The Apostle Andrew, Andrew the Brother of Simon Peter, Andrew the Protokletos
Saint Andrew is one of the four fisherman chosen and invested (ordained) by Jesus to be His disciples; his “fishers of men Mark 3:14 & Mark 1:16-20.” He is one of the twelve apostles also chosen by Jesus.
Note that the Greek word apostolos means messenger, envoy, or one commissioned by another to represent him in some way. The Latin translation of apostolos is missio, which is the Latin root of the English word missionary.
The Greek Origin of the Name Andrew
It is interesting that his name is Greek, Andrew (Greek: Andreas). Andrew means manly or brave. It is remarkable because no a similar name in Hebrew or Aramaic is recorded for him. This reflects the extent of the Hellenization which was left over from the conquests of Alexander the Great in 322 BC and the subsequent rule of Galilee by Alexander’s successors, the diadochi until they were expelled during the Maccabean Revolt (in 160 BC). Andrew, having been given a Greek name, shows the persistence of that Hellenization which was still present in of the region of Galilee at the time of Christ.
The Many Jews Who Were Looking Forward to God’s Promised Messiah
At the time Jesus began his ministry, many Hebrews in Judea were alert and watching expectantly for the imminent arrival of God’s promised Messiah, who was understood to be coming to rescue God’s people, the Jews. The arrival of this “promised one“ was prophesied repeatedly in various books of the Old Testament. The anticipation of this Messiah was a significant part of the glue that bound the Jewish sect of the Essenes together. The Essenes were the pious Jewish faction who had separated from the corrupt power elites of the Pharisees and the Sadducees who controlled the 2nd temple in Jerusalem. The Essenes copied and preserved the sacred Jewish texts in the sealed clay jars, known much later as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Prior to being called by Christ, Andrew and his associate the Apostle John, were watching for the Messiah, and they were following John the Baptist John 1:35-42.
Andrew and John, who was also soon the become an apostle of Christ, both witnessed, John the Baptist’s, baptism of Christ.
Andrew Ran to Tell His Brother Simon that He Has Seen and Met the Messiah
Andrew and his brother Simon (Peter) were clearly not just Galilean fishermen; they were actively anticipating and watching for the coming of God’s promised Messiah. When Christ called Andrew to follow Him, Andrew quickly went to tell his brother Simon that the Messiah had come and was Jesus of Nazareth. Soon Simon too had also been converted to being a “fisher of men.”
Andrew is the apostle who told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes, during the feeding of the 5,000John 6:8. Andrew was also one of the four disciples who came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives to ask Him about the signs which would herald the return of Jesus at the “end of the age.“
Several Years After Jesus’ Death, and Resurrection Andrew Began His Missionary Journeys
A few years after the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Andrew is said to have traveled north and preached in Scythia. In AD 38 Andrew founded the See of Byzantion, the city whose name Constantine the Great later changed to Constantinople. Andrew ordained and seated Stachys as its first the bishop of Byzantion. This diocese would later develop into the influential Patriarchate of Constantinople. Andrew has hence been recognized as the patron saint of Constantinople.
More of Saint Andrew’s Known Missionary Journeys
In Eusebius of Caesarea‘s book Church History which was written around AD 320, he quotes Origen of Alexandria‘s writing from AD 209 as saying Andrew traveled around Scythia, preaching Christ as he went.
The Chronicle of Nestor (complied in Kiev around AD 1113) adds that Andrew preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper River as far as the region of Kiev, and from there he traveled further north up to Novgorod. Hence, Andrew also became a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia.
According to Hippolytus of Rome, from around AD 170 to 235 Andrew also traveled and preached in Thrace (Northern Greece). Andrew’s presence in Byzantium is also mentioned in the anonymous and non-canonical text The Acts of Andrew (which was written in the 2nd century). Basil of Seleucia (AD 448) also tells of the Apostle Andrew’s mission in Thrace, as well as to Scythia and Achaia.
Andrew is Reported to Have Been Martyred by Crucifixion on an X-shaped Cross
Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at the city of Patras (Patræ) in Achaea, on the northern coast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula (of modern day Greece). Early texts, such as the Acts of Andrew, which was known to Bishop Gregory of Tours. Gregory mentions Andrew’s martyrdom in his History of the Franks written in AD 575, where Gregory describes Andrew’s crucifixion as his being bound, not nailed, to an X-shaped cross unlike the Latin cross on which Jesus was crucified.
Other ancient oral tradition also states that Andrew was crucified on a cross of the form called a crux decussata (an X-shaped cross, or “saltire“), now commonly known as a “Saint Andrew’s Cross.” This is said to have been done at Andrew’s own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross that Jesus had been crucified on. The familiar ancient iconography of his martyrdom also shows the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross.
Andrew’s Remains Were Later Transported to Scotland
In AD 345 Saint Regulus (Saint Rule) is said to have been told by an angel in a visionary dream that the Byzantine Emperor Constantius II had decided to remove Saint Andrew’s relics from the Greek town of Patras to Constantinople.
Regulus decided to move the saint’s relics out of Constantius’s reach. He is said to have taken them to “the far western end of the world” (that is, to Scotland) to keep them safe from the emperor. In Scotland he founded a church dedicated to St Andrew. Thus Andrew also became the patron saint of Scotland, and the national flag of Scotland is the Saltire (i.e., Saint Andrew’s Cross).
