December 13 is the day of remembrance of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. It is believed that he became the first preacher of Christianity in Russia.
Preaching
Tradition, Andrew had the lot to preach in Scythia. The apostles, relying on the higher will, thus determined each for himself a place where the teacher's word would be spread. So, a thousand years before Epiphany, the Apostle Andrew visited the territory of the future Rus. Epiphanius the Monk compiled the life of Andrew the First-Called, translated at the end of the 11th century. According to him, Andrei visited Scythia several times, went to the Crimea and was in Chersonesos.
Kiev
In Russia there was a legend about the visit of Andrew the First-Called to the Russian lands. "The word about the manifestation of Baptism in the Russian land of the Holy Apostle Andrew, as he came to Russia" was included in the "Tale of Bygone Years". The chronicler indicates that Andrew the First-Called arrived from Sinop to Korsun (Chersonesos). He wanted to walk along the Dnieper to Rome and on the way blessed the place where Kiev later arose: “And it so happened that he came and stood under the mountains on the shore. And in the morning he got up and said to the disciples who were with him: “Do you see these mountains? The grace of God will shine on these mountains, there will be a great city, and God will raise up many churches”. And having ascended these mountains, he blessed them, and set up the cross, and prayed to God, and descended from this mountain, where Kiev would later be, and went up the Dnieper,”the Tale says.
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Novgorod
In the north, in the land of the Slovenes, the Apostle visited the place where Novgorod was founded. According to the Tale, Andrew the First-Called was especially surprised by the customs of local residents: “I saw a miracle in the Slavic land on my way here. I saw wooden baths, and they will heat them strongly, and they will undress and be naked, and drench themselves with tannery kvass, and the young ones will lift up the rods and beat themselves, and they will finish themselves to such an extent that they barely crawl out, a little alive, and will be doused with chill water, and only so will they come to life. And they do this constantly, they are not tormented by anyone, but they torment themselves, and then they do washing for themselves, and not torture."
Olearius reports that Andrei in Novgorod not only taught how to conduct true worship, but also instructed in the construction of churches and monasteries.
In memory of the saint, a church was built in Novgorod at the end of the 11th century, and from 1097 church services to Andrew the First-Called began.
The order
The Order of St. Andrew the First-Called became the main order of the Peter the Great era, given for military deeds and state services. The emperor established it on November 30, 1698. “On Peter himself, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was entrusted (May 10, 1703) by General-Admiral Count Golovin, the first holder of this order. Catherine II commanded to hand over to each newly-awarded cavalier a printed copy of the Order's Statute … Since 1860, the size of one-time contributions for receiving the Order has been set as follows: St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called - 500 rubles , - this is how the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary says about this order.
Flag
St. Andrew's cross became a symbol that was used in the navy. Emperor Peter I established a special flag, which first appeared above the Eagle galiot. Peter I was personally involved in the development of the image for the flag, he created about ten sketches. And finally settled on this: “The flag is white, through which the blue cross of St. Andrew for the sake of the fact that Russia received holy baptism from this apostle. In this form, the flag was on Russian warships until November 1917. And only in 1992, the naval flag of the USSR was changed to the naval flag of Russia. The symbolism of the St. Andrew's Cross has returned.
Relics
In 1644 the monks of the monastery of St. Anastasia the Patterner near Thessalonica presented the right hand of Andrew the First-Called to Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich, which was placed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (currently kept in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow). By this time in Moscow there were already parts of the relics, for which in 1603-1604. at the direction of Boris Feodorovich Godunov, a silver reliquary was made, placed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin..
On the day of the Holy Trinity in 1703, a golden reliquary was laid in the foundation of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, in which the relics of the Apostle Andrew were kept - in the city named after St. Peter, the brother of Andrew the First-Called. A cathedral was erected on Vasilievsky Island in honor of the Apostle Andrew.
Cross
Returning from Greece, Andrew came to the city by the Gulf of Corinth - Patras. As elsewhere on his way, he preached what did not like Yegat Antipat, the local ruler. Christianity was accepted by the wife of the ruler Maximil, and his brother Stratokles received healing. Egat ordered the execution of the apostle on a two-meter X-shaped cross. It was this instrument of execution that later became the symbol of the saint. Andrei's death is dated 62 years after the birth of Christ.
The cross was kept in the largest Greek cathedral, named after the saint. In honor of the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, the cross was brought to Russia after negotiations with the Greek Church. It could be seen by residents of St. Petersburg, Moscow and the Moscow region, Kiev and Minsk.