Saunt Andra

Saunt Andra (dee'd c. 60 AD) wis a disypil o Jesus Christ an brither o Saunt Peter. Tho he kythsna aften in the Gospels, he is mentiont in acoonts o a twa-thrie wechtie an kenspekil happenins.

Andra is the patron saunt o Scotland, Ukraine, Roushie, Romanie, Patras in Greece, Amalfi in Italy, Luqa in Maltae, an Esgueira in Portugal. He wis the patron saunt o Prussie an o the Order o the Gowden Fleece anaw. The Banner o Scotland an banner o Nova Scotia featur St Andra's saltire cross. The saltire is on the Banner o Tenerife, the banner o Galicie an the naval jack o Roushie anaw. Forby thon, he is the patron saunt o fishermen.

The feast o Andra is on the 30t November in baith the Eistren an Wastren kirks, an is the naitional day o Scotland.

The name "Andra" cums frae the Greek for "manlie, braw" (ἀνδρεία, meinin "manhuid, valor"). Lyk ither Greek names, it seems ti hae been common amang the Jews frae the 3rd or 2nt yeirhunder BC. Nae Hebrew or Aramaic name is recordit for him. He is dempt ti be the foonder an first beishop o the Kirk o Byzantium.

(Aw Biblical quotes haes been taen frae W.L Lorimer's translate)

It isna kent whan Andra wis born, but lyk as no he wis a man o Bethsaida, bi Loch Genesareth in Galilee. This is no faur frae Capernaum that wis ane o the important steids o Jesus's darg.

A fisherman bi tred, he wis a follaer o John the Baptist. Eftir listenin ti John cry Jesus "the Laum o God", he left him ti tak the gate wi Jesus, The Gospel o John tels that he at anss kent Jesus wis the Messiah an gaed ti tel his brither. The Gospel o Matthew gies this upcast o the cawin o Peter an Andra:

Ae day he [viz. Jesus] wis traivlin asyd the Loch o Galilee, whan he saw twa brithirs, Símon, cried Peter, an Andra his brithir, castin a net intil the loch; for thay war fishers bi tred.

"Cum eftir me," qo he til thaim, "an I s' mak ye men-fishers": an strecht thay quat thair nets an follaed him. (Matt. 4: 18-20)

Acause he wis ane o the first follaers o Christ, he is kent in the Greek as Prōtoklētos that meins "the first-caw'd". His name isna aften mentiont in the Gospels, but whan it is, he is aye bringin ither fowk ti Jesus. Ae byspel kyths in The Gospel o John, whan Jesus is aboot ti feed a fell thrang o fowk. Seein that thar isna eneuch fuid for the thrang, the disypil begoud ti colloge aboot hou ti feed thaim:

"Twa hunder merk," Philip answert, "wadna buy as mukkil breid as wad gie thaim a tuithfu the piece".

Ane o the disypils, Anda, Simon Peter's brither, sayd til him, [viz. Jesus] "Thar's a laddok here wi five bear laifs an twa fishes: but whit is that amang sae monie?"
"Gar the fowk lie doun," sayd Jesus... (John. 6: 6-10)

An Jesus gaes on ti say the grace an gie the fuid amang the thrang. Later on, the same Gospel gies this upcast:

Amang thaim at cam ti Jerusalem ti wurship at the Festival thar wis a whein Greeks. Thir Greeks cam ti Philip, at belang'd Bathsaïda in Galilee, an sayd til him, "Cud we see Jesus, sir?" Philip gaed awa an telt Andra, an the twasum gaed an telt Jesus. (John 12: 20-22)

Eftir Jesus's daith an resurrection, Andra wis ane o the curn that gat the Haly Gaist at Pentecost (Acts chaipter ane).

Eusebius o Caesarea quotes Origen as sayin Andra preichit alang the Blek Sie as faur as the Volga, Kiev an Novgorod. Hence he becam a patron saunt o Ukraine, Romanie an Roushie. By tradeition, he foondit the Episkopal See o Byzantium (Constantinople) in 38 AD, makkin Stachys the beishop. By Hippolytus o Rome, he preichit in Thrace, an his bein in Byzantium is mention'd in the apocrifal Acts o Andra, wrat in the 2nt yeirhunder.

Andra is sayd ti hae been mairtir'd bi crusifixion at the ceitie o Patras (Patræ) in Greece. Aerlie texts, sik as the Acts o Andra kent ti Gregory o Tours,^[1] beskrive Andra as band, no nailt, til a Laitin ruid o the kynd on whilk Jesus is sayd ti hae been crusifee'd; yit a tradeition cam aboot that Andra haed been crusifiee'd on an X-shapit ruid, or "saltire", nou aften kent as a "Saunt Andra's Cross". Thon wis sayd ti be at his ain behest, as he dempt himsel wanwirthie ti be crusifee'd on the same kynd o ruid as Jesus.^[2]

Relics o Andra ar keppit at the Basilica o St Andra in Patras, Greece; the Duomo di Sant'Andrea in Amalfi, Italy; St Mary's Roman Catholic Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland;^[3] an the Kirk o St Andra an St Albert in Warsaw, Poland. Thar ar monie smawer reliquaries athort the warld anaw.

Gaun by auld threaps, St Rule brocht Andra's relics ti Scotland in the 4t yeirhunder - gydit bi God ti modren St Andras in Fife - whaur he biggit a kirk an haed his heidsteid for his ain mission darg for the neist thritie yeir. Houaniver, maist skolars jalouses that this isna true.

Gaun bi legend, in 832 AD, Ungus II led an airmie of Pechts an Scots inti battil agin the Angles, led bi Æthelstan, naur modren-day Athelstaneford, East Lowden. On the morn o the battil, it wis sayd that Ungus saw white cluds shapit lyk a saltire in the lift. Ungus an his airmie, in maugre o bein ootnummer'd, wan the fecht. Ungus threapit that his airmie haed been unner the beild o Saunt Andra. Eftir, he tuik Andra as his patron an appyntit him the Patron Saunt o Scotland. This is sayd ti hae been the springheid o the Banner o Scotland; the white saltire agin a blue bakgrund.^[4]

1. ↑ In Monumenta Germaniae Historica II, cols. 821-847, translated in M.R. James, The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford) reprinted 1963:369.
2. ↑ The legends surrounding Andrew are discussed in F. Dvornik, "The Idea of Apostolicity in Byzantium and the Legend of the Apostle Andrew", Dumbarton Oaks Studies, IV (Cambridge) 1958.
3. ↑ "National Shrine of Saint Andrew" Archived 2013-08-11 at the Wayback Machine, St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh
4. ↑ Lawson, John Parker, History of the Abbey and Palace of Holyroodhouse published 1848 p. 169 [1]

• The Meesionary Vaiges o Andra Archived 2007-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
• St Andra in Orthodoxy Archived 2007-12-03 at the Wayback Machine
• St Andra in the Naitional Archives o Scotland Archived 2007-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
• Biography o Andra Archived 2007-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
• Sermon anent St Andra; Partick Newton Place Church, Glesca, 1976, A. S. Borrowman

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