The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70

Andrew the Apostle

d. c. 60–70 (trad., Patras) · Apostle of the Twelve · “The First-Called” · Bethsaida → Achaia (trad.)

The Apostolic Age

Andrew the Apostle — historical depiction 1
Andrew the ApostleArtus Wolffort · Public domain · Commons
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Andrew the Apostle — historical depiction 1

Andrew the ApostleArtus Wolffort · Public domain · Commons

Who Andrew the Apostle was

Brother of Simon Peter and, in John’s Gospel, the first disciple called — a follower of the Baptist who “first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias.” In the Gospels he is the one who brings people to Jesus: his brother, the boy with the loaves, the Greeks at the feast. The earliest mission traditions, reported by Origen, assign him Scythia — whence the Kievan and Byzantine churches’ devotion — and the dominant tradition places his martyrdom at Patras in Achaia, bound (in accounts from the 4th century onward) to a cross of the decussate form that bears his name.

Common questions

When did Andrew die?

Andrew the Apostle is dated d. c. 60–70 (trad., Patras) in the archive, which places Andrew in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Andrew?

Andrew the Apostle is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Luke, John the Evangelist, The Muratorian canonist and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Andrew from?

The archive associates Andrew the Apostle with Bethsaida, Achaia (trad.). The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were Andrew’s contemporaries?

The archive links Andrew the Apostle to 5 other figures, including Simon Peter, John the Apostle, Stachys and John the Baptist. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Scripture record

Primary-source mentions (4)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Acts 1:13

c. AD 85
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew…
Luke · read ↗

John 1:40 (the first-called)

c. AD 90
One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
John the Evangelist · read ↗

Muratorian Fragment (the revelation to Andrew of John's Gospel)

c. AD 170
That same night it was revealed to Andrew, one of the apostles, that John should write down all things in his own name, and they should all certify.
The Muratorian canonist · Muratorian Fragment · source text

Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History III.1 (from Origen)

c. AD 325
When the holy apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over the whole world, Thomas received Parthia as his allotted region, Andrew Scythia…
Eusebius of Caesarea · III.1 · source text

Connected in the archive

People

Events in this lifetime

Place

Places served

The 10 places the sources put Andrew, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route. Every stop here is marked with the company: the source places this figure’s company there rather than naming the figure at it.

  1. 1GalileeWith him through the towns of Galileewith the companyMark 1:39; Matthew 4:23
  2. 2NazarethCame into his own country, and his disciples followed himwith the companyMark 6:1
  3. 3CapernaumThe house at Capernaum, where he taught the Twelvewith the companyMark 9:33
  4. 4BethsaidaWithdrew there with the Twelve; the five thousand fedwith the companyLuke 9:10
  5. 5TyreWithdrew into its borders; the disciples came to himwith the companyMark 7:24; Matthew 15:23
  6. 6SidonReturned by Sidon to the sea of Galileewith the companyMark 7:31
  7. 7Caesarea PhilippiOn the road he asked the disciples who men said he waswith the companyMark 8:27
  8. 8JerichoWent out of Jericho with his discipleswith the companyMark 10:46
  9. 9BethanyLodged there with the Twelve through Passion weekwith the companyMark 11:11–12
  10. 10JerusalemEntered the temple with the Twelve; the upper roomwith the companyMark 11:11; 14:17

See these places on the atlas →