The Life of Saint Andrew the Apostle

The Life of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the First Called, the Protector of Romania

(Celebrated on November 30)

Saint Andrew strengthtened those who believed in Christ, encouraged them to endure temporal labors, teaching them that no work of the present time is worthy of being rewarded for the goodness of those which are going to be.

We, Christians owe to bring glory, honor and worship to all the saints, since they, living well and keeping all the commandments of God, have become His close friends. For, deserving themselves of the kingdom of heaven and being close to Him, they now pray forever for our salvation and protection.

One of these, and than all of them first called, is the holy, glorified and highly praised Apostle Andrew, whose life and past we will chronicle according to his power and according to his worth, leaving it for the benefit of those who are strong and perfect in words and good deeds.

The glorious Apostle Andrew, the first called, was born in the citadel called Bethsaida, which is near the Sea of Galilee, in the border of Zebulun, from which tribe his family was also descended. The citadel was small and insignificant before, and after the rise of him, of his brother, the archbishop Peter, and of Philip, it became famous and glorified. And it was called Bethsaida in Hebrew, which means "house of hunters". It was appropriately called that, because that was the homeland of the Holy Apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip, who hunted fish until they found out the truth, which is ,,Christ’’.

Hearing that John, the Forerunner of the Lord, was walking through the places by the Jordan and preaching faith and repentance, Andrew went to him and became his disciple, because he wanted to rise with his mind to higher understandings. That is why he did not want, like the others, to spend time in the turmoil and worries of the world. For hearing the prophetic words and having his soul cleansed of sins, he immediately knew that the teaching of the Baptist was from God's command and that it was conducive to salvation. For this, he followed him with all his heart and with everything he attached his mind to the teaching of John.

Shortly after this encounter, Andrew becomes an apostle to his brother, Simon Peter. He tells Simon, “We have found the Messiah.” This statement says much about Andrew’s interior spiritual sensibilities. First, he clearly understood that John the Baptist’s ministry was special. Andrew followed John the Baptist, discerning that he was a prophet. When John points Andrew to Jesus, Andrew immediately follows Him, engages Him, and believes in Him. It’s clearly an act of supernatural revelation that enabled Andrew to profess his faith in Jesus as the Messiah within a day of meeting Him. And the fact that he wanted his brother to share in this discovery shows that this grace was overflowing.

Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. He followed Jesus, thus becoming the first apostle. After the resurrection of Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit (at Pentecost), the Apostles remained for a few years in Jerusalem, starting the formation of the Church. The legend says that Scythia (Dobrogea) was given to the Apostle Andrew.

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark present Jesus’ first encounter with Andrew and Peter a bit differently, although those passages are not contradictory. “As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Then they abandoned their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:16- 18). It’s possible that after Andrew’s and Peter’s first encounters with Jesus, they allowed their discovery of the Messiah to sprout within their hearts, continued their work as fishermen, and awaited Jesus’ definitive call. In this passage, Jesus gives that definitive call, and the brothers do not hesitate to abandon their trade to become His full-time disciples.