Orthodox Christians celebrate Saint Apostle Andrew

Chisinau, 13 December /MOLDPRES/ - The old-style Orthodox Christians today celebrate the Day of the Saint Andrew, the Apostle. In the people’s tradition, this day marks the beginning of the winter.  

According to the Christian tradition, Saint Andrew is one of the 12 Apostles, chosen by the Savior Himself to preach the Gospel. Being the son of a fisherman from Bethsaida, a settlement on the shore of the Lake Tiberias, Andrew, along with his brother Peter, were disciples of Saint John the Baptist.   

As one of the oldest Apostles, Andrew enjoys special honour on the territory of the Romanian nation. After the Ascension of the Lord, Andrew went to preach the Gospel and when the Apostles drew the lots, he got the regions around the Black Sea and Marmara Sea – areas which are presently in Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria.   

Saint Andrew, the Apostle, is the one who preached the Christianity namely on the Geto-Dacian territories, where Romanians live at present. Therefore, the Saint Apostle Andrew is regarded as the man who brought the Christianity to the Romanian nation and its protector. In this respect, there is a lot of evidence, such as the Cave of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the Spring of Saint Andrew the Apostle, carols and folk songs and much more evidence.         

The name Andrew comes from the Greek language and means resoluteness, courage, will and braveness. All people bearing the name Andrew and its derivatives mark their name day on this day.  

The Saint Andrew’s Day marks the beginning of the period of the winter holidays, which will continue with Saint Nicholas and will end with Epiphany.