Day of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (13/12)

On December 13 (new style), the Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called – one of the twelve apostles.

In Russia, the memory of St. Andrew the First-Called has always been revered very solemnly. Peter I also established in honor of the apostle the first and highest award of Russia –, the Imperial Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, which was given as a reward to the dignitaries of the state. Also, since the times of Peter the Great, the St. Andrew's flag became the official banner of the Russian fleet, and under its shadow, Russian sailors won many glorious victories.

The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was from Bethsaida of Galilee. He later lived in Capernaum, on the shores of Lake Gennesaret, with his brother Simon, fishing. From a young age, the Apostle Andrew was distinguished by his prayerful aspiration towards God. He did not marry, but became a student of the holy prophet John the Baptist, who announced the Incarnation. When Saint John the Baptist pointed the Jordan to the holy apostles Andrew and John the Theologian at Jesus Christ, calling Him the Lamb of God, they immediately followed the Lord. The Holy Apostle Andrew became the first disciple of Christ and was the first to confess Him as Savior (Messiah), bringing his elder brother Simon, the future Apostle Peter, to Christ.

After the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, which was also witnessed by the Holy Apostle Andrew, he returned to Jerusalem. Here, on Pentecost Day, along with other apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Apostle Andrew was filled with the Holy Spirit, as the Lord Himself predicted.

With the preaching of the Word of God, the Holy Apostle Andrew made several trips, during which he returned to Jerusalem three times. He went through Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, Scythia, the Black Sea region (according to the legend of the Georgian Church, the Apostle Andrew preached together with the Apostle Simon Kananit in Abkhazia, where the Apostle Simon suffered martyrdom). Up the Dnieper, Apostle Andrew rose to the location of the future Kyiv, where, as the Monk Nestor the Chronicler says, he erected a cross on the Kyiv mountains, addressing his disciples with the words: «Do you see these mountains? The grace of God will shine on these mountains, there will be a great city, and God will erect many churches». Moving further north, the Apostle Andrew reached the settlements of the Slavs on the site of the future Novgorod and hoisted his baton near the current village of Gruzino. From here, the Apostle Andrew went through the lands of the Varangians to Rome and returned to Thrace again. Here, in a small village of Byzantium (the future Constantinople), he founded the Christian Church, consecrating one of the seventy apostles of Christ — Stachy as bishop.

On his way, the Apostle Andrew endured many sorrows from the pagans. He was beaten and expelled from cities. But the Lord protected his chosen one and performed marvelous miracles through his prayers. The last city where the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called came, and where he suffered martyrdom in 62, was the city of Patras (Patras). Here, through the prayer of the apostle, the seriously ill Sosius, a noble citizen, recovered. Maximilla, the wife of the ruler of Patras and his brother the philosopher Stratoclius, was healed by the imposition of apostolic hands. This encouraged the inhabitants of the city to receive Holy Baptism from the Apostle Andrew, but the ruler of the city, Consul Egeat, remained an inveterate pagan. The Holy Apostle cried with love and humility to his soul, seeking to reveal to him the Christian secret of eternal life, the miraculous power of the Holy Cross of the Lord. An angry Aegeat ordered the crucifixion of the apostle. Saint Andrew the First-Called gladly accepted the ruler's decision and went to the place of execution. To prolong the torment of the apostle, Aegeath ordered that his hands and feet not be nailed to the cross, but that they be tied. According to legend, the cross on which the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was crucified had the shape of the letter «X» and was called «St. Andrew's cross».

For two days the apostle taught from the cross the townspeople gathered around him. The people who listened to him had compassion for him with all their souls and demanded that the holy apostle be removed from the cross. Frightened by popular outrage, Egeat ordered the execution to stop. But the holy apostle began to pray that the Lord would honor him with death on the cross. No matter how hard the soldiers tried to remove the Apostle Andrew, their hands did not obey them. The crucified apostle, giving praise to God, said: «Lord, Jesus Christ, accept my spirit». Then the bright radiance of Divine light sanctified the cross and the martyr crucified on it. When the glow disappeared, the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called had already betrayed his soul to the Lord. Maximilla, the ruler's wife, removed the apostle's body from the cross and buried it with honor. The martyrdom of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called followed around 62.

In 357, the relics of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called were solemnly transferred to Constantinople and laid in the Church of the Holy Apostles next to the relics of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke and the disciple of the Apostle Paul —, the Apostle Timothy. After the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders, in 1208 the relics of the Holy Apostle Andrew were transported to Italy and placed in the cathedral church in Amalfi. Under Pope Pius II (1458), the honest chapter of the Holy Apostle Andrew was moved to Rome and placed in the Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Peter.

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