Born in Bethsaida, brother of Peter, disciple of John the Baptist, a fisherman, the first Apostle called; according to legend, preached the Gospel in northern Greece, Epirus and Scythia, and was martyred at Patras about 70; in art, is represented with an x-shaped cross, called St. Andrew's Cross; is honored as the patron of Russia and Scotland; Nov.30.

Having considered the life and martyrdom of the apostle Peter, we now direct our attention to his brother Andrew. The difference of personality here is comparable to the difference between a rough, stormy sea and the quiet, peaceful shore. Andrew the apostle was a man of courage, valor, and manliness. Even his name has a noble meaning, coming from the Greek word "andreios", which is translated "brave". It was already a common name among the Jews two centuries before Christ. This meaning of his name influenced the artists of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, for the earliest painted conceptions portray him as a man of valiant stature and virile countenance.

Serious and quiet and manly was Andrew the apostle-andreios, the brave one. Painters imbue every aspect of Peter's brother with power and strength. The qualities of firmness and resolution and determination characterize this disciple of Christ. He aspired to reach the mountaintops. "Andrew was not small, but big, a little stooped, with a large nose and high eyebrows"-so a ninth-century biography described him. These characteristics were gathered from earlier sources. "Not small, but big"-how well these words describe his character also!

The gospels have little to say about Andrew, but this absence of words is significant in itself. He was what the name means, but he lacked those sharp and unpleasant traits that often enough only disfigure and deform brave men. He was neither rude nor harsh, neither crude nor brusque. Spognoletto saw this apostle in the proper perspective when he painted him as a quiet, earnest, friendly old man holding a fish on a rod with his large and strong right hand. It was not the fisherman who caught this most holy fish, but rather it was Christ Himself who called and captured Andrew.