seeing Jesus St. John the Baptist proclaimed “Behold the Lamb of God.”St. Andrew accompanied by another disciple, followed Jesus and knowing that they were following Him, Jesus turned and asked them “What are you looking for?” and when they asked Jesus “Rabbi where are you staying?” Jesus replied “Come and see”. Saint Andrew was thus the first of the apostles to have been drawn by His grace and he along-with the other disciple followed Jesus to where he was staying and spent time with Him. Following this encounter, Saint Andrew went and found his brother Simon Peter and proclaimed "We have found the Messiah". He then brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, he said "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas." In the Gospel of St. Mark 1:16-18 we read about the calling of St.Peter and St.Andrew "As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people. And immediately they left their nets and followed him." Saint Andrew appears in several instances in the Gospel, when Jesus healed the mother-in-law of St. Peter, again it was St. Andrew who brought the five loaves and two fishes to Jesus, in faith, so that he could feed the multitudes gathered there.

Tradition:

After the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, according to several accounts by scholars, St. Andrew is believed to have preached the Gospel in Scythia, Sogdiana, Colchis, Epirus, Pontus, Greece and Poland. He attained his glorious martyrdom on an X shaped cross at Patr in Achai. According to Saint Peter Damian, when he saw his cross at a distance, he is said to have cried out “Hail precious cross, that hast been consecrated by the body of my Lord, and adorned with his limbs as with rich jewels. I come to thee exulting and glad; receive me with joy into thy arms. O good cross, that hast received beauty from our Lord’s limbs: I have ardently loved thee; long have I desired and sought thee: now thou art found by me, and art made ready for my longing soul: receive me into thy arms, taking me from among men, and present me to my Master, that He who redeemed me on thee, may receive me by thee.” Saint Bernard also gives an account of his last moments saying “when he saw at a distance the cross prepared for him, his countenance did not change, nor did his blood freeze in his veins, nor did his hair stand on end, nor did he lose his voice, nor did his body tremble, nor was his soul troubled, nor did his senses fail him, as it happened to human frailty: but the flame of charity which burned in his breast, cast forth sparks through his mouth.” He continued to preach the Gospel zealously from the cross till his last breath.

Relics:

The body of Saint Andrew was translated from Patr to Constantinople in 357 and kept in the Church of the Apostles which was built by Constantine the Great. When the city of Constantinople was taken by the French, Cardinal Peter of Capua brought the relics to Italy in 1210 and kept them in the Cathedral of Amalphi. The relics are today held in the Basilica of Saint Andrew in Patras, Greece; in Amalfi Cathedral (the Duomo di Sant'Andrea), Amalfi and in Sarzana Cathedral in Sarzana, Italy; St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland; and the Church of St Andrew and St Albert, Warsaw, Poland. There are also numerous smaller reliquaries throughout the world. The cross of St. Andrew was taken from Greece during the Crusades by the Duke of Burgundy. It was kept in the church of St. Victor in Marseilles until it returned to Patras on 19 January 1980. The cross of the apostle was presented to the Bishop of Patras Nicodemus by a Catholic delegation led by Cardinal Roger 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 was martyred, have been kept in the Church of St. Andrew at Patras in a special shrine and are revered in a special ceremony every year on his feast day.