Homily for the Commemoration of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
I congratulate you all on the feast of Saint Andrew the First-Called! He is the first Russian enlightener to bring us the gospel; for he was sent by Christ to the northern lands. He circumnavigated the entire Black Sea, preaching in Sinope, Adjara, Georgia, Abkhazia, and Crimea. He also visited Kuban, where he was nearly eaten by cannibals. According to legend, he ascended the Dnieper to what would become Kiev and erected a cross on Saint Andrew's Hill as a sign that the gospel would shine forth there. A church dedicated to Saint Andrew the First-Called now stands on this site. Tradition says that the Apostle Andrew also reached Valaam. He founded the Church in the city of Byzantium (the future Constantinople), from which the Russian Church traces its lineage. The line of all Russian bishops and priests descends from Saint Andrew the First-Called. He also preached in European countries. He ended his life in the city of Patara or Patras.
Before his execution, Andrew the First-Called engaged in a very interesting dialogue. He was arrested by the ruler of Patras, who demanded that the Apostle renounce Christ and sacrifice to idols. Andrew the First-Called replied, "If you were initiated into the mysteries, you would not be suggesting such nonsense to me." The ruler asked him what mysteries Andrew was referring to. The Apostle replied, "If you were a good man, if you had a good conscience, you would seek God, and He would reveal Himself to you." People often ask why someone refused to come to God. And the answer is very simple, the very same answer Andrew gave. A person who does not want to live according to God's commandments does not come to God. If a person does not want to renounce their passions and live according to the commandments, their soul perishes, because it does not partake of God's power, God's grace.
The ruler continued his threat: if Andrew did not renounce Christ, he would send him to the Cross. Andrew replied, "If I feared the Cross, I would not preach it!" How can we fear death if we preach faith in the death of Christ? Andrew said to the ruler, "If only you knew the mystery of the Cross, upon which the universe is founded!" The ruler ordered him crucified on an X-shaped Cross (Saint Andrew's Cross). As soon as Andrew was crucified, a terrible earthquake struck, killing the ruler. The soldiers, frightened, wanted to remove Andrew from the Cross while he was still alive, but he prayed to the Lord to take him. The Lord heard his prayer, the Light of God shone upon Andrew, and in this uncreated Light, Andrew's soul soared to Heaven to bask in the abodes of God the Father.
How different is the worldview of Saint Andrew from our own? Andrew was not attached to the earth; he was swept away by the mysterious calling of God by the Sea of Galilee when the Lord called him, and Andrew followed Him to the very end. And this love carried him through wild Scythians, through tribes of cannibals, and through fierce civilized people who rejected Christ, and it raised him to heavenly joy. It is a remarkable love that drew him through all worlds. And we are Christians because Andrew loved God to the very end. He is for us a model of complete detachment from the earth; he truly was a citizen of heaven, living here according to heavenly laws. And now he lives in his homeland and prays for us, supporting and comforting us. The Holy Metropolitan Innocent of Moscow, when he was still simply Father Ioann, preached Christianity to the Aleuts and taught them, in times of sorrow, not to seek comfort from men.
Instead of offering consolation, unbelievers will laugh, following Nietzsche's maxim: "Push a man who is falling." If someone loves God, you can turn to them, says Saint Innocent, and the most important thing they can do is pray. Andrew the First-Called always drew consolation from God, and was consoled, received glorification, received mercy, received joy. And we must seek consolation from the Almighty Lord, who is always with us. And just as God led Andrew the First-Called through all the storms of the world, leading him to victory, so too will God lead us to the moment when we see the universe erupt like fireworks, the heavens burst open with a roar, the earth burst into flames and burn, and beyond the blazing universe we will see the shining Cross and a new world, emerging once again from the hands of God the Creator.
“And he who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new'" (Rev. 21:5).
May God grant us entry into this Kingdom! May God's mercy be with us!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
