St. Andrew, the Holy Apostle, is the first apostle to follow Christ. Later, he brought Apostle Peter, this brother, to Christ.When Baptist John started to preach, the Holy Apostle became his closest disciple. St Andrew was there as Christ started his public ministry and Saint Mark and Saint Matthew tells us that St Andrew and Peter left everything they had in order to follow Jesus.
Following the Descent of the Holy Spirit on St Andrew, the Apostle headed to the Eastern Lands to preach the Word of God. He went to Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedonia reaching River Danube. He went long the Black sea coast through Crimea and along the River Dniepr where he climbed to the area where Kiev currently stands. Overnight, he stopped on the Kiev hills. In the morning, he told the disciples who were with him, that upon the hills the God’s beneficence shall shine forth and a great city would exist there where God rose up a lot of churches.
On his journey, St Andrew endured a lot of torments and sufferings from pagans as the latter cast him out of their cities while beating him. St Andrew was being pelted with stones in Sinope; however, he remained unharmed and continued to preach about the Savior. Through his prayers, the Lord worked some miracles. By St Andrew’s labors, Christian churches were developed for which he offered clery and bishops. The Apostle finally came to the city of Patra where he suffered martyrdom.
God made a lot of miracles through St Andrew in Patra. The blind got their sight and the infirm was made whole. Through the Apostle’s prayers, Sosios, the illustrious citizen, recovered from a serious illness. The Apostle healed Maximilla, the Patra governor’s wife. St Andrew’s miracles and his speech enlightened nearly all citizens of Patra with true faith.
A number of pagans remained in the city of Patra; however, among them was Aegeatos, the city’s prefect. The Apostle repeatedly tried to turn to Aegeatos with the words of the Gospel. However, Aegeatos was not convinced even by his miracles. With humility and love, St Andrew appealed to his soul, trying to disclose to him the mystery of eternal life through the Holy Cross of the Lord’s power. But Aegeatos ordered the crucification of St Andrew. The pagan believed he was likely to undo the preaching of the Apostle if he was to let him die on the cross.
The prefect’s decision was accepted by St Andrew with prayer to God and joy. He willingly submitted himself to be put to execution. To prolong the saint’s agony, Aegeatos ordered not to nail the hands and feet of the saint; instead, to tie them to the cross.The apostle taught the people for a couple of days. The people pitied him and attempted to take the saint down from the cross. As Aegeatos feared a people’s riot, he ordered to cease the execution. However, St Andrew started to pray that God would let him die on the cross. As the soldiers started to take hold of him, they felt they lost control of their hands. After Apostle Andrew given glory to the Lord, the cross was illuminated by a ray of divine light. After the light disappeared, St Andrew already had given up his soul to God. The saint’s body was buried with honor by the prefect’s wife Maximilla.