St. Andrew the Apostle was the first Apostle. Fisherman. Brother of Simon Peter. Follower of John the Baptist. Went through life leading people to Jesus, both before and after the Crucifixion. He was sent to preach to the Scythians in what is now Ukraine, St Andrew was accompanied by three Scythian missionaries, Sts. Inna, Pinna and Rimma. It is claimed, he stopped at the hills surrounding the area that was to become Kyiv. As if by a special gift of clairvoyance, St Andrew erected a Cross there and prophesied that a great city would be built there with many Churches of God. St Andrew worked with Scythians throughout his life and a number of Scythian saints and martyrs carried the Gospel they learned from the St Andrew Tradition into Central Europe. Chrisitianity, however was not to be nationaly accepted in Ukraini until 988 under St. Volodymyr the Great. Martyred on an saltire (x-shaped) cross, Andrew is said to have preached for two days from it. St Andrew the Apostle is the Patron Saint of the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox churches (Church of Kyiv).
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