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Saint Andrew the Apostle
Image: Peter Paul Rubens · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Saint Andrew the Apostle

The Bethsaida fisherman, brother of Peter and one of the first disciples called

Rank
Saint
Kind
Apostle, Martyr
Life
d. ~60
Era
1st century
Feast
30 November
Countries
Israel, Greece
IsraelGreece

Life story

Andrew was born in Bethsaida in Galilee and worked as a fisherman with his brother Simon, later called Peter. John's Gospel says he had first been a disciple of John the Baptist, then followed Jesus and brought his brother to meet him. For this reason Greek tradition calls him Protokletos, meaning the first called.

The Gospels mention him in a few specific scenes: he is the one who points out a boy with five loaves and two fish before the multiplication of the loaves, and together with Philip he brings some Greeks to see Jesus. After the events of the Resurrection, the New Testament says almost nothing more about his life, so details of his missionary work rest on later tradition.

According to old traditions he preached in the lands around the Black Sea and in Greece, and was martyred at Patras in the Peloponnese, said to have been on a cross shaped like an X, though that detail appears only in much later sources. The Church of Constantinople traditionally regards him as its founding apostle. His relics are said to have been moved to several places, and today he is honoured especially at Patras. His name is Greek rather than Hebrew, which fits the mixed Jewish and Greek-speaking world of Galilee where he grew up. The Church honours him on 30 November, and he is counted among the Twelve in every list in the Gospels.

Works and witness

  • Fisherman of Bethsaida, earlier a disciple of John the Baptist
  • Brought his brother Peter to Jesus, according to John's Gospel
  • According to tradition, preached around the Black Sea and in Greece
  • According to tradition, martyred at Patras in Greece
  • Honoured by the Church of Constantinople as its apostolic founder

Patron of

Scotland, Romania

Saints from the same country

Saint Peter, Saint James the Greater, Saint John the Apostle, Saint Thomas the Apostle

References

  • Tân Ước: Tin Mừng Gioan, Matthêu, Marcô (New Testament: Gospels)
  • Eusebius, Church History
  • Martyrologium Romanum

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.