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Read the story of Saint Andrew the Apostle

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Summary

Martyr. Celebrated on November 30th

Andrew (in Greek Ανδρέας), named, according to Orthodox traditionProtocletosor theFirst called. This can be deduced, in fact, from the gospel of John which, in addition to saying that Andrew is the first to follow Jesus, gives other details: «One of the two who had heard the words of John (the Baptist) and had followed him, was Andrew, brother of Simon Peter.

He met his brother Simon first, and said to him:"We have found the Messiah (which means the Christ)"and led him to Jesus. Jesus, fixing his gaze on him, said:"You are Simon, the son of John; your name will be Cephas (which means Peter)”. The next day Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee; he met Philip and said to him: “follow me”. Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. » (Jn 1,40-44)

Andrew was born, therefore, in Bethsaida in 6 BC but his name, like other Greek names, was almost certainly not the original name of this apostle since, in the Jewish or Jewish tradition, the name Andrew only appears starting from II-III century.

Andrea and his older brother Pietro were fishermen: «Passing along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon's brother, casting their nets into the sea; they were in fact fishermen. Jesus said to them:"Follow me, I will make you become fishers of men".And immediately, leaving their nets, they followed him.»(Mk 1,16-18)

In the gospels Andrew is indicated as being present on many important occasions as one of the closest disciples to Jesus:

«While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, in front of the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew questioned him apart..» (Mk 13.3);

«Then one of the disciples, Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, said to him:“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what is this for so many people?”». (Jn 6,8-9);

«Philip went to tell Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip went to tell Jesus.Jesus replied:"The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” »(Jn 12,22-23).

In the Acts of the Apostles, however, Andrew is mentioned marginally, like other apostles, after all: "Once they entered the city they went upstairs where they lived. There were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matteo, James of Alphaeus and Simon the Zeloth e Down from of James.”(Acts 1:13).

The historian Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 265-340) recalls, in his “Origins”, that Andrew preaches the Gospel in Asia Minor and southern Russia. Then, having moved to Greece, he leads the Christians of Patras. Here he suffered martyrdom by crucifixion on November 30, 60: hanging upside down with ropes, according to tradition, from an X-shaped cross; the one then said “cross of St. Andrew".

In 357 his remains were taken to Constantinople but the head, except for a fragment, remained in Patras. In 1206, during the occupation of Constantinople (Fourth Crusade), the papal legate Cardinal Capuano of Amalfi transferred those relics to Italy; in 1208 the people of Amalfi welcomed them solemnly in the crypt of their Cathedral.

When the Turks invaded Greece in 1460, the head of the Apostle was brought from Patras to Rome where it will be kept in St. Peter's for five centuries until Blessed Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini, 1963-1978), in 1964, had the relic returned to the Church of Patras of which St. Andrew is the patron saint.

All the other known relics attributed to St. Andrew are located in some fundamental points of his veneration: in the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Amalfi, in St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, and in the Church of St. Andrew and St. Albert in Warsaw, Poland. Another place where relics of the Saint are kept is theCicco Casinolocated in S. Apollinare (Frosinone).

St. Andrew is also Patron Saint in Scotland, Russia, Prussia, Romania, Greece, Amalfie in Luqa (Malta).

The feast of St. Andrew is remembered on 30 November in the churches of the East and West and is a national holiday in Scotland whose flag appears, moreover, "St. Andrew's cross".

Meaning of the name Andrea: "virile, vigorous" (Greek).

For further information, read the Catechesis of Pope Benedict XVI: Andrew, the Protoclitus
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source © Gospeloftheday.org

Called first by Jesus

“Abbiamo trovato il Messia”. Gioia incontenibile e appagante come quella di chi scopre di aver raggiunto la meta a lungo desiderata. Suonano così nel Vangelo di Giovanni le parole di Andrea che di corsa raggiunge il fratello Simone per metterlo a parte dell’emozione di essere stato chiamato, “per primo”, da Gesù.

Fisherman from Bethsaida of Galilee, disciple of John the Baptist, Andrew recognizes the carpenter's son Joseph as "the lamb of God". The evangelist's story records the time of that meeting which, near the Jordan River, marked his existence forever: "it was around four in the afternoon".

He immediately left the nets and followed him

“Teacher, where do you live?”. Christ's response to the question of Andrew and one of his companions was not long in coming: "Come and see". An invitation which cannot be rejected and which prefigures the subsequent, more explicit call addressed by Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee also to Simon: "Follow me, I will make you fishers of men". The two are shaken, but have no hesitations and, as the evangelist Matthew tells us, "immediately, leaving their nets, they followed him".

From that first spiritually explosive meeting of glances, a journey of faith arises, a following of Christ in everyday life. Andrew is in fact one of the twelve whom the Son of God chooses as his closest friends. It must have been shocking to witness the multiplication of the loaves and fishes: in disbelief before the miracle, looking at the hungry crowd and the only five barley loaves and two fish available, he asked himself: "What is this for so many people?".

Patron saint in Romania, Ukraine and Russia

Gesù accresce ogni giorno di più la fede dell’apostolo quando, insieme a Pietro, Giacomo e Giovanni, lo conduce in disparte sul Monte degli Ulivi rispondendo loro alle domande sui segni degli ultimi tempi.

E’ noto che Andrea condusse al Messia alcuni greci desiderosi di conoscerlo, ma i Vangeli non rivelano altre notizie certe sul suo conto. Gli Atti degli Apostoli riferiscono che insieme agli altri compagni si diresse verso Gerusalemme dopo l’Ascensione.

The rest of the narrative of the saint's life is entrusted to non-canonical and apocryphal texts. “You will be a pillar of light in my Kingdom”, Jesus would have said to Andrew according to an ancient Coptic writing. Christian writers of the first centuries report that the apostle evangelized Asia Minor and the regions along the Black Sea reaching as far as the Volga; today he is in fact honored as a patron saint in Romania, Ukraine and Russia.

Martyr on the decussed cross

The preaching of the Good News continues tirelessly in Achaea and, around the year 60 in Patras, Andrew faces martyrdom: hanging from a cross which he wanted to be X-shaped, as if to evoke the Greek initial of the name of Christ, before uttering his last breath, according to the Golden Legend, he uttered these words: “Cross, sanctified by the body of Christ. Good cross, long desired, I have always loved you and wanted to hug you. Welcome me and take me to my master".