Saint Andrew, the brother of Saint Peter, was a
native of the town of Bethsaida in Galilee, and a
fisherman by profession. Being first a disciple of St.
John the Baptist, he later joined Jesus, and also
brought to Him his brother Simon, with whom he
became a member of the Apostolic College. After the
dispersion of the Apostles, St. Andrew preached the
Gospel in Scythia, as we learn from Origen; and, as
Sophronius says, also in Sogdiana and Colchis.
According to Theodoret, St. Gregory Nazianzen
and St. Jerome, he also labored in Greece. It is even
believed that he carried the Gospel as far as Russia
and Poland, and that he preached at Byzantium. He
suffered martyrdom at Patras in Achaia, and,
according to ancient authorities, by crucifixion. At the
sight of the cross he is said to have joyfully greeted
the instrument of his death. It is the common opinion
that the cross on which he expired was made in the
form of an X. The body of the saint was taken to
Constantinople in 357 and deposited in the church of
the Apostles, built by Constantine the Great. In 1270,
when the city fell into the hands of the Latins, the
relics were transported to Italy and deposited in the
Cathedral of Amalfi.
PRAYER: We humbly entreat Thy majesty, O Lord, that
as the Blessed Apostle Andrew was once a teacher and
ruler of Thy Church, so he may be our constant intercessor
before Thee. Amen.
Lives of the Saints, pgs. 469-470