Saint Andrew the Apostle and the Great Church of Christ

The Ecumenical Patriarchate or the Great Church of Christ is one of the most ancient centers of the Christian Church. It was founded as "the Church of Byzantium" by Saint Andrew the Apostle (c. 36 AD). As the first to be called by Jesus Christ into his service, St. Andrew commands a reverence a degree greater than those who have followed. For this reason, St. Andrew is called Protokletos, or "First-called."

St. Andrew, like his brother St. Peter, was a fisherman, a toiler with net and boat recognized in the Psalms of the Old Testament as one of those "who go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep." His love of the sea stemmed from his love of the Creator who made it, and the perils of the sea which he challenged daily forged the character with which he boldly assailed the seas of ignorance and paganism in the sacred trust that had been placed in his keeping.

St. Andrew lived in the Holy Land in the ancient city of Bethsaida and after a discipleship with St. John the Baptist went forth to become one of the greatest missionaries in all history. The apostles drew lots to determine their sphere of labor for the Savior.

St. Andrew exulted in his mission to preach in Asia Minor, part of Greece, and an area along the coast of the Black Sea, including its gateway, the city now known as Istanbul, or Constantinople.

• See How Orthodoxy reached Ireland link

St. Andrew (links to Scotland) exulted in his mission to preach in Asia Minor, part of Greece, and an area along the coast of the Black Sea, including its gateway, the city now known as Istanbul, or Constantinople. And traveled great distances in order to spread the word, and it may be this which links him with Scotland. Two versions of events claim this link.

• One legend builds upon Andrew’s extensive travels, claiming that he actually came to Scotland and built a church in Fife. This town is now called St Andrews, and the church became a center, and pilgrims came from all over Britain to pray there. Another ancient legend recalls how it was after the death of Andrew, sometime in the 4th century, that several of his relics where brought to Fife by Rule, a native of Patra. Whichever legend is closer to the truth we are unlikely to ever unravel, however it is these links that explain why Andrew is now the Patron Saint of Scotland.

Churches were dedicated to him from early times throughout Italy and France as well as in Anglo Saxon England, where Hexham and Rochester were the earliest of 637 medieval dedications. St. Andrew has also been remembered down through the ages for the way he met his terrible death in A.D. 60. Believing himself to be unworthy to be crucified on a cross like that of Christ, and so he met his end on a ‘saltire’, or X-shaped cross (St Andrew’s cross) which became his symbol. His cross, in white on a blue background, remains the proud symbol of Scotland today and forms a central component of the flag of the United Kingdon of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The supposed anniversary of his martyrdom is 30 November, and it is this date that is honored as his feast day each year.

Wherever St. Andrew went he attracted throngs of people who thirsted for a spiritual knowledge. His message of deliverance was so eloquently convincing, even to hostile minds, that he is credited with having converted countless thousands to Christianity in a day when mass media did not exist. As an apostle, his only tools were his power of oratory and his love for Jesus, and his only press agent was the word of mouth of those privileged to hear his homilies.

St. Andrew came to Jerusalem for the First Synod of the Apostles, about 50 AD, another historic first for him and the other apostles, some of whom he had not yet met. There he rejoiced in joining the great St. Peter together with those but for whom Christianity might never have become the glorious human experience it is today. Out of the Synod, the apostles went forth with renewed vigor to establish the ecclesiastical system.

St. Andrew alone is credited with having set up parishes throughout Asia Minor, in Pontos, Bithynia, Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, Scythia (Russia, where he is still regarded as patron saint)[1] and in the capital city of Byzantium. It was in Byzantium that St. Andrew ordained Stachys as first bishop of Byzantium (later Constantinople), thereby establishing an unbroken line of 270 patriarchs down to the present day Patriarch Bartholomeos 1st. From Byzantium, St. Andrew went on to more glory through his compelling oratory and power of healing through Jesus Christ. He eventually found himself in Achaia, in the city of Patras, where he was to suffer death.

St. Andrew committed the grave crime in the eyes of the state of converting Maximilla, wife of the ruler Aigeates, to Christianity. Even though he was then eighty years old, it was ordered that he be put to death by being nailed upside down to an X-shaped cross. After three days of agony on this vile device, St. Andrew died.

The ancient city of Byzantium was later made (331 AD) the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great (306-337 AD) under the official name of New Rome, but it is now known as Constantinople. By the virtue of its position as the "Queen of Cities" and the capital of the Byzantine Empire it became a very important jurisdiction of the Christian world.

The Second Ecumenical Council (381 AD) recognized the See of Constantinople as a Patriarchate, while the Fourth Council (451 AD) recognized it as the first See of the East and second only to Rome. In the year 595 the Patriarch of Constantinople was recognized as the Ecumenical Patriarch and his See as the "Universal See." After the Great Schism in 1054 the Ecumenical Patriarchate emerged as the world center of the Orthodox Church and the Patriarch was recognized by the Orthodox leaders as Primus inter Pares, "First among Equals". Saint Andrew the Apostle is considered to be the first occupant of the Throne of Constantinople, whilst its present successor, Patriarch Bartholomeos the 1st, is the 270th occupant of the Ecumenical Throne.

The Order of St. Andrew of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was organized on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 10, 1966 when His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos conferred upon thirty outstanding laymen of the Church the various Offikion or Offices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on behalf of His All Holiness Patriarch Athenagoras of blessed memory. They were honored because of their love, loyalty and support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and their contribution to its advancement and welfare. This ministry has grown over the past 55 years which have included hundreds of dedicated Archons who have given their time, talent and treasure as Defenders of the Faith and supporters and advocates for our Mother Church.

[1] The Varangians were an elite unit of the Byzantine army that served as personal bodyguards to the emperors of Constantinople from the 10th to the 14th century. They were primarily composed of Norsemen and Anglo-Saxons, known for their loyalty and military prowess, playing a crucial role in defending the city and participating in various battles. The Varangians, particularly those in the Byzantine Empire, converted to Orthodox Christianity. This conversion was often influenced by their integration into the Byzantine military and society.