A simple fisherman, who put one of the 12 chosen for the Gospel preaching, the first disciple of Christ is Andrew the First-Called.
We honor Saint Andrew as our spiritual patron. Not only was he the first person called by Christ, he was also the first calling disciple. With him began the Gospel, the first preaching of the Gospel.
According to legend, after the feast of Pentecost, during which the descent of the Holy Spirit occurred, the apostles cast lots and dispersed to different parts of the world to bring the Good News.
Andrew’s way lay through Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia. It reached the banks of the Danube, moved along the Black Sea, and then along the Dnieper rose to the current location of Kiev.
Through his preaching, numerous pagan tribes adopted Christianity.
And in places where there was no mass conversion, there were still followers who also spread the gospel.
Tradition says that it was the Apostle Andrew who erected the first cross on the Kiev mountains. There, later, a settlement arose, which became the “mother of Russian cities”.
In Russia, the saint was always considered the patron saint of Russia, because the Orthodox faith in this region was first preached by him.
The “Tale of Bygone Years” mentions the First-Called’s journey not only to the lands around the future Kiev, but also further to the North, to Novgorod and Solovki.
Although there is no scientific evidence for this fact, the Orthodox believe them to be true and rejoice that the holy Apostle was on our land.
Through Andrew’s work, the first churches arose, in which he established bishops and priesthoods.
The last on his way was the city of Patras. Here, through his disciple, the Lord performed many miracles. Blind by his prayers saw, lame forgot about his illness, relaxed began to walk on their own.
The angry ruler of the city ordered to seize the saint and crucify him. The cross for execution was unusual, in the form of the letter X. The cross of this shape has since been called Andreevsky.
We can see it on the flag of the Russian Navy.
Andrew spent two days on the cross, constantly praying and preaching. Crowds gathered to listen to his sermon. The governor ordered to remove the saint from the cross, but the soldiers did not succeed. The fact is that Andrew wanted to die on the cross, like Christ and prayed for it. It was only when he died that the soldiers managed to remove his body.
Now in the central cathedral of the city of Patras is kept the holy head of the apostle and part of the cross on which he was crucified. Most of the relics are located near Naples, in the town of Amalfi. They were taken there by the Crusaders in 1206 from Constantinople.
In Russia, the saint was revered since ancient times. His name was called princes, monasteries were opened in his honor. But for 300 years of the Mongol yoke, the official holiday was forgotten. In 1621, the Orthodox Council in Kiev decided to revive the solemn honoring of the Apostle Andrew. His eyes saw Russia and his mouth blessed her.
Since December 13, the church honors the memory of the saint. The Orthodox offer him prayers.
First of all, the defense of the Fatherland. They are also asked to attract new believers to the Orthodox Church.
A special attitude to the apostle among sailors and fishermen. They do not sail without asking for protection from the saint.
Remembrance days
July 13 — Council of the Glorious and All-Captive 12 Apostles
December 28 — Cathedral of Crimean Saints
13 December
June 3 — Cathedral of Karelian Saints
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