St. Andrew: Prōtóklētos

by Andrea Lorenzo Molinari, Ph.D.

Glorious Saint Andrew, you were the first to recognize and follow the Lamb of God. With your friend you remained with Jesus for that first day, for your entire life, and now throughout eternity.

As you led your brother Saint Peter to Christ and many others after him, draw us also to him. Teach us to lead others to Christ solely out of love for him and dedication in his service. Help us to learn the lesson of the Cross and to carry our daily crosses without complaint so that they may carry us to Jesus.

Prayer to St. Andrew (Feast Day: Nov. 30th)

(St. Peter’s Basilica,

Rome)

St. Andrew (1629-1633) by François Duquesnoy

Andrew in the New Testament

4th century painting of St. Andrew from the catacombs of St. Thecla

Andrew is only mentioned 13x in the NT (7x in the synoptic; 5x in John and 1x in Acts).

Call Stories

“As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

The Call (Version 1) — Mark 1:16–18

The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew (ca. 1308-1311)

By Duccio di

Buoninsegna

By Lorenzo

Veneziano

The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew (1370)

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (ca. 1603-1606) by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

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“35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’

The Call (Version 2) — John 1:35–42

By Ottavio Vannini (1585-1643)

St. John Showing Christ to Andrew

37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38When 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?’ 39He 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.

The Call (Version 2) — John 1:35–42

“Rabbi, where are you staying?”

40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). 42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).”

The Call (Version 2) — John 1:35–42

“We have found the Messiah.”

John

Chrysostom

(4th century

A.D.)

“After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother Peter. Notice what Andrew said to him: “We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ.” Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce to great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, loving kinship and sincere affection.”

from a Homily on the Gospel of John by Saint John Chrysostom

The Call (Version 3… almost) — Luke 5:1–11

Once while Jesus* was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was

pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the

lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one

of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the

shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished

speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a

catch.’ 5Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught

nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ 6When they had done this, they

caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled to their

partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats,

so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees,

saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ 9For he and all who were with

him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and

John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do

not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ 11When they had brought their

boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Andrew in Jesus’ Ministry

3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with

his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the festival of the

Jews, was near. 5When he looked up and saw a large

crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip,

‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he

was going to do. 7Philip answered him, ‘Six months’

wages* would not buy enough bread for each of them

to get a little.’ 8One of his disciples, Andrew,

Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9‘There is a

boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.

But what are they among so many people?’… 13…

and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left

by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.

John’s Feeding of the 5,000

12:20 “Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.” St. Philip the

Apostle

In John 12:20–22, Andrew and Philip act to facilitate Greeks who wish to come to see Jesus. Perhaps this is related to Andrew’s later ‘legendary’ connections to Greece as a mission field.

Resurrection Stories

The

Incredulit

y of Saint

Thomas

by

Caravaggi

o (ca.

1601-

1602)

11 Then said the Lord unto Mary and her sisters: Let us go unto them. And he came and found us within, and called us out, but we thought that it was a phantom and believed not that it was the Lord. Then said he unto us: Come, fear ye not. I am your master, even he, O Peter, whom you did deny thrice; and do you now deny again? And we came to him, doubting in our hearts whether it were he. Then said he to us: Why do you still doubt and are unbelieving? I am he that spoke to you of my flesh and my death and my resurrection.

The Epistle of the Apostles (ca. mid-2nd century A.D.)

But that you may know that I am he, do you, Peter,

put your finger into the print of the nails in my hands,

and you also, Thomas, put your finger into the wound

of the spear in my side; and you, Andrew, look on

my feet and see whether they press the earth; for

it is written in the prophet: A phantom of a devil

makes no footprint on the earth. 12 And we

touched him, that we might learn of a truth whether

he was risen in the flesh; and we fell on our faces

confessing our sin, that we had been unbelieving.

The Miraculous Catch of Fish (John 21:1-14)

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ 6He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.

Now it was the last day of unleavened bread, and many were coming forth of the city and returning unto their own homes because the feast was at an end. But we, the twelve disciples of the Lord, were weeping and were in sorrow, and each one being grieved for that which had happened departed unto his own house. But I, Simon Peter, and Andrew my brother, took our nets and went unto the sea: and there was with us Levi the son of Alphaeus, whom the Lord...

Gospel of Peter 14

Andrew in the Early Days of the Church

Andrew in the Acts of the Apostles and the Election of St. Matthias

The only reference to Andrew in Acts is found in 1:13

13When they had entered the city, they went to

the room upstairs where they were staying,

Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip

and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James

son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and

Judas son of* James. 14All these were constantly

devoting themselves to prayer, together with

certain women, including Mary the mother of

Jesus, as well as his brothers.

23So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who

was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24Then they

prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show

us which one of these two you have chosen 25to take the

place* in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas

turned aside to go to his own place.’ 26And they cast lots

for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added

to the eleven apostles.

Andrew is mentioned (but only obliquely) as being involved in the election…

Andrew’s Mission in the Fathers and Apocryphal Literature

The Testimony of the FathersEarly church traditions about

Andrew, which begin in the third century, associate Andrew’s apostolic activity with Asia Minor, Thrace, and Greece (and include his martyrdom in Patras in the north-west Peloponnesus.

Origen, as Eusebius informs us (H.E 3.1), supplies us with the most ancient reference to Andrew outside the New Testament. He tells us that he taught in Scythia (southern Russia).

The Testimony of the Fathers (cont.)In the fourth century, Gregory of Nazianzus

speaks of Andrew’s missionary activity in Epirus and associates the mission in Achaia with Luke (Or. 33.11).

Later authors, including Theodoret (In Ps. 116.1), Gaudentius of Brescia (Serm. 17), and Jerome (Ep. 59.5), knew of Andrew’s activity in Achaia.

Basil of Seleucia (d. 459) knew of Andrew’s mission in Scythia, Thrace, and Achaia (Enc. in And. 6; PG 28.1108).

Apocryphal Andrew

The Acts of Andrew (Early Christian Apocrypha 1;Santa Rosa, Calif.: Polebridge Press, 2005).

the oldest mention of the Acts of Andrew (AA) is in the Church historian, Eusebius of Caesarea (H.E. 3.25.6), who lists the AA along with the Acts of John as texts that should be rejected as absurd and impious.

The Coptic Papyrus Utrecht I contains a translation of a section from the AA. This Egyptian papyrus is dated to the fourth century.

Acts of Andrew (ca. A.D. 150-200)

Sadly, the Acts of Andrew no longer exists in a complete form. It is only available in fragments (e.g., various recensions of the Martyrdom of Andrew and Coptic Papyrus Utrecht I [which corresponds to chapter 18 in Gregory of Tours’ Liber de miraculis]).

However, all is not lost. Gregory of Tours (d. 593) wrote a summary or epitome of the AA entitled, Liber de miraculis beati Andreae Apostoli.

In his prologue, Gregory explains that he has had the AA in his hands. He has revised them — he states — to remove their prolixity. Gregory is the last Latin witness for the complete text of the AA.

Gregory has 1) suppressed the speeches; 2) probably changed the structure of the narrative; and 3) made the work theologically acceptable to his contemporaries.

In chapter 36, he mentions that there is a Latin version of the martyrdom that is available to his readers.

Of course, the most famous scene from the Acts of Andrew is Andrew’s dramatic crucifixion on an “X-shaped” cross…

St. Andrew led to the Cross of Martyrdom (ca. 1654-1655) By Carlo Maratta

The Crucifixion of St. Andrew (1650-1651) by Mattia Preti (in the church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle, Rome)

The Martyrdom of St. Andrew By Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1682)

The Martyrdom of St. Andrew (1637)By Peter Paul Rubens

A particularly intriguing series of paintings that depict scenes related to St. Andrew’s martyrdom were created by the Frenchman, Jean-Baptiste Deshays (born in Colleville of France in 1729). Around 1758, Deshays received a commission to paint three panels for the Saint Andrew church (i.e., Saint-André-de-la-Porte-aux-Fèvres) of Rouen that had been newly built.

Jean-Baptiste Deshays (a self-portrait)

The first of the

series was

rendered in 1758

and entitled, The

Martyrdom of Saint

Andrew at the

Moment when,

before being

attached to the

Cross, one

demands of him to

adore Idols.

The second of

Deshays works

is known as

the

Entombment

of St. Andrew

and was

painted in

1760.

The third and

final painting is

called the

Flagellation of

St. Andrew and

was finished in

1761.

This story was one of the most popular heroic tales from the early Church. It exists in 10 Greek manuscripts and in translations into Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Syriac, Anglo-Saxon, Armenian and Old Slavonic. In addition, this legend was recast independently into two epic poems — one in Latin, one in Anglo-Saxon.

Despite its listing by Gregory of Tours as the first part of the AA, modern scholars are divided as to whether or not it was originally part of the AA (e.g., MacDonald) or whether it was added later (e.g., Flamion, Prieur and Molinari).

Acts of Andrew and Matthias in the City of the Cannibals (ca. 4th century)

The story begins with the apostles dividing up the Greco-Roman east into missionary zones. Matthias is assigned the city of the cannibals; in many manuscripts the city is named something like Myrmidonia. Upon arrival Matthias is captured, his eyes gouged out and imprisoned. He is put in prison to await a thirty day ‘fattening up’ period. Matthias appeals to Jesus who appears to him, healing his eyes and promising to send Andrew to the rescue. Jesus then appears to Andrew and sends him to Matthias. The journey is noteworthy in that when Andrew and his disciples go to the sea to find a boat, they encounter a young sailor and his mates. These sailors are Jesus and two angels in disguise.

The Plot of the Acts of Andrew and Matthias…

While on board ship Andrew and the young captain (Jesus) discuss the “unbelieving Jews” and Jesus’ many miracles, some well-known from the canonical Gospels, others fabulous and fantastic, never before heard. Andrew falls asleep and he and his disciples are whisked away to the gates of Myrmidonia by angels. Once there Andrew realizes that the captain was, in fact, Jesus and he appeals to Jesus to appear to him. Jesus does and warns Andrew that he must suffer, yet emerge victorious. Andrew enters the city, frees Matthias and all the prisoners, sending them all away to safety.

Andrew then begins to thwart the cannibals in every way possible. Finally, the cannibals are on the verge of starvation due to Andrew’s repeated interventions. At this point the devil appears in the form of an old man and reveals Andrew’s presence. Andrew gives up willingly. The cannibals torture him over a series of three days, dragging him through the city streets by a rope until his flesh is horribly torn. Placed back into a prison cell, Andrew is visited and mocked by demons but the evil spirits are impotent to kill him and eventually flee from him. Andrew appeals to Jesus who restores him completely. Andrew, still miffed at the cannibals for the whole, ‘dragging until the flesh tears off thing,’ orders a statue to emit acidic water which drowns many inhabitants of the city.

Not satisfied, Andrew asks the archangel Michael to hem in the city with a barrier of fiery cloud. Michael does and the city is Andrew’s for the taking. The worst of the evildoers are punished by being swallowed up and taken down to Hades so as to witness both punishment and potential rewards. Andrew prays and those killed in the statue’s flood are resurrected. The rest of the citizens repent, but Andrew is still bitter at the harsh treatment he received and leaves the city, despite the neophytes’ begging to the contrary. Once outside the city, Jesus appears to Andrew in the form of a little child and corrects his lack of forgiveness. Duly disciplined, Andrew returns and ministers to the new church.

This short story is a clear ‘sequel’ of sorts to the Acts of Matthias and Andrew, which has Jesus tell Andrew that, after finishing his preaching at Myrmidonia, he is to visit the city of the barbarians.

Acts of Peter and Andrew (ca. 4th or 5th century)

Epilogue

Around A.D. 357, the Roman emperor Constantine had Andrew’s remains transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles, Constantinople. During the 4th Crusade, Cardinal Pietro Capuano took the saint’s remains to Amalfi (about 30 miles SE of Naples). The relics arrived on May 8, 1208, to joyful celebration and were placed in the crypt of the Cathedral of St. Andrew.

The Reliquary of St. Andrew