Andrew Schafale

Mr. Campbell

Religion 10

December 15, 2017

St. Andrew the Apostle

Saint Andrew was born on November 30, at some point in the early first century A.D. He

was born in and grew up in Bethsaida, a small fishing village off the coast of the sea of Galilee.

Andrew’s father had been a fisherman so Andrew, with the help of his little brother, Simon

Peter, continued the family work as he grew up and became an adult. Andrew was well known

in his hometown for being a very strong and skilled fisherman, as well as possessing exceptional

social skills, which would be helpful later on when he became a disciple of Jesus. According to

the Gospel of Matthew, Andrew and Simon Peter were out on the water fishing one day, just like

any other, until Jesus called out to them from the shore. Jesus told them to put down their nets,

come back to the shore, leave their fishing business behind, and to come be “fishers of men”.

Andrew decided to accept the mission Jesus had asked of him. He said yes to Jesus, becoming

the first of the twelve Apostles, followed very shortly by Simon Peter. Although this was not the

first time the two brothers had met Jesus, as Andrew was first introduced to Jesus by John the

Baptist. Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist for many years, until Jesus arrived.

John the Baptist, seeing Jesus, gestured towards him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God”.

Andrew realized Jesus was the savior and wanted to follow Him. Later, Andrew and Simon

Peter formally met Jesus when they went to His home to visit Him.
 Andrew, with his brother and the other twelve apostles, continued to follow Jesus,

watching and listening as he was preaching and healing others. The Bible does not mention

Andrew again until the story of Jesus feeding the thousands. As the story goes, Jesus was

preaching to thousands of people, but when the crowd became hungry they realized they did not

have any food to eat. The only food that could be found was a few fish and loaves of bread.

Andrew was the one who alerted Jesus of the only boy who had food, from which one of the

more famous miracles was preformed and the small supply of food multiplied. After this point,

the Bible goes on for a while without mentioning Andrew again, up until the Last Supper.

Andrew was present at the Last Supper, given that he was an apostle and very close to Jesus.

After the Ascension of Jesus, Andrew continued to preach the Word of God. He traveled around

much of Asia Minor and the Middle East, then later up to Europe, even going to Kiev in present

day Ukraine. Andrew died as a martyr when he was arrested and sentenced to crucifixion in

Patras in Greece. Andrew was supposed to by killed on a normally shaped cross, but he did not

find himself worthy to die on the same kind of cross as the Messiah, so he requested that they

crucify him on an x-shaped cross. This x-shaped cross would later become a symbol on the

Scottish flag. Saint Andrew lived a great life of importance, and died for the faith he gave up his

fishing business and spent his life for. Few relics of Saint Andrew still remain, but most of those

that do can be found in the church of Saint Andrew in Patras, a church built to honor him in the

place where he was martyred. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece,

Ukraine, Romania, singers, and fishermen. His feast day is November 30.

Prayer to Saint Andrew the Apostle

Saint Andrew, as we approach the Christmas season and remember the birth of
Christ, help us to remember and value the importance of following Jesus, as you did
as an apostle, and as we prepare for when Jesus will come again, help us all to be
strong and faithful followers of Christ as you were. Saint Andrew, pray for us.
 Works Cited

“Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to Follow Him - The Fourfold Gospel.” Bible Study Tools.

Online, Catholic. “St. Andrew - Saints & Angels.” Catholic Online, Catholic Online.

“St Andrew.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2 Apr. 2014.

“St Andrews Life.” Saint Andrew the Apostle | About St. Andrew Life | The Life of St. Andrew.