Andrew the Apostle
By: Anthony Lombardi
Date: January 8, 2019
Updated January 9, 2020
Updated January 9, 2020
Full name: Andrew, son of Jonas
Duration of life: d. November 30, 60 CE
Nationality: Roman citizen, Galilean
Trade: Fisherman, preacher
Achievement/Reputation: Apostle of Jesus Christ, Christian martyr, founder of the Church of Constantinople
Birth and Early Life
The early life of Andrew is shrouded in mystery. It is mostly based off verses in the Bible. He was born in Bethsaida, a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near the eastern limit of the Roman Empire, currently just as mysterious as the person of Andrew. He was the son of a certain Jonas and the brother of Simon, the future apostle Peter.
There are some verses that hint that Andrew may have been educated in Greek even though the common language of that area was Aramaic. The name Andrew is also of Hellenic origin. Greek was at the time one of the main languages of the Roman Empire and was very present in everyday life. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, this name was common among the Jewish community at the time.
The two brothers worked in the fishing industry until Jesus Christ came to them. They must have moved eventually to Capharnaum since the Gospel according to Mark bases them there.
Life
In time, Andrew started following the preacher known as John the Baptist. It was through this that he soon became acquainted with Jesus Christ and followed him since the preacher claimed that Christ was the Messiah. John the Evangelist claims that he was the first called of Christ's twelve apostles. His brother Simon also joined the apostles. This totally changed their lives and they abandoned their lifestyles based on fishing and began following Christ wherever he went.
Andrew played a big part in some of the key moments of Christ's life, such as the multiplication of the loaves in Galilee. He was among the four apostles who demanded a sign of the fall of the Temple of Jerusalem, which Christ had predicted. Another part where he is mentioned is also in Jerusalem when he served as an interpreter between a group of Greeks and Christ, also mentioned in the Gospel of John.
It is almost certain that Andrew would have encountered some of his fellow apostles as a few of them circulated in that same area. That could explain why John the Evangelist may have emphasized on Andrew's knowledge of Greek, since John wrote his Gospel in Ephesus.
The Patriarchate also claims that Andrew ordained Stachys as the first Bishop of Byzantium, thus making him the founder of the Church of Constantinople.
Death
In Patras or Patrae, according to tradition, Andrew encountered trouble. He stayed in the house of Sosias and cured him, converting the whole city. Among other people he cured there, were Maximilla and Stratocles, respectively the wife and brother of the Roman governor Aigeas. The latter, upset with the conversion, had him crucified on November 30, in the year 60.
Andrew insisted that his cross would be in an X shape. That is how he passed away. The Passion of Andrew, a 6th century story, is of this subject and on his last words. The fact that he died for his faith may have qualified him for sainthood in the Christian Church.
Legacy
In both the Roman and Greek Catholic Churches, Saint Andrew is remembered on the day of his death, November 30th. The Church he founded in Constantinople would technically go hand-in-hand with that of his brother Peter in Rome until they would separate in the Schism of 1054 due to political friction between Constantinople and Rome.
His relics were moved from Patras to Constantinople in 357 under order of the Roman emperor Constantius II. Following the capture of Constantinople by the French during the Crusades in 1208, Cardinal Peter of Capua had them transferred to Amafili, Italy. While most of them remain there, the head of Andrew was moved to Rome in the 15th Century, and returned to Patras by Pope Paul VI in 1964 as a good act towards the broken off Greek Christians whom he tried to reconcile with.
Andrew is remembered as the Apostle of the Greeks. He is also the patron saint of Scotland, as the X cross seen on the flag may be identified by some as the cross of Andrew. He is also one of the patron saints of Russia.
Sources
Books
Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version, Bible Society Resources Lmt, 2012.
Jésus et son temps. Translated by Anne Manago and Vincent Morris, The Reader's Digest Association, Pleasantville, 1987.
Laux, Fr. John. Introduction to the Bible. 1932. TAN Books, 1990.
Picture
St Andrew the Apostle Created by Master of Saint Francis. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.
quest.eb.com/search/135_
Web
"Andrew the Apostle, founder of the Church of Constantinople." The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130925042820/http://www.patriarchate.org:80/patriarchate/former-patriarchs/andrew-apostle. Accessed January 8, 2019.
Benedict XVI. "Andrew, the Protoclete." The Holy See, 2006. http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html. Accessed January 8, 2019.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Accessed January 8, 2019.
"St. Andrew." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 8 Jan. 2019<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01471a.htm>.
Pfister, Samuel. "Where is Biblical Bethsaida?" Bible History Daily, October 20, 2018. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/where-is-biblical-bethsaida/. Accessed January 8, 2019.
Birth and Early Life
The early life of Andrew is shrouded in mystery. It is mostly based off verses in the Bible. He was born in Bethsaida, a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near the eastern limit of the Roman Empire, currently just as mysterious as the person of Andrew. He was the son of a certain Jonas and the brother of Simon, the future apostle Peter.
There are some verses that hint that Andrew may have been educated in Greek even though the common language of that area was Aramaic. The name Andrew is also of Hellenic origin. Greek was at the time one of the main languages of the Roman Empire and was very present in everyday life. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, this name was common among the Jewish community at the time.
The two brothers worked in the fishing industry until Jesus Christ came to them. They must have moved eventually to Capharnaum since the Gospel according to Mark bases them there.
Life
In time, Andrew started following the preacher known as John the Baptist. It was through this that he soon became acquainted with Jesus Christ and followed him since the preacher claimed that Christ was the Messiah. John the Evangelist claims that he was the first called of Christ's twelve apostles. His brother Simon also joined the apostles. This totally changed their lives and they abandoned their lifestyles based on fishing and began following Christ wherever he went.
Andrew played a big part in some of the key moments of Christ's life, such as the multiplication of the loaves in Galilee. He was among the four apostles who demanded a sign of the fall of the Temple of Jerusalem, which Christ had predicted. Another part where he is mentioned is also in Jerusalem when he served as an interpreter between a group of Greeks and Christ, also mentioned in the Gospel of John.
Following the departure of Christ according to the Bible,
Andrew's life goes back into mystery. He is not mentioned in any of the other books of the Bible following the Gospels. However, Christian
traditions claims he ventured west of his native land, where he preached in "...Bithynia...the
Black Sea, the Propontis, Halcedon, Byzantium, Thrace, Macedonia, and the
places until Istro, to Thessaly, mainland Greece, and the Peloponnese; also, to
Aminsos, Trapzoun, Heraklia, and Amastris." (The Ecumenical Patriarchate
of Constantinople) The trip was not always easy and he was persecuted in
several places.
The Patriarchate also claims that Andrew ordained Stachys as the first Bishop of Byzantium, thus making him the founder of the Church of Constantinople.
Death
In Patras or Patrae, according to tradition, Andrew encountered trouble. He stayed in the house of Sosias and cured him, converting the whole city. Among other people he cured there, were Maximilla and Stratocles, respectively the wife and brother of the Roman governor Aigeas. The latter, upset with the conversion, had him crucified on November 30, in the year 60.
Andrew insisted that his cross would be in an X shape. That is how he passed away. The Passion of Andrew, a 6th century story, is of this subject and on his last words. The fact that he died for his faith may have qualified him for sainthood in the Christian Church.
Legacy
In both the Roman and Greek Catholic Churches, Saint Andrew is remembered on the day of his death, November 30th. The Church he founded in Constantinople would technically go hand-in-hand with that of his brother Peter in Rome until they would separate in the Schism of 1054 due to political friction between Constantinople and Rome.
His relics were moved from Patras to Constantinople in 357 under order of the Roman emperor Constantius II. Following the capture of Constantinople by the French during the Crusades in 1208, Cardinal Peter of Capua had them transferred to Amafili, Italy. While most of them remain there, the head of Andrew was moved to Rome in the 15th Century, and returned to Patras by Pope Paul VI in 1964 as a good act towards the broken off Greek Christians whom he tried to reconcile with.
Andrew is remembered as the Apostle of the Greeks. He is also the patron saint of Scotland, as the X cross seen on the flag may be identified by some as the cross of Andrew. He is also one of the patron saints of Russia.
Sources
Books
Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version, Bible Society Resources Lmt, 2012.
Jésus et son temps. Translated by Anne Manago and Vincent Morris, The Reader's Digest Association, Pleasantville, 1987.
Laux, Fr. John. Introduction to the Bible. 1932. TAN Books, 1990.
Picture
St Andrew the Apostle Created by Master of Saint Francis. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.
quest.eb.com/search/135_
Web
"Andrew the Apostle, founder of the Church of Constantinople." The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130925042820/http://www.patriarchate.org:80/patriarchate/former-patriarchs/andrew-apostle. Accessed January 8, 2019.
Benedict XVI. "Andrew, the Protoclete." The Holy See, 2006. http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html. Accessed January 8, 2019.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Accessed January 8, 2019.
"St. Andrew." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 8 Jan. 2019<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01471a.htm>.
Pfister, Samuel. "Where is Biblical Bethsaida?" Bible History Daily, October 20, 2018. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/where-is-biblical-bethsaida/. Accessed January 8, 2019.
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