St. Andrew was the first disciple of Jesus, as told in the New
Testament (Matthew 4:18 and John 1:40, and in many other parts of the
Gospels).
Andrew and his brother Simon, who is best known as St. Peter, were fishermen, whom Jesus told to leave their nets and become "fishers of men." They were born in the town of Bethsaida, in Galilee. After the Crucifixion of Jesus, Andrew became an apostle (or missionary) and preached the gospel in several parts of Greece and in lands on the Black Sea, in what is now part of Russia.
There are several books written more than 1,500 years ago that tell of the journeys of Andrew. Finally, Andrew became a martyr for his religion and, according to tradition, was himself crucified, somewhere in Greece, on a cross shaped like an X. He is the patron saint of Scotland, and the X-shaped "cross of St. Andrew" may be seen on the British flag. He is also the most venerated saint of the Russians, because he was the first man to preach in their territory.
