St. Andrew
Feast Day: November 30th
Known For: Apostle
Patron: Fisherman, Russia, Greece, Scotland
St. Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist before being called to be an Apostle of Jesus. In the Eastern Church, he is known as the "protoclete" or "the first called." In Matthew's version of the calling of the disciples, Jesus would have called both Andrew and his brother, Simon Peter, at the same time as they were working as fishermen. After being called, he would have traveled with Jesus for the three years during Jesus's public ministry. He would have been witness to the actual daily life of Jesus. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He said that He would send the "spirit advocate" to the disciples. While in the Upper Room, the Apostles experienced this sending in the way of tongues of fire. They received the fire of the Holy Spirit to take "to the ends of the earth" and each of them became "fishers of men."
Andrew isn't mentioned much in the Acts of the Apostles and because of this, it is the thought that he went immediately and acted on the words of Christ. His mission took him northwest to the country of Greece. It is here where he would establish Church communities, but it is also in Greece where he would die a martyr's death. Like his brother Peter, Andrew was crucified, but not like Christ's crucifixion. Andrew was crucified in the form of an "X" cross. He is still honored to this day for his courage and dedication to Jesus's mission.
