Town Of Origin: Bethsaida
Martyred
(Crucifixion)
(Tradition claims Andrew was crucified in the Greek city of Patras around 60 AD. It was reported that he was bound to an X shaped cross, which became a symbol known as Saint Andrew’s Cross. According to Acts of Andrew (an apocryphal text), he hung there for three days, preaching the entire time.)
Scriptures: John 1:35-40 John 1:41-42 John 12:20-22 Mark 13:3-4
The name "Andrew" (meaning manly or brave) like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Hellenized Jews of the second or third century B.C. onward. Andrew is thought to have been born between 5 and 10 AD in Bethsaida, in Galilee. He was the brother of Simon Peter, and like him, a son of Jonah.
Both he and his brother Peter were fishermen by trade and according to Mark 1:29, at the beginning of Jesus' public life, they occupied the same house at Capernaum.
In the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Mark Simon Peter and Andrew were both called together to become disciples of Jesus and "fishers of men". In the parallel incident in the Gospel of Luke Andrew is not named, nor is reference made to Simon having a brother. In this narrative, Jesus initially used a boat, solely described as being Simon's, as a platform for preaching to the multitudes on the shore and then as a means to achieving a huge trawl of fish on a night on which none had been previously caught. It is generally understood that Andrew was fishing with Simon on the night in question.
The Gospel of John states that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him, and another unnamed disciple of the Baptist, to follow Jesus. Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and hastened introduced him to his brother. The Byzantine Church honors him with the name Protokletos, which means "the first called".
Andrew is said to have been present on some important occasions as one of the disciples more closely attached to Jesus. He told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes, and when certain Greeks went to see Jesus, they came to Philip, but Philip then sought out Andrew. Andrew was present at the Last Supper and was one of the four disciples who came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives to ask about the signs of Jesus' return at the "end of the age"
Eusebius ( in Church History 3.1) quoted Origen (c. 185 – c. 253) as saying that Andrew preached in Scythia. The Chronicle of Nestor reports that he preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper river as far as Kiev, and from there he travelled to Novgorod. Hence, he became a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia.
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