Holy Family’s chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew gathered this evening to celebrate the feast day of St. Andrew. Also known as Andrew the Apostle, he was a Christian Apostle and the older brother to St. Peter. In the Gospel of Matthew, it is said Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw Andrew and Simon Peter fishing. It is then he asked the two to become disciples and “fishers of men.”
Per Christian tradition, Andrew went on to preach the Good News around the shores of the Black Sea and throughout what is now Greece and Turkey. Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in Patras. He was bound, rather than nailed, to a cross, as is described in the Acts of Andrew. He was crucified on a cross form known as “crux decussata,” which is an X-shaped cross or a “saltire.” Today this is commonly referred to as “St. Andrew’s Cross.” It is believed Andrew requested to be crucified this way, because he deemed himself “unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus.”
His saltire cross is featured on the flag of Scotland and is represented in much of his iconography. He is commonly portrayed as an old man with long white hair and a beard, often holding the Gospel book or a scroll. St. Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen and singers.
Members of Holy Family’s Brotherhood of St. Andrew chapter shared Eucharist and then adjourned to finish the evening with fellowship. For more information about Holy Family’s chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, please contact the church office. admin@hfec.org
