The text was published on the Kinonia portal, in the section “From the Editor’s Pen,” on 13 December 2025.
The Gospel speaks very briefly about Christ’s calling of the apostles, yet even within this brevity it names the first—the Apostle Andrew, who responded to the call of the God-Man. The very title “first,” given to him in the Gospel—that is, the First-Called—speaks volumes. To be the first to begin something, to be the one who opens the way, is especially difficult. It is far easier and simpler to follow than to be first. The Lord said to the apostles Andrew and Peter: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed Him” (Matt. 4:19–20).
The Lord saw two brothers engaged in their customary work—they were casting a net into the sea. These were Simon, later called Peter, and Andrew, whom we call the First-Called. It was precisely them whom the Lord first called to the work of spreading the Gospel word. Simon Peter and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed Him (Matt. 4:18–22). The word “immediately” speaks of something very important and fundamental; it testifies to the decisiveness possessed by Simon Peter and Andrew, and to their readiness to follow their Teacher. Peter and Andrew were disciples of St John the Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord, and thus they had already heard of the Lord; yet one must not lose sight of the fact that, when the Lord called them to the apostolic ministry, He had not yet performed a single miracle. Peter and Andrew undoubtedly believed His call and followed Him without hesitation.
The Lord does not call the wise or the powerful; rather, His call is addressed to those whom we might call simple. Yet these people had open hearts—hearts ready and capable of receiving faith in God, as well as the desire to listen to Him and to follow His salvific path. “The apostles cultivated human nature with the Cross as with a plough and sowed the word of God as seed.” With these words, St John Chrysostom extols the courage and zeal of the holy apostles.
To Andrew, one of the apostles closest to our Lord and Saviour, a special mission was entrusted. When all the apostles set out to preach throughout the world, the Apostle Andrew journeyed north from Jerusalem. Tradition relates that Andrew reached the area on the Bosporus where Constantinople would later be built—the capital of Byzantium and the centre of universal Orthodoxy—where a multitude of God’s saints would later shine forth. Among other things, it is precisely for this reason that the holy Apostle Andrew is today venerated as the patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The hymnographer who composed hymns to the glory of God and in honour of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called poetically bears witness to the wondrous apostleship of Christ’s First-Called Apostle. This is attested to by the text of the following stichera from the festal service:
“You were illumined by the light of the Forerunner when the Hypostatic Light of the Father’s glory appeared to you, who in mercy came to save the human race; then you, O glorious one, first hastened toward Him; you were illumined in mind by the perfect ray of His divinity, and thus you became a preacher and an apostle of Christ our God; entreat Him to save and enlighten our souls” (first sticheron at Lord, I Have Cried).
“To Him who blossomed forth from barrenness you became a disciple, and when the Virgin-born shone forth, you became a teacher of piety and chastity, manifesting purity; O blessed Andrew, fervent lover of virtue, you stored it loftily in your heart, and from glory you were taken up to ineffable glory by Christ our God; entreat Him to save and enlighten our souls” (third sticheron at Lord, I Have Cried).
“You abandoned the catching of fish, O Apostle, in order to catch men with the hook of your preaching, lowering as bait the true faith and drawing all nations out of the depths of falsehood; O Apostle Andrew, you are the own brother of the foremost apostle and at the same time a thunder-voiced preacher of the whole world; therefore do not cease to pray for us, who ever with faith and love praise your holy and all-praised memory” (Glory at Lord, I Have Cried).
“Let us praise the most glorious Apostle Andrew, kinsman of Peter and first disciple, eyewitness and servant of God the Logos; for he enlightened the nations, was crucified, and as a disciple of the Master finished his life” (Exapostilarion).
“Rejoice now, O Bethsaida, for in the valley of your homeland fragrant lilies have blossomed—Peter and Andrew—who have censed the whole world with the preaching of the faith and the grace of Christ, and have been united to His suffering” (first sticheron at the Praises).
Reflecting on the apostleship and mission of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, his readiness to respond to Christ’s call without hesitation or excuse prompts us to ask: are we, as contemporary Christians, ready to respond immediately and without exception to Christ’s call? Sadly, we who bear His name from the earliest days of our lives often cannot renounce even the smallest thing for Christ’s sake. In contrast to us, the Apostle Andrew immediately leaves his nets, and with them all his possessions. Leaving everything for Christ, the Apostle Andrew becomes the finest “fisher” of human souls. He travelled through many lands preaching Christ, enduring persecution from both Jews and pagans. The Apostle Andrew the First-Called, a simple fisherman, became a leader and teacher of many followers of Christ. Yet his life was not a path towards earthly glory, but a path of toil, ascetic struggle, and suffering in order to attain heavenly glory. Although we are not called to apostolic witness, nor to the work of spreading the Gospel as the apostles were, we, as Christians who call ourselves Christ’s disciples, must understand and know that our way of life is the best testimony to Him. Our thoughts, actions, and deeds—this is the manner in which each of us can bear witness to our faith before those around us, before those who may not yet have encountered God in their hearts.
When the governor of the city of Patras in Asia Minor began to blaspheme the Cross of Christ—which the pagans considered shameful—and threatened the apostle with death by crucifixion, the holy Andrew the First-Called began, with faith and love, to explain to the governor the mystery of the Cross through which the redemption of humanity was accomplished. The governor then subjected the apostle to imprisonment, beatings, and finally crucifixion. Andrew called himself a servant of the Cross and declared that he did not fear earthly sufferings, but even desired them for the sake of Christ Crucified and Risen. Having received the light of Christ from his first calling, the apostle ascended the Cross in order to be united with God forever. May the Lord grant us the readiness to offer prayerful hymns of praise to the Apostle Andrew, so that his spiritual virtues may dwell within us and dispel our sluggishness in following Christ and fulfilling His commandments. May the love for Christ—which has grown cold within us today because of self-love and has been covered by the ashes of our passions—be rekindled in our hearts. May this love be inflamed not only for the pleasures of earthly life, but also for the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven, whose joy is ineffable and incomparable to any earthly joys that distance us from Christ.
Written by: Catechist Branislav Ilić, editor of the Kinonia portal.
