Apostle Andrew is one of the most famous Disciples of John the Baptist and the Apostles of Jesus Christ. By reading this article, you will find out why Saint Andrew is the first of the apostles to preach the Gospel. And was called first by Jesus to follow Him. You may also find relevant information or curiosities, such as why Andrew is called the Friend of Wolves or helps women dream of their soulmates.

The feast of Saint Andrew appears on 30 November in the Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican calendars. In Scotland, however, he is celebrated on 9 May, the date of the reception of relics of Apostle Andrew.

Saint Andrew the Apostle

Saint Andrew was born in Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee. Three apostles, fishermen by trade, were born in that city, whose name means ‘house of the hunters.’ Peter and Andrew, who were brothers, and Saint Philip. Andrew, the First Apostle, was Peter’s brother. Both were fishermen by trade from Bethsaida, a city on Lake Ghenizaret.

Andrew was at first a disciple of St John the Baptist, and he learned of the incarnation of the Saviour Christ. Because the day after Jesus’ baptism, when John saw him, he told his disciples: He is the Lamb sent to be the Messiah.

St Andrew is the one who first made Christ known. He asked him where he had a home, and Jesus answered, Come and see! And he stayed from 4 PM until the following day, telling stories with Jesus Christ and knowing Him and telling his brother Simon afterward that he had found the Messiah. Saint Andrew is also called “the first called” because he was the first to respond to Jesus Christ’s call to apostleship.

What is Andrew the Apostle known for?

The Apostle Andrew is known for his miracles and for being the first apostle of the Lord. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the Apostle Andrew knew and witnessed all the Saviour’s passion. And rejoice in His Resurrection with the Mother of God, the other apostles, and the miraculous women. Apostle Andrew is also known for being the prophet who, in a dream, shows you the chosen heart and the person you will marry in this lifetime.

I don’t know if you’ve heard about the tradition of putting basil under your pillow. Well, there is such a tradition. There’s another superstition related to Saint Andrew’s Day. That unmarried girls who put a sprig of basil under their pillow will dream of their sweetheart. At midnight, young girls had the custom of turning a pitcher upside down. Then place burning coals on the bottom of the clay pot and utter a few words to woo the beloved man. It is said that on Saint Andrew’s Night, chants and prayers are more powerful.

A few years ago, a colleague of mine confessed to me that her aunt dreamt about her current husband because she put basil under her pillow.

Also, my grandmother told me that one of her friends put basil under her pillow and dreamt of a man dressed in an army officer’s coat. And guess what? Her husband works in the army as an officer. So there are cases that can prove the tradition is authentic.

Facts about Saint Andrew the Apostle

According to the tradition of the Church, it was Andrew’s time to go to Bithynia, Byzantium, Thrace, and Macedonia, with the lands around the Black Sea, to the Danube and Scythia, and Crimea.

Old traditions recall the presence of Saint Andrew the Apostle in the parts of Scythia, where the apostle and his companions found a resting place in a cave. In 1943, Bishop Paunescu consecrated this place with the name “The Cave of Saint Andrew the Apostle.” Today a monastery complex, the Monastery of Andrew the Apostle, has been built. The mission of the Apostle Andrew to Christianize the nations began after the Ascension of the Lord and after Pentecost. Then the Holy Apostles drew lots and went into all the world to preach the Gospel, that is, to speak of the “Good News” of salvation in Jesus Christ.

It is said that on Andrew’s night, the boundary between the seen and the unseen disappears, and the time is propitious for some future prospecting practices. The apostle allows a merging between evil sound good, the boundary between them disappearing. Thus, on the night of Saint Andrew, “the undead spirits” go to steal the “manna of the cows,” the “minds of men,” and the “fruit of the orchards.”

Superstitions related to the day of celebration of the Great and First Apostle

•  At midnight on St. Andrew’s night, the heavens open.
•  Andrew’s Day is celebrated by not being idle in the house, lest the wolves spoil the cattle. The danger is not only for the cattle. But also for those who dare to set off on the day the wolf pack starts.
• If the house owners do not work, the wolf cannot approach.
• On the night when he is celebrated if you place some basil under your pillow. You will dream and meet your soulmate in your dream.

Where is Andrew mentioned in the Bible?

Andrew is mentioned in Matthew’s and John’s Gospels. The apostle Andrew is mentioned in the Bible by the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew: “As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets and followed him.” Andrew is also known as “the first called.” He accompanied Jesus Christ through the Holy Land.

Andrew is also mentioned in the Gospel of John, where he is called “the first called.” Because he was the first to answer Christ’s call to the apostleship, Saint Andrew was the son of Jonah and brother of Simon Peter. The Gospel of John also mentions that before becoming a disciple of Jesus. John was a disciple of St. John the Baptist. He becomes a disciple of Jesus following the testimony of St. John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of the Lord.”

Being a Jew, it cannot be stated whether Andrew was his real name. (Here is the same problem as the apostle Philip, who had a Greek word. If you want to know more about Philip, click on the link to the right of his name)

It is unknown, however, on what occasion he was baptized or his Jewish name. There is also some testimony that the Greek word Andrew was quite common among Jews as early as the 16th century in the second and third AD.

What did Andrew the Apostle do after Jesus died?

He preached the good news of salvation. According to tradition, after Jesus died, Andrew, the Apostle, received the Holy Spirit and went preaching in Bithynia and all the areas along the Black Sea coast, but also reached Cherson and Russia. Throughout his life, he carried the word of God to Great Scythia, Lesser, Scythia, Sinopi, and Myopia, returned to Thrace, and met his end in Patras.

He witnessed the miracles He performed and was imbued with His teachings. Saint Andrew suffered, along with the other apostles, witnessing the torments and humiliations to which the Jews subjected the Saviour. He believed, along with the other apostles, that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. He saw the risen Lord on the first day, and after eight days, and when He appeared in Galilee and commanded them to preach the Gospel among all the nations of the earth. 

Apostle Andrew is also known as The Master of Wolves.

Saint Andrew was also called the “Apostle of the Wolves,” a title derived from his presence in the territory of the Geto-Dacians, whose symbol was the wolf. Therefore, the custom has it that on the night of Andrew, wolves speak with human speech, and the barrier between life and death weakens so that undead and ghouls start to walk the earth in the places they visited when they were alive.

On St Andrew’s night, it is believed that wolves begin to speak and can move their necks. They become more spirited, and people who hear them learn terrible secrets. But the payoff is awful because these people will be attacked by wolves and turn into werewolves. The elders believed that on “undead night,” their houses were haunted by the souls of evil spirits. And that the only way to protect themselves was to smear garlic on the doors.

Biography of Apostle Andrew

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