Andrew the Apostle Out of the Shadows

Collect for Saint Andrew (BCP)

Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed

the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him:

Give unto us, who are called by your Word, grace to follow him without delay,

and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

s Saint Andrew the Apostle, the Apostle in the Shadows? This profile will answer this question and the show how the influence of John the Baptist is what makes him special above all the other Apostles. As with all our other profiles we have tried to present the Apostles not only as great teachers and makers of miracles, but also give you a glimpse into their humanity. These men who spread the “good news” of Jesus Christ were men of passion, tempers, and imperfections.

When we fail to look at these early church fathers in their human light, we tend also to forget the humanity of Jesus as well. John Dominic Crossman in his great opus of 1992, The Historical Jesus followed by his equally historic book Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, strips away centuries of imagery built on the foundations of everything from great renaissance paintings to the magnificent sacred music of composers from Bach, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Mozart and countless more. All of this artistic grandeur, including the monumental houses in which we worship Jesus Christ built over the last two millennia, can place these men far way from our own imperfect humanity, however, it is our imperfect humanity that all of them are trying to help. It is hoped that these humanistic articles and the many reference links to other sources will give you spiritual food to enhance your Christian faith.

The profile of Andrew, the man and Apostle, the first of the twelve to be called by Jesus, is not apparent. In canonical scripture Andrew seems to be almost a shadow or the near silent one among the original twelve. Despite this, Andrew is at the all the principal events in Christ’s life and ministry including joining the fleeing Apostles during the crucifixion. During the three year ministry of Jesus he rarely seems intimately involved. He certainly does not engender the turbulent relationship that existed between Jesus and Peter, Andrew’s brother.

Being Peter’s (left icon Peter and Andrew) brother, the superstar apostle, may account for his reticence. Peter truly dominates the twelve apostles in both personality and leadership. As Jesus said, he is the “rock upon which I will build my church.” From his rare incursions in Scripture, you get a sense that Andrew was a man who kept his opinions and his views to himself when among Christ and the twelve. However, when his voice was needed it was indeed heard. Andrew was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. (John 1: 40) “It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.”

This event was early in Christ’s ministry. From this point forward Andrew rarely steps to the forefront. The question we need to ask is why does Andrew not seem to part of the inner circle? The answer to that is that his principal teacher was John the Baptist. He is the only Apostle so identified directly with him in scripture except for some indication in John that others were also taught by the Baptist. That will become apparent, not in canonical scripture, but in The Acts of Andrew and other ancient apocryphal Christian texts. There we see an entirely different man, a blunt man, who let his voice be heard and a man who was a passionate believer with a strict, albeit inflexible, moral code. These texts show a man who does not always forgive. Why then did this Apostle strike such a harmonic tone with so many early Christians and their ancestors who today still venerate him?

The name "Andrew" is Greek (Andreia), means manhood or valor and was common among Jews from the third century B.C. Andrew was born in Bethsaida (Bethesda) of Galilee and was the older brother of Simon Peter. Most paintings and icons today show him as a white bearded old man leaning on his characteristic saltire or x shaped cross. Both Peter and Andrew were fishermen and lived in the same house at Capernaum. He was probably about the same age as Jesus. We can draw from the calling of the Apostles that Jesus was probably personally familiar with many of them prior to his three year ministry.

First, what do we know about John the Baptist? (Left: John in the Wilderness, Jacabo Del Sellaio 1441) He is the “precursor” in Christianity, and Islam and a prophet in Judaism. According to Roman Jewish historian Josephus, he was a political rabble-rouser and had upset the Judean governing leadership and their Roman masters. According to the Evangelist Luke, he was a cousin to Jesus. Josephus has John’s famous martyrdom under Herod Antipas over a single incident involving a marriage contract gone wrong and the resulting destruction of Herod’s army. Deflating Josephus with his pro-Roman sympathies, scripture says “Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.” (Matthew 14:5)

Stripping away Josephus’ pro Roman prejudices one can look behind his text that he believed that John may have been part of the war between Artes and Herod just prior to John’s execution. “So Aretas made this the first occasion of his enmity between him and Herod, who had also some quarrel with him about their limits at the country of Gamalitis. So they raised armies on both sides, and prepared for war, and sent their generals to fight instead of themselves; and when they had joined battle, all Herod's army was destroyed by the treachery of some [possibly John and possibly Barabbas] fugitives, who, though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joined with Aretas's army. “

Because Herod was a vassal king of Rome, according to Josephus, this defeat was reported to Tiberius, which made this a struggle both between locals and their Roman masters. This is in opposition to the personal attitude of Herod Antipas, recorded in the Gospels and Josephus, who respected John, his teaching and his place the community, but was tricked in killing John by his beautiful daughter Salome. Whether John was part of anti-Roman political life of his time can only be inferred by looking at his aggressive style of teaching and speaking.

According to Josephus, (left) (Antiquities of Jews: Book XVIII: Chapter 5) “Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God…. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod and a mark of God's displeasure to him.”

John the Baptist, Cousin of Jesus, the great “precursor” of the Messiah, political rebel, revered in every Abrahamic faith as the “last of the Prophets,” always strikes us as a blunt person who made up own mind about who and what God is all about. Saint Andrew, having this influence, reflects the Baptist’s idea about God and salvation. This will become apparent in the discussion of the Acts of Andrew. If Andrew was more comfortable with the teaching of John the Baptist, this could have made him somewhat an outsider among Jesus and the twelve.

The Baptist, confrontational, possible political rebel, unforgiving of sin, and Andrew’s teacher and mentor may have been more influential in the Apostle Andrew’s personality and teachings. Being the apostle so mentioned in the Gospels as being mentored and taught by (John 1: 35-40) “The next day John (the Baptist) again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.” Because he had a different spiritual upbringing he became uncomfortable or reticent in the presence of the Jesus and the other Apostles, most of whom were taught by Jesus. [1]

That opens a whole new possibility of exploring the teachings of John the Baptist through an exegetical analysis of the Acts of Andrew. Direct records of John’s teachings are lost. In fact, it is a good possibility that John was only marginally literate. If as Scripture says, Andrew was mentored by John the Baptist, the description above portrays John as a man who was anything but reticent. Since we have no surviving writings of the Baptist, the Acts of Andrew and passages in canonical scripture may be the only hint of John’s more political teachings and how they might differ from the teachings of Jesus. Interest in John the Baptist today has new meaning as many are elevating his position in the faiths of Abraham.

Before we move to the Acts of Andrew we need to analyze the “calling.” The casual tone of the calling, “Follow Me,” can certainly lead one to conclude that at least Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James and John were familiar with one another. We will make a case for personal familiarity by using Biblical scholar and author John

Dominic Crossman’s[2] charge to “strip away the layers” in the Biblical text and principally in the Acts of Andrew.” Because of the casual tone to the calling it is possible that Jesus had set up the event with them prior to that moment in scripture. It is almost as if, he told them prior to the event that he would be by next Thursday at the Sea of Galilee to begin our ministry and that he expected them to follow him. At least Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James and John might have been taught together in the local synagogue. Others have speculated the same. For example, American author Anne Rice speculates that familiarity in her novel based on the Infancy Gospels of Jesus, Christ the Lord Out of Egypt. Synagogues in Jesus’ time were more like town hall meeting rooms and not as they are today with elaborate liturgies. The veneration of the scroll happened only at the great Temple in Jerusalem and archaeologists have yet to discover the remains of a first century synagogue because of their great simplicity.

Christ calling of Andrew, and almost immediately followed by Peter, James and John, is a new event. There is a dramatic jump from Matthew 4:17, “Repent the Kingdom of Heaven is now near” to the soft-toned invitation to join him. One can only draw, despite the text not being specific, that the calling happened later.

“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”(Matthew 4:18). The point of this short exegetical discourse is to demonstrate that we can draw several assumptions by the use of stripping away the layers:

What stands out in all the “callings” is that only Peter, James, John, Andrew and Matthew are mentioned in the Gospels. See the Table at the end of the article of the order of their “callings.”

There are few moments where Andrew speaks in canonical scripture. The first words from Andrew are his important recognition as Jesus as the Messiah quoted above. Secondly is his introduction to Jesus of the boy with the fishes and the loaves. “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people? ”Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.” (John 6: 9-12)

Thirdly and most important is the moment when Andrew, as well as Peter, James and John, introduce one of the passionate discourses of Jesus on the Mount of Olives. “When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. “(Mark 3:18) Which Apostle said those introductory remarks is not specified, however, we can assume that it was not some sort of Greek chorus routine in which they all spoke at once.

In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the story of the ministries of the Apostles, Andrew is only mentioned in a listing of them. The writer of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, both written about 90c.e. did not include any of Andrew’s ministries. Considering the extensive world-wide ministries and many miracles attributed to Saint Andrew, his veneration by so many countries must come from other sources.

Church historian Eusebius quotes Origen as saying Andrew preached in Asia Minor and in Scythia, along the Black Sea as far as the Volga. He is named as the first Bishop of Byzantium in 38c.e., a position which would later become Patriarch of Constantinople. These events and others in Andrew’s life most likely did not reach the writer of the Gospel of St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. That may be sole reason for not including any specific mention of Andrew in the Acts of the Apostles.

The only written account of Saint Andrew’s ministry comes from the Acts of Andrew. It is here where a human personality emerges and why, when compared to the fiery rhetoric of John the Baptist, we can see similarities between the two men.

Called “Apostolic Romances” by M.R. James, their principal translator, there were literally dozens of Acts, of the various apostles written between 200 and 260c.e. Some are considered important accounts of events, while others are not. For example, John Dominic Crossman in his book Excavating Jesus (written with archaeologist Jonathan Reed) sites the Acts of Peter as an important discovery because of its accounts of Jesus and the early Church.

In these highly imaginative creative history works accuracy was not always their main purpose, evangelizing and promoting the new Christian faith was. For example, there is the Acts of Peter originally composed in Greece during the second half of the 2nd century, probably in Asia Minor and possibly based on an earlier work, the Acts of John. Some scholars attribute the Acts of Peter, John, Andrew, Paul and Thomas to be written by one Leucius Charinus, who is identified as a disciple of Saint John Evangelist. Like the Acts of Andrew they all often read like a good thriller. (Left Andrew Refusing to Worship Idols,)

The canonical Gospels also have their own degree of “creative history.” For example, many scholars today say that the writer of Matthew tried to line up his nativity story with that of Moses and some even speculate the nativity story of the Emperor Augustus.[3] All of those individual Acts filled a need by the followers of the early Church to bolster the miraculous image of Jesus, which was often in conflict with the Gnostic vision of Jesus as one who brings wisdom.

The “Apostolic Romances” the places of the Apostle’s ministries and the miracles performed there, and finally a description of the Apostle’s death. A portion of the Acts of Andrew, in which Matthew/Matthias is portrayed as a captive in a country of cannibals and is rescued by Andrew and Jesus, sometimes exists as a separate work, known by the name of the Acts of Andrew and Matthias.

Eusebius was aware of the Acts of Andrew and branded it as heresy, mistakenly thinking it was a Gnostic work. The Acts of Andrew emphasize his ministries, miracles, and more important, his martyrdom. Subjects such as martyrdom are uncharacteristic in Christian Gnostic writings. Most of the Gnostic Gospels such as Thomas and Phillip are saying Gospels because Gnostic Christians believed that knowledge and wisdom is their path to salvation. We are excavating new exegetical ground in stripping away the layers of the Acts of Andrew to discover not only what this man was like but how his teaching might also bear a reflection of the teachings of John the Baptist.

There are no ancient records of the length of this book, as we had in the cases of the Acts of John, Paul, and Peter, however, we do have a few relics of the original. Acts of Andrew was written between 159c.e. and 222c.e. M.R. James, a scholar who translated many of the apocryphal texts (including Andrew) dates these Acts as late as 260c.e. There is a kind of abstract of the whole thing, written in Latin by Gregory of Tours in the 6^th century. It is from this and M.R. James’s more complete version we will draw out the details of Andrew’s ministry and how it reflects his teacher and mentor John the Baptist. His martyrdom, all part of the original, has often been presented as a separate text. Clicking on the link above will take you to complete extant text of the Acts of Andrew. Some early theologians have called the Acts of Andrew "serene" in nature. That can only be explained by their affectionate view of the meaning of crucifixion. The Acts of Andrew seem far way from "serene" in the modern sense, but full and conflict and aggressive against his world during his time.

In this profile we will present only highlights of the Acts of Andrew; however, we will include the martyrdom as part of this article. We do learn from Gregory of Tours’ introduction of the Acts of Andrew that his source document was quite long. Length is not unusual for Apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels because they were written late and the writers are often trying to justify themselves before the early Church leaders. The Gospel of Barnabas discovered buried with this later Apostle is the longest Gospel ever written and is canonical writings for Islam. At the end of this cover article are links to other information on Andrew including the Acts of Andrew.

Despite being declared heresy early in the Church, Gregory of Tours[4] was obviously delighted in finding the Acts of Andrew and it is his introduction that will begin the story of Andrew’s ministry.

Where He Preached: Andrew preached in Greece, Asia Minor and in Scythia, (modern Southern Russia, Georgia and Romania) along the Black Sea as far as the Volga. Hence he became a patron saint of Romania and Russia. We will deal with his various national patronages, including Scotland in a separate article that you access from our table of links.

The First Miracle: “Andrew left Mermidona (modern day Greece) and came back to his own allotted district. Walking with his disciples he met a blind man who said: 'Andrew, apostle of Christ, I know you can restore my sight, but I do not wish for that: only bid those with you to give me enough money to clothe and feed myself decently.' Andrew said: 'This is the devil's voice, who will not allow the man to recover his sight.' He touched his eyes and healed him. Then, as be had but a vile rough garment, Andrew said: 'Take the filthy garment off him and clothe him afresh.' All were ready to strip themselves, and Andrew said: 'Let him have what will suffice him.' He returned home thankful.” This first text in the Acts of Andrew portrays a very different man from the quiet withdrawn Apostle of Scripture. He is assertive and even somewhat angry that the man is blind.

The anger parallel from John the Baptist is his famous line at a Baptism in Matthew 3, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” It is rare indeed when Jesus vents his anger when performing miracles. (left Traditional Greek Orthodox Icon of Andrew)

THE REPRIMANDS AND THE RESULTS: Andrew had a strict moral and ethical code. They are demonstrated in several places in the Acts of Andrew. Again, we see the Apostle in anger in this story of the incestuous mother, a characteristic that certainly reflects more of John the Baptist than the forgiving Jesus. “A Christian lad named Sostratus came to Andrew privately and told him: 'My mother cherishes a guilty passion for me: I have repulsed her, and she has gone to the proconsul to throw the guilt on me Andrew said: 'Unhappy woman, that dost not fear to cast thine own guilt on thy son.” Unfortunately, the Roman/Greek authority did not rebuke the woman and killed the boy in a parricide bag and jailed Andrew until great earthquake came and the proconsul begged for mercy while the incestuous mother “withered and died.”

Another reprimand does not quite have such fatal results, but it is equally startling and seems far from the way Christ taught. The story is of a man who came to him and begged Andrew for salvation from his “loose life.” It seems he had gotten his now wife pregnant before the marriage was legal. Andrew caused the woman to abort the child and then sat with husband and wife and forgave them while he broke bread with them. Reading this with 21^st century societal norms, this would seem harsh and inflexible. Does it reflect the Baptist more than Jesus…more than likely? You can extend that even further by noting the Acts of Andrew have very few mentions of Jesus or Christ.

There are numerous other incidents in the Acts of Andrew falling into the reprimand category. This image of Andrew is almost bewilderingly different from the Gospel accounts. He is almost always unforgiving, even to those who come to him for help in finding salvation. This includes two brothers wanting to break Jewish law and have their sons marry their sisters.

HIS BATTLES AND DEMONS: Andrew has several battles. The first is at Nicaea, “He thanked God and commanded the demons to appear; they came in the form of dogs. Said he: 'These are your enemies: if you profess your belief that I can drive them out in Jesus' name, I will do so.' They cried out: 'We believe that Jesus Christ whom thou preached is the Son of God.' Then he bade the demons go into dry and barren places and hurt no man till the last day. They roared and vanished.”

Who exactly are those demons? Being literal is perhaps difficult to accept. Perhaps, these demons were bandits or Roman soldiers holding town hostages. The latter is more likely because Roman soldiers wore wolf heads as part of their uniforms in honor of Romulus and Remus, who were the legendary founders of Rome who had been raised by wolves. In addition, Andrew later on vanquishes a troop of soldiers by invoking the appearance of an avenging angel. The whole tone of this writing is of a man who is deliberate, passionate about his belief, and not always a man of peaceful action. This seems to reflect John the Baptist more than Jesus. As previously stated John the Baptist may have been part of community that was stirring up trouble for Herod and his Roman masters. There were Jewish Wars⁸ prior to and in the first two hundreds of year since the birth of Christ. John's involvement, if any, was the continuing skirmishes from Augustus' war in 6c.e.

RAISING THE DEAD AND THE DOG DEMONS COME BACK: Andrew raises the dead. “At the gate of Nicomedia he met a dead man borne on a bier, and his old father supported by slaves, hardly able to walk, and his old mother with hair torn, bewailing. 'How has it happened ?' he asked. 'He was alone in his chamber and seven dogs rushed on him and killed him.' Andrew sighed and said: 'This is an ambush of the demons I banished from Nicaea. What will you do, father, if I restore your son ?' 'I have nothing more precious than him, I will give him.' He prayed: 'Let the spirit of this lad return.' The faithful responded, 'Amen'. Andrew bade the lad rise, and he rose, and all cried: 'Great is the God of Andrew.' The parents offered great gifts which he refused, but took the lad to Macedonia, instructing him.”

Here again, we are startled by Andrew’s action. The text is so matter-a-fact about the taking of the newly reborn boy. Perhaps this text is a result of Gregory of Tours’ work, but it still remains a puzzle. Andrew refuses other gifts, certainly a Christ-like teaching, and yet takes the boy for instruction. The only answer is that he did not trust these parents to raise this boy properly. This kind of act is found nowhere among the ministries of the other Apostles.

Andrew took Jesus’ charge to evangelize to the widest audience he could find, often stirring up trouble for himself and the people he converted. The greatest moment of his ministry is his own martyrdom. It was here that the reticent or shadow like figure in the Gospels is completely shattered. As in John the Baptist’s death, who taunted Herod and his wife and daughter Salome until the end, Andrew also confronts his executioner with strength and courage causing great consternation among the Greeks who were ruled by the all-powerful Roman thumb.

Before detailing the martyrdom, a second apocryphal work, the Acts of Peter and Andrew is worth mentioning. This very short work once again reveals a reticent Andrew in the shadow of Peter. “When Andrew left the city of the man-eaters, a cloud of light took him up and carried him to the mountain where Peter and Matthias and Alexander and Rufus were sitting. And Peter said: Have you prospered? Yes, he said, but they did me much hurt. Come then, said Peter, and rest awhile from your labors.” The work gives us a different side of Andrew’s life. He worked and made money despite having great difficulties in this work. It is in great contrast to the Andrew of the Acts of Andrew.

The second reference to Andrew is most bewildering because it shows he was really intimidated by his brother Peter. “Peter took off his cloak and garment and said: It is no time for us to be idle, especially as the old man is working for us; and he took the plough and began to sow. Andrew protested and took it from him and sowed, and blessed the seed as he sowed.” Again, this is a sharp contrast to the forthright and aggressive man in the Acts of Andrew. The question to ask is, will the real Andrew please stand up?

The real Andrew is both of these men. Andrew adjusts to the environment in which he finds himself. Within the twelve he is quiet and reserved; on his own a man of drive and passion. Perhaps in his young life, Peter ran the show in their family and somehow Andrew felt intimidated. You can almost sense that when Andrew went to Peter to tell him he had found the Messiah, the tone of Scripture is breathless and a little subservient.

For a look at the early life of these two men one can now visit one of the possible archaeological sites of Christ and the Apostles, the “House of Peter and Andrew” at Bethsaidia (Bethesda). The excavation of the house began with The Franciscans in 1968 and was completed in 1985. There are five layers or strata over the original house, the top layer being a fifth century Byzantium Church. The bottom layer is a house built just prior to the first century. The house shows signs of veneration as early as the second century and is one of few sources of first century Christian graffiti, some of it not so pious. The house was owned by Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29). Today it’s one of great sites of Christian Veneration.[5]

Unlike Jesus, Peter his brother, Paul and James the brother of Jesus, Andrew did not go quietly to his death. This very act was his tribute to his teacher and mentor John the Baptist because the he taunted Herod, his wife Herodias, and his daughter Salome till the end. No one was going to break John’s faith and likewise no one was going to break Andrew’s who evangelized to the end.

The Martyrdom section of the Acts of Andrew comes from several sources including several Greek and Latin Sources. Gregory of Tours took his from a second century fragmentary text. For the martyrdom we are using the 1924 translation of M.R. James. In James’ introduction he states that his Acts of Andrew is a “mosaic of all of those sources.”

Andrew was arrested by the Roman proconsul Aegeates of Patrae in Greece. The death of Andrew is most dramatic because it aroused the ire of the citizens of Patrae. “Now the report was noised throughout all Patrae that the stranger, the righteous man, the servant of Christ whom Aegeates held prisoner, was being crucified, having done nothing amiss: and they ran together with one accord unto the sight, being wroth with the proconsul because of his impious judgment.” Andrew was crucified on an X shaped saltire cross on the beach of the Adriatic Sea. Today Saint Andrew’s Cathedral marks the spot and contains some of the relics of Saint Andrew. . .relics which were returned from the Vatican by Pope Paul VI.

Andrew’s Crucifixion was marked by repeated efforts of the citizens of Patrae (Called Patras Today) to have him released and taken off the cross. One man Stratocles, even severely maimed and beat the team of executioners that Aegeates had sent to carry out the grim task. Stratocles went back to the proconsul and demanded that Andrew be freed. However, Andrew sensed that this had raised the ire of the proconsul and he chastised Stratocles to cease these efforts to free him. The reason he gives is right out of the revolutionary teachings of the Baptist

The fatal game went on for three days during which Saint Andrew continued to preach while hanging from the cross. Like the Baptist this preaching was his taunting of his adversaries. Crucifixion is a slow death and it is believed that Andrew was only tied to cross and not nailed. From the cross he gave one of most moving discourses in all of Christianity, inspired more from the Baptist than from the Good News of Jesus Christ.[6]

After three days Andrew died. Once again, the writer of the Acts of Andrew has performed a little creative history. The symbolism of three days is obvious. Christ rose on the third day; Andrew went to Christ on the third day. His great sermon “Hail O’ Cross” is not the sermon of a reticent figure who we see in scripture, but a passionate thoroughly committed Christian making sure that the word of God will not be forgotten. Looking at the image above of Domenico di Rossi's massive 16th century sculpture of Saint Andrew in the Vatican you can see the artist saw Andrew as a symbol of outspoken spiritual power. Andrew sees the cross as an all encompassing power that can change the world and drive out evil. As Christians, we can take a part of Andrew to our hearts and contribute to making our world a better place. We can use our Christianity, not to chastise others, but to change their hearts and minds toward good. Living this way, when we are called to Christ and the all the Apostles, we will stand humbled before them knowing we tried to make God’s creation better.[7]

First Group

Second Group

Third Group

Andrew
Simon Peter . . . . .
James and John Sons of Zebedee,

Philip

Bartholomew

Jude

Thomas,

Matthew .

James the Less, Brother of our Lord,

Simon The Zealot.

Judas Iscariot

The Table of Links for Further Study on Saint Andrew the Apostle.

The Scripture Readings for the Feast of Saint Andrew, November 30	The Life of Andrew from the Golden Legends.
The Acts of Andrew	Andrew an Evangelicals' Study Guide
The Veneration of Andrew	Amazon.com Listing of over 3000 books on Andrew
Andrew and Orthodoxy	Recommended Reading: Acts of Andrew by Dennis R. Mac Donald. Barnes and Noble

Click to Return to All Saint's Home Page.

[1] Andrew was also named as “first Apostle of John the Baptist”, the identity of other disciple of John mentioned is not known but most likely also followed Jesus.

[2] Excavating Jesus, The Historical Jesus, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography are books that use layering as analytical technique to establish their premise. Photo Harper Collins San Francisco.

[3] The alleged virgin Birth of Augustus was heralded by the serpent god of healing, Aescepulus, visiting his mother Attia and leaving its image on her stomach when he impregnated her. Gaius Octavianus Julius Caesar Augustus was born 23 September 63b.c.e.

[4] The table at the end of this article has the full extant text of the Acts of Andrew and not Gregory of Tours’s version.

[5] Excavating Jesus by John Dominic Cross and Jonathan Freed. 2001

[6] The author has removed some of M.R. James notes and stilted language to Hail to Cross to make it more readable.

[7] The Webmaster would like to acknowledge the contributions of Fr. Kenneth Schmidt, Rector, and Fr. Sean Burke, Pastoral Associate and New Testament Instructor at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA. Both kept me honest in my speculations concerning Saint Andrew the Apostle.

[8]The Jewish Wars The Roman general Pompey subdued Judaea in 63 BCE (after which it became a client kingdom)
1. in 6 CE, the emperor Augustus deposed king Archelaus, and his governor of Syria, Quirinius, established the province of Judaea (which became a prefecture)
2. in 66, a serious rebellion started, which led to the destruction of the Temple (September 70); this war was described by Flavius Josephus in his Jewish War
which ended when the Romans took the Fortress Masada (in 74)
4. in 115, the Levantine Jews revolted against emperor Trajan
5. in 136 when the emperor Hadrian forbade circumcision, Simon bar Kochba started a Messianic war.