St. Andrew the Apostle icon (2)

Orthodox Icon of Apostle Andrew .

Commemorated November 30th.

The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was the first of the Apostles to follow Christ, and he later brought his own brother, the holy Apostle Peter, to Christ (John 1:35-42). St Andrew carried the Word of God to Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, he reached the River Danube, went along the coast of the Black Sea, through Crimea, the Black Sea region and along the River Dniepr he climbed to the place where the city of Kiev now stands. He returned to Thrace and founded a church in the small village of Byzantium, which later became Constantinople (now Istanbul).The final city to which the Apostle came was the city of Patra, where he suffered martyrdom. He was crucified where his hands and feet wereu00a0not to nailed but tied to the cross. The Ecumenical Patriach of Constantinople can trace his ordination back to saint Andrew. The Greek Orthodox Church of America comes under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch.