Bio for Andrew the Apostle

We do know that Andrew as the son of the fisherman Jonah of Bethsaida in Galilee and the brother of Simon Peter. John's Gospel tells us that Andrew was a disciple of the Baptist whose testimony first led him to Jesus, who he immediately recognized as the Messiah. He quickly introduced Jesus to his brother Simon and together they left all things behind to follow Jesus.

Andrew is always numbered among the first four of the Twelve in the Gospel and Acts, though he is not listed in the Big Three of Peter, James, and John. He appears to have had greater authority than some of the Twelve when he was included in the great eschatological discourse in Mark 13, in John's account of the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, and in John again when Philip referred the matter to Andrew of the Greeks asking to see Jesus.

It appears that Andrew preached in Greece after the resurrection of Jesus and his martyrdom by being bound, not nailed to the cross, to prolong his suffering, took place during Nero's reign on November 30, 60 A.D. Lastly, his name means Valor or Manhood, and he is the patron of Russia and Scotland. The flag of Great Britain bears St. Andrew's cross on it to represent Scotland.