History

Saint Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland

Compiled by Elizabeth Mckaskle

Saint Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland, and St. Andrew's Day is celebrated by Scots around the world on the 30th November. The flag of Scotland is the Cross of St. Andrew, and this is widely displayed as a symbol of national identity.

The "Order of Saint Andrew" or the "Most Ancient Order of the Thistle" is an order of Knighthood which is restricted to the King or Queen and sixteen others. It was established by James VII of Scotland in 1687.

A disciple of Jesus and the brother of Simon Peter . The two are pictured as fishermen working beside the sea when Jesus summons them to follow him and become, "fishers of men." Although less prominent than his brother, Andrew is present at the miracle of the bread and the speech on the Mount of Olives.  In the list of the Twelve, Andrew is listed second in Luke and Matthew and fourth in the books of Mark and Acts. In all accounts he was one of the first, as a follower of John the Baptists, to be "called" a disciple.

According to later traditions , Andrew became a missionary to Asia Minor, Macedonia, and southern Russia.  In 70 AD he was martyred in Patras, Greece. Having many coverts, he was feared by the Roman governor who had him cruxified on an X-shaped cross known as a Saltire Cross.  (One of the many Medievil customs of torture).  It is this shape that is reflected in the Scottish flag.  ( for culture buffs who attribute the southern "bubba or redneck" culture to early Scottish settlers, take note of the similiar designs between the Scottish flag and the Confederate flag).

He was the patron saint of Greece, Russua and Of course Scotland.  St. Andrew is also invoked against gout and a stiff neck.

St. Andrews bones were entombed, and around 300 years later were moved by Emperor Constantine (the Great) to his new capital Constantinople.  Legend suggests that a Greek Monk (although others describe him as an Irish assistant of St. Columba) called St. Rule (or St. Regulus) was warned in a dream that St. Andrews remains were to be moved and was directed by an angel to take those of the remains which he could to the "ends of the earth" for safe-keeping. St. Rule dutifully followed these directions, removing a tooth, an arm bone, a kneecap and some fingers from St. Andrew's tomb and transporting these as far away as he could. That place was Scotland and it is here the association is believed to have begun.  It was here that St. Rule was shipwrecked with his precious cargo.

St. Rule is said to have come ashore at a Pictish settlement on the East Coast of Scotland and this later became St. Andrews.

Another story is that Acca, the Bishop of Hexham, who was a reknown collector of relics, brought the relics of St. Andrew to St. Andrews in 733. There certainly seems to have been a religious center at St. Andrews at that time, either founded by St. Rule in the 6th century or by a Pictish King, Ungus, who reigned from 731 - 761. Whichever tale is true, the relics were placed in a specially constructed chapel. This chapel was replaced by the Cathedral of St. Andrews in 1160, and St. Andrews became the religious capital of Scotland and a great center for Medieval pilgrims who came to view the relics.

There are other legends of how St. Andrew and his remains became associated with Scotland,but there is little evidence for any of these, including the legend of St. Rule. The names still exist in Scotland today, including St. Rules Tower, which remains today amongst the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral. It is not known what happened to the relics of St. Andrew which were stored in St. Andrews Cathedral, although it is most likely that these were destroyed during the Scottish Reformation.

The Protestant cause, propounded by Knox, Wishart and others, won out over Roman Catholism during the Reformation and the "idolatry of catholism", that is the Saints, relics, decoration of churches, were expunged during the process of converting the Roman Catholic churches of Scotland to the harsh simplicity of Knox's brand of Calvanism.

The place where these relics were kept within the Cathedral at St. Andrews is now marked by a plaque, amongst the ruins, for visitors to see.

The larger part of St. Andrew's remains were stolen from Constantinople in 1210 and are now to be found in Amalfi in Southern Italy. In 1879 the Archbishop of Amalfi sent a small piece of the Saint's shoulder blade to the re-established Roman Catholic community in Scotland. During his visit in 1969, Pope Paul VI gave further relics of St. Andrew to Scotland with the words "Saint Peter gives you his brother" and these are now displayed in a reliquary in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Compiled by Elizabeth Mckaskle from the following sources:
Gateway to Scotland WP
The Oxford Companion Bible
The Dictionary of Christian Art