Let me introduce you to Christ

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

	St. Andrew When: First century What: One of the first apostles and the brother of Peter Where: Holy Land and present-day Greece and Turkey Feast: Nov. 30 Patron: Russia and Scotland

"Come after me and I will make you fishers of men." With these words at the Sea of Galilee, Jesus called Peter and Andrew to become disciples. The brothers responded by immediately abandoning their nets and becoming Jesus' followers (Mt 4:18-20).

Mark's Gospel relates a nearly identical story of the call of Andrew and Peter (Mk 1:16-18). But John's Gospel has a different account, which places the calling of Andrew first.

John tells us that, the day after Jesus' baptism, John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to two of his disciples, saying, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" Immediately, they followed Jesus, who asked them what they were looking for. They answered: "Rabbi (which means Teacher), where do you stay?"

Jesus invited the two - one of whom was Andrew - to follow him. Andrew then went to find his brother and told him, "We have found the Messiah!" Andrew then took his brother to Jesus, who said "You are Simon, son of John; your name shall be Cephas (which is rendered Peter)" (Jn 1:35-42).

Andrew also brought the lad with the five barley loaves and two fishes to Jesus, who used them to feed thousands (Jn 6:8-13).

Another time, Andrew and Philip went to Jesus to tell him that some Greek Jews wish to see him (Jn 12:20-22).

Because of these events, the Venerable Bede (a prominent eighth century British monk, scholar and saint) called Andrew "the introducer to Christ."

After Jesus' death, Andrew is said to have preached in what is now Turkey and Greece. One tradition has him going to Byzantium, where he named Stachys the bishop, but this is not considered reliable. It's not certain when, where or how he died, but an ancient tradition holds that he was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras, Acaia.

Andrew is the patron saint of Russia, though it's doubtful that he ever preached there, and of Scotland because another tradition says that St. Rule brought some of his relics there in the fourth century. This tradition says that an angel led Rule to a place called St. Andrew's, where Rule became its first bishop, evangelizing the Scots in the area for three decades. Despite that, Andrew is not the patron saint of golfers, who apparently have no heavenly intercessor.