St. Andrew the Apostle has five distinctions. He was St.
Peter's
brother; he
is the patron
saint
of both Russia and
Scotland; he is the only saint honored with a bank holiday (Scotland);
he has a
world famous golf course named
after him;
and he
was the
first apostle to sign up with Jesus Christ and Company.
Although
he
is mentioned several times in the gospels,
there
is
no reliable historical evidence of Andrew's life after Christ's
death.
His Scottish patronage
is based on an eighth-century legend that St.
Regulus was
commanded by
an angel
to
transport
Andrew's
bones from Greece "to
the
ends of the earth." St. Regulus,
for some
reason, believed
that
the angel meant Scotland,
so St. Regulus built a chapel
there to
house Andrew's bones.*
The relics were placed in a
specially constructed chapel. This chapel was replaced by the Cathedral of
St. Andrews in 1160.
There
was also a legend that Andrew was martyred on a saltire
(x-shaped
cross/St.
Andrew's Cross)
which led to the symbol being incorporated on the Scottish flag.
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