St. Andrew

Andrew was a fisherman from Bethsaida and a disciple of John the Baptist before becoming the first apostle called by Jesus. In John's Gospel it is Andrew who brings his brother Simon Peter to Christ with the words, "We have found the Messiah." He appears again bringing the boy with five loaves and two fish to Jesus before the feeding of the five thousand.

After Pentecost, tradition holds that Andrew preached in Greece, Asia Minor, and along the Black Sea coast. He is honored as the founder of the Church of Constantinople, and both the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches trace their origins to his missionary work.

He was martyred at Patras in Greece, crucified on an X-shaped cross because he declared himself unworthy to die on the same shape as his Lord. The saltire cross of St. Andrew became the national symbol of Scotland, whose patron he is, and appears on flags from Nova Scotia to the Russian Navy.