Andrew the Apostle

“ May those who make them and those who put their trust in them become like unto them!” (Psalm cxv) . And through his beautiful voice and the sweetness of his words their hearts were opened, and they came into the church, and bowed down at the feet of Andrew the apostle, and they believed on our Lord Jesus Christ. And the apostle taught them the doctrine of the Church and baptized them with Christian baptism; and many of those who worshipped idols believed with them. ”

“ Andrew, and receiving the relics of the apostle brought there by one of its bishops; and, sixty years later, the Picts expelling the Columban monks, introducing the secular clergy, placing the kingdom under the patronage of St. Peter, and then receiving from some unknown quarter the relics of St. Andrew, and founding a church in honour of that apostle, who becomes the national patron saint. The second legend concludes with this statement:—‘These are the names of those holy men who brought the sacred relics of St. Andrew the apostle into Scotia—St. Regulus himself ”

“ We have never so much cause for consolation, as when we find ourselves oppressed by sufferings and trials; for these make us like Christ our Lord, and this resemblance is the true mark of our predestination.----St. Vincent de Paul
No one has understood this great truth so well as St. Andrew the Apostle. At first sight of the cross on which he was to be crucified, he was filled with joy, and broke forth into this exclamation: "O cross so much desired, so much loved, and so much sought by me! behold how I come to thee full of security and joy! ”

“ Every one of the apostles loved Jesus, but it remains true that each of the twelve was drawn toward him because of some certain trait of personality which made a special appeal to the individual apostle. Andrew admired Jesus because of his consistent sincerity, his unaffected dignity. When men once knew Jesus, they were possessed with the urge to share him with their friends ”

“ And having made up his mind to the death upon the cross, he went away and had a banquet with his equals. But Maximilla, the Lord going before her in the form of Andrew, went with Iphidamia to the prison. And when a greater number of brethren had met, Andrew felt compelled to speak thus:
15. "I was sent, dear brethren, by the Lord as an apostle into these regions, of which the Lord deemed me worthy, not to teach but to exhort all men inwardly related to the words, that they live in transitory sufferings, if they rejoice in the noxious notions of their imagination. ”

“ The uniform manner in which James and John are mentioned along with Peter on great occasions, to the total neglect of Andrew, seems to imply that this apostle was quite behind his brother in those excellences which fitted him for the leading place in the great Christian enterprise; since it is most reasonable to believe that, if he had possessed faculties of such a high order, he would have been readily selected to enjoy with him the peculiar privileges of a most intimate personal intercourse with Jesus, and to share the high honors of his peculiar revelations of glory and power. ”

“ But, upon my faith as a gentleman, and by the arm-bone of the holy Apostle Andrew, which these sinful eyes have seen, in the church of the Apostle in his own town, somewhat holy passed this way last night; and if this Maid be indeed sent from heaven, that holy thing was she, and none other.”
“Nom Dieu! saints are not common wayfarers on our roads at night. There is no ‘wale’ of saints in this country,” said the father of Elliot; “and as this Pucelle of Lorraine must needs pass by us here, if she is still on the way, even tell us all your tale.” ”

“ The Scots honour St. Andrew as principal patron of their country, and their historians tell us, that a certain abbot called Regulus, brought thither from Constantinople in 369, certain relics of this apostle, which he deposited in a church that he built in his honour, with a monastery called Abernethy, where now the city of St. Andrew stands. Many pilgrims resorted thither from foreign countries, and the Scottish monks of that place were the first who were culdees. The Muscovites say, he preached among them, and claim him as the principal titular saint of their empire. ”

“ From adolescence on they had enjoyed separate experiences of learning how to live.
1. ANDREW, THE FIRST CHOSEN Andrew, chairman of the apostolic corps of the kingdom, was born in Capernaum. He was the oldest child in a family of five—himself, his brother Simon, and three sisters. His father, now dead, had been a partner of Zebedee in the fish-drying business at Bethsaida, the fishing harbor of Capernaum. When he became an apostle, Andrew was unmarried but made his home with his married brother, Simon Peter. Both were fishermen and partners of James and John the sons of Zebedee. ”

“ Andrew has been venerated as the special protector of Scotland, and his feast, known as "Andrewmas," celebrated everywhere with great rejoicing. The legend of St. Regulus (see October 17) which attributes to that saint the bringing of {174} the apostle's relics to the country is rejected by modern historians. The origin of devotion to St. Andrew in Scotland is nevertheless due to the translation of the apostle's relics thither (probably from Hexham) during the eighth century. ”

“ November 30.
St. Andrew, Apostle. St. Narses, Bp. and Companions. Sts. Sapor and Isaac. Bps. Mahanes, Abraham, and Simeon, A. D. 339.
St. Andrew.
Patron Saint of Scotland.
This saint is in the church of England calendar and the almanacs. He was one of the apostles. It is affirmed that he was put to death in the year 69, at Patræ, in Achaia, by having been scourged, and then fastened with cords to a cross, in which position he remained “teaching and instructing the people all the time,” until his death, at the end of two days. It is the common opinion that the cross of St. ”

“ The fame of this and other miracles spread far and fast, and the consequence was that the apostle had as many calls as a rising quack doctor. Every body that was in any sort of trouble or difficulty, came to him as a thing of course, to get a miracle done to suit the case exactly. A rich man who had lost a favorite slave, by death, had him raised to life by Andrew. ”

“ But such a simple conclusion to this apostle’s life would by no means answer the purposes of the ancient writers on these matters; and accordingly the inquirer into apostolic history is presented with a long, long talk of Andrew’s journey into Europe, through Greece and Thrace, where he is said to have founded many churches, undergone many labors, and performed many miracles,――and at last to have been crucified in a city of Greece. The brief, but decided condemnation of all this imposition, however, is found in its absolute destitution of proof, or of truly ancient authority. ”

“ When the old man heard this and perceived that he was not hidden, but that Christ's apostle had said everything which filled his heart, he fell to the ground and said, "Now I know that God dwelleth in thee, blessed John. And blessed he who has not tempted God in thee! He that tempts thee, tempts him who cannot be tempted." And he asked him to pray for him. And (the apostle) instructed him, gave him commandments, and dismissed him, praising the Almighty God.In a somewhat different form we find the same story in Cassian's Collat. ”

“ And when Aegeates refused to listen to them, at first indeed signing with his hand to the crowd to take themselves off, they began to be emboldened against him, being in number about twenty thousand. And the proconsul having beheld that they had somehow become maddened, afraid that something frightful would befall him, rose up from the tribunal and went away with them, having promised to set free the blessed Andrew. And some went on before to tell the apostle the cause for which he came to the place of execution. ”

“ If thou wouldest know, take the form of a disciple, that thou mayst learn what thou art inquiring after.
Ægeates said: I will exact of thee through tortures the gift of this knowledge.
The blessed Andrew declared: I wonder that thou, being an intelligent man, shouldest fall into [11] the folly of thinking that thou mayst be able to persuade me, through thy tortures, to disclose to thee the sacred things of God. Thou hast heard the mystery of the cross, thou hast heard the mystery of the sacrifice. ”

“ The word Apostle means an "Envoy" or "one who is sent." An apostle is a "Special witness of the name of Christ in all the world."
In all the accounts given of this important event, Peter's name is mentioned first, indicating that he was chosen as the chief apostle, and was undoubtedly appointed and set apart as the President of the Council of Twelve. The names of the Twelve whom Jesus ordained at that time were:
(1) Simon Peter, and his brother (2) Andrew; (3) James and (4) John, the two sons of Zebedee; (5) Philip of Bethsaida, and (6) Nathanael, also called Bartholomew ”

“ I indeed will hear patiently; but thou, unless thou submissively obey me, shalt receive [8] the mystery of the cross in thyself.
The blessed Andrew answered: If I had been afraid of the tree of the cross, I should not have proclaimed the glory of the cross.
Ægeates said: Thy speech is foolish, because thou proclaimest that the cross is not a punishment, and through thy foolhardiness thou art not afraid of the punishment of death.
The holy Andrew said: It is not through foolhardiness, but through faith, that I am not afraid of the punishment of death; for the death of sins [9] is hard. ”

“ When Andrew had located Jesus in company with the three, he said: “Master, why do you leave us alone with the multitude? Behold, all men seek you; never before have so many sought after your teaching. Even now the house is surrounded by those who have come from near and far because of your mighty works. Will you not return with us to minister to them?”
When Jesus heard this, he answered: “Andrew, have I not taught you and these others that my mission on earth is the revelation of the Father, and my message the proclamation of the kingdom of heaven? ”

“ And the holy Andrew, hitting upon the thoughts of the believers, exhorted them to endure the temporary trial, saying that the suffering counted for nothing when compared with the eternal recompense.↑ One ms. calls her the proconsul’s wife. [So Pseudo-Abdias; but the Greek mss., collated by Tischendorf, do not give this reading.—R.] ↑ i.e., having nothing to do with us.↑ ὁμόνοιαι.↑ Lit., females.↑ i.e., 30th November, St. Andrew’s day.↑ One ms. thus ends: These things were done in the province of Achaia, in the city of Patras, on the day before the kalends of December ”

“ Brand adds, that “singed sheep’s heads are borne in the procession before the Scots in London, on St. Andrew’s day.”
There is a marvellous pleasant story in the “Golden Legend,” of a bishop that loved St. Andrew, and worshipped him above all other saints, and remembered him every day, and said prayers in honour of God and St. Andrew, insomuch that the devil spitefully determined to do him mischief. Wherefore, on a certain day, the devil transformed himself “in to the fourme of a ryght fayre woman,” and came to the bishop’s palace, and desired in that “fourme” to confess, as women do. ”

“ Of all the apostles, Andrew was the best judge of men. He knew that trouble was brewing in the heart of Judas Iscariot even when none of the others suspected that anything was wrong with their treasurer; but he told none of them his fears. Andrew's great service to the kingdom was in advising Peter, James, and John concerning the choice of the first missionaries who were sent out to proclaim the gospel, and also in counseling these early leaders about the organization of the administrative affairs of the kingdom. ”

“ They all discovered the great value of direct and personal contact with men. They returned to Jesus more fully realizing that, after all, religion is purely and wholly a matter of personal experience. They began to sense how hungry were the common people to hear words of religious comfort and spiritual good cheer. When they assembled about Jesus, they all wanted to talk at once, but Andrew assumed charge, and as he called upon them one by one, they made their formal reports to the Master and presented their nominations for the six new apostles. ”

“ Hast thou no store of bread
To comfort thee upon the ocean-road,
Or pure drink for thy thirst? The life is hard
For him who journeys far upon the flood."
In answer then did Andrew, wise in wit,
Unlock to him the treasure of his words:—
"It is not seemly that with arrogance
And words of taunting thou demand reply,
When God hath given thee abundant wealth
And worldly fortune; better for each man 320
That with humility he kindly greet
A traveler bound to other lands far off,
As Christ commanded, Lord most glorious.
We are His thanes, chosen as champions ”

“ Andrew and all other of Christ's Apostles together curse him and may the rest of the Disciples and Evangelists who by their preaching converted the universe, and the Holy and wonderful company of Martyrs and Confessors, who by their works are found pleasing to God Almighty; may the holy choir of the Holy Virgins, who for the honor of God have despised the things of the world, damn him. May all the Saints from the beginning of the world to everlasting ages, who are found to be beloved of God, damn him! ”

“ It only remains to give a brief synopsis of the poem. It has fallen to the lot of Matthew to preach the Gospel to the cannibal Mermedonians; they seize him and his company, binding him and casting him into prison, where he is to remain until his turn comes to be eaten (1-58) . He prays to God for help, and the Lord sends Andrew to deliver him (59-234) . Andrew and his disciples come to the seashore and find a bark with three seamen, who are in reality the Lord and His two angels. On learning that Andrew is a follower of Jesus, the shipmaster agrees to carry him to Mermedonia (234-359) . ”