Memorial Day of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called

In the Orthodox tradition, the Day of St Apostle Andrew the First-Called is celebrated on December 13 according to the new style Apostle Andrew, a particularly revered saint, who became the first follower of Christ and the spreader of the Christian faith in distant pagan lands According to the events described in the Gospel, the First-Called was a simple fisherman in the city of Bethsaida, but he was lucky enough to be present at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist When John pointed to Christ as the Savior, Andrei immediately believed and became a disciple of Jesus Soon after this, he led his brother Simon to Christ, who became the Apostle Peter The First-Called was a devoted student, he witnessed the execution and Resurrection of his teacher, and witnessed the miracle of the Ascension 50 days after the death of the Savior, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in the form of tongues of flame, after which the disciples of Christ acquired the ability to understand foreign languages, the gift of healing and prophecy Thus, the holy men were prepared for missionary work with the goal of spreading the true faith of monotheism to the farthest corners of the earth The further life of Andrei is covered with legends and traditions described in the life of the apostle The activities of the preacher of Christianity in pagan lands brought the saint to the Black Sea, Danube and Dnieper On the site of the future Kyiv, in the middle of the Scythian mounds and steppes, a cross was erected with a prophecy about the glorious significance of the city Through Ladoga, the First-Called arrives on the territory of Great Rome Here Christian missionary activity is subject to special persecution; the apostles and the first Christians suffered a lot of torture This fate did not spare Andrei, who was captured and executed in the Greek city of Patras Andrei's execution became proof of the height of his spirit and faith The apostle crucified on an oblique cross preached the word of God to the townspeople for two days The pagans present at the treasury were introduced to Christianity and prayed for the salvation of the saint But Andrew himself was filled with triumph, accepting death on the cross, like Jesus He resisted saving his life, expecting eternal life next to the Savior In the popular consciousness, Andrei is the patron saint of translators, sailors and young girls of marriageable age It is to him that the prayers of young virgins turn to for a successful marriage In the Orthodox calendar, St Andrew's Day begins a series of winter holidays associated with Christmas From that day on, it was forbidden for women to engage in handicrafts; spinning or weaving could lead to disaster But the correct celebration of the holy date promised a bountiful harvest next year There are many folk weather signs associated with St Andrew's Day They looked at the presence of snow and predicted the yield Also on this day they listened to the water and looked closely at the fire, and the girls, getting ready for bed, waited for prophetic dreams about their betrothed