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30 November is St Andrew’s day. He was the brother of St Peter, the first of Jesus’s disciples, and later an Apostle. This is the story …
The name Andrew
Andrew is the English form of the Greek Ἀνδρέας (Andreas). The short form is Andy or Drew. This name is found in various spellings across many languages and appears in forms such as Andrzej (Polish), André (French), Andreas (Greek), Andrés (Spanish), Anders (in Scandinavia), Ondřej (Czech) and András (Hungarian) and there were two medieval kings of Hungary called András. There is only one person called Andrew in the Bible.
Andrew in the Bible
Andrew is mentioned by name twice in Matthew, four times in Mark, once in Luke, six times in John, and once Acts. He was a fisherman who was first a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:40). When he recognised Jesus as the Messiah he became a disciple of Jesus. He is regarded as being the first to follow Jesus and the first to lead others to him.
Family
Andrew was quick to find his own brother Simon (later called Peter) to tell him that he had found the Messiah (John 1:41). Andrew and Peter were fishermen working on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18, Mark 1:16) probably as part of a family business. They were the sons of John (John 1:42) and originally came from Bethsaida (John 1:44). It is not known for sure whether Andrew was the older brother or the younger brother, but generally people have traditionally thought of Andrew as the older brother. The family lived at the port of Capernaum. Peter was married because we read that Jesus healed his mother-in-law (Matthew 8:13, Mark 1:29). Most likely Andrew was married, either then or later, because we read in 1 Corinthians 9:5, that St Paul wrote, “Don’t we have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles…?”
Andrew’s house
It seems that Jesus often stayed at Andrew and Peter’s house in Capernaum. Archaeological excavations in Capernaum uncovered a simple first-century house beneath a later Byzantine octagonal church, which was built over the house identified as the one where Peter and Andrew lived. The house is now the site of a Catholic church.
Apostle
Andrew and Peter were amongst the disciples who became apostles (Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14). In fact, Peter and Andrew are the first two apostles in the lists in Matthew and Luke.
Signs of the Times
After Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple (Mark 13:1-2), as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately (Mark 13:3-4), what the signs of the end times would be. Jesus then explained that there would be false christs, and many troubles, and “the gospel must first be published among all nations” (Mark 13:10).
Andrew at the feeding of the 5,000
In the well-known story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 at a desolate place near Bethsaida, it was Andrew who introduced Jesus to the boy with the five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:8).
Andrew at the entry into Jerusalem
After Jesus entered in Jerusalem (which is recalled on Palm Sunday), some Greeks were worshipping with the Jews at Jerusalem, they approached Philip and asked to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew who then told Jesus (John 12:20-22).
Andrew at Pentecost
Andrew is at the Last Supper and at Pentecost (Acts 1:13) and then disappears from the narrative. In such cases the gap is filled in by Early Church history and tradition.
Black Sea Missions
St Andrew is supposed to have been shipwrecked in Cyprus, maybe on the way to Byzantium (later called Constantinople and now called Istanbul) where he is reputed to have founded the bishopric which later became the Patriarchate of Constantinople. According to the Early Church historians, Origen and Eusebius writing in the third century, Andrew went to take the Gospel to Scythia, which was the area to the north of the Black Sea, which today includes the coastlines of Romania, the Ukraine, parts of Russia and Georgia.
Martyrdom
The generally accepted tradition is that Andrew was crucified by the Romans at Patras in Achaea (now in Greece) on November 30, in AD 60. The story is that he thought that he was unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus had been, as so he was crucified on an X-shaped cross instead, a shape now known as St Andrew’s cross, which gave rise to his flag.
Patron Saint
Andrew was never formally canonised as a saint, but he is generally called St Andrew, and generally regarded as a martyr. Because Andrew is seen as the apostolic founder of their Churches, St Andrew is patron saint of Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine. He is also the patron saint of fishermen and fishmongers, and of Scotland.
Scotland
St Andrew is patron saint of Scotland not because he founded the Church there, but because of a legend that his relics were brought to Fife. St Andrew’s Day has been celebrated in Scotland since the reign of Malcolm III in the eleventh century, promoted by his Christian wife Margaret of Wessex (now known as St Margaret of Scotland). Queen Margaret encouraged and helped pilgrimages to St Andrew’s shrine, by creating a ferry service across the Firth of Forth (at a place now called Queensferry) and building shelters for pilgrims and travellers, who wanted to visit St Andrew’s shrine. This helped to establish St Andrew as patron saint of Scotland. The place is now known as St Andrews, where the oldest university in Scotland was founded in 1413.
Churches dedicated to St Andrew
There are many Anglican and Catholic churches dedicated to St Andrew around the world, with about 800 in the Church of England alone including Wells Cathedral. Around the world, churches founded by Scottish settlers were often dedicated to St Andrew, such as St Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral in Singapore.
In England where Scottish communities formed their own Presbyterian churches these were often dedicated to St Andrew. The Presbyterian Church of England combined with the Congregation Union in 1972 to form the United Reformed Church (URC) and as a result there are many St Andrew’s URC churches around England, where the dedication to St Andrew is a witness to their Scottish heritage.
St Andrew’s Day
St Andrew’s Day is observed on 30 November, the anniversary of his martyrdom in the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox traditions. St Andrew is the only one of the national patron saints of the United Kingdom who was a biblical figure. In 2006 the Scottish Parliament passed the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act, and as a result 30 November has been an official bank holiday in Scotland since 2007.
Collect
The Scottish Episcopalian collect prayer for St Andrew is: “Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son, Jesus Christ: give us, who are called by your holy Word, the grace to follow him without delay, and to be messengers of the good news of your kingdom; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.”
