Background
St. Andrew was a herald of the Kingdom of God to the inhabitants of Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia; to the savage tribes of the Scythian deserts; and to the peoples of Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Achaea. Finally, he was a martyr for the cause of Christ. These are the historical facts that give him an imperishable glory in those annals, yet little more is known of him.
According to the Gospel story, Andrew hailed from Bethsaida, then a fishing village on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 1:44). From Bethsaida he plied his calling of a fisherman of the lake with his father, John, and his brother, Simon Peter (John 1:42; Mark 1:16). He was a disciple of John the Baptist before he met Christ, and it was through John that he was able to get in touch with Christ, whom he at once acknowledged as the Messiah foretold by the prophets of Israel (John 1:35-45). Andrew was primarily responsible for bringing together Christ and his brother Simon (John 1:42). Shortly after his first meeting with Christ on the banks of the Jordan, Andrew put himself, with Simon, entirely at His disposal (Mark 1:16-18). In due course he was the first to be chosen by Christ as one of the Twelve Apostles, and given, apparently, a position of some importance among them; he and his brother were termed "fishers of men" (Matt. 4:18-20). He figures prominently in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, as the one who said: "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two fishes: but what are they among so many?" (John 6:8-9).
Despite the scantiness of explicit references to him in the Gospel stories, Andrew probably shared fully in most of the events of the public life of his Master. It is likely also that he played an important part in the preaching of the Gospel in Palestine after the Resurrection. Of his apostolic labors outside Palestine in the countries already mentioned, little is known with any certainty. The early accounts place the field of his apostolate in Greece and Asia Minor; later accounts add regions further east.
True to his name, which in Greek means "manhood" or "valor," Andrew suffered martyrdom for Christ, being crucified under Nero in a.d. 60. St. Andrew is the patron of Scotland and Russia. His feast is November 30.