After the Lord's ascension, when the apostles had divided the regions, Andrew preached among the Scythians, while Matthew preached among the people of Murgundia. But those men, utterly rejecting Matthew's preaching, tore out his eyes and cast him bound into prison, intending after a few days to kill him. Meanwhile an angel of the Lord appeared to Saint Andrew and bade him go to Murgundia to Saint Matthew; and when he answered that he did not know the way, the angel commanded that he should go to the seashore and board the first ship he found. Carrying out the commands without delay, he came to the aforesaid city, with the angel as guide and a favorable wind blowing. And finding the prison of Saint Matthew open, and seeing him, he wept much and prayed.
Then the Lord restored to Matthew the gift of his two eyes, of which the wickedness of sinners had deprived him. Matthew then departed from there and came to Antioch. But Andrew, remaining in Murgundia, was seized by the enraged men because of Saint Matthew's escape, and was dragged through the streets with his hands bound; and as his blood flowed, he prayed for them and by his prayer converted them to Christ. From there he set out for Achaia. But this story which is told concerning such a deliverance of Matthew and the restoration of his two eyes through Andrew, I do not think worthy of belief, lest the basest diminishment be ascribed to so great an evangelist, as though he could not obtain for himself what Andrew so easily obtained for him.
A certain noble youth, having attached himself to the apostle against the will of his parents, his parents set fire to the house in which he was staying with the apostle. And when the flame was already growing high, the boy, taking a small flask, sprinkled water over the fire and at once extinguished it. But they said: 'Our son has become a magician.' When they wished to climb up by the ladders, they were blinded by God, so that they could not see the ladders at all. Then a certain man, crying out, said: 'Why do you wear yourselves out with foolish labor! God fights for them, and you do not see it. Cease now, lest the wrath of God descend upon you.' Many therefore, seeing this, believed in the Lord; but his parents, after fifty days, died and were placed in a tomb.
A certain woman, joined to a murderer, when she could not give birth, said to her sister: 'Go and call upon Diana our mistress for me.' To her, as she called, the devil said: 'Why do you call upon me, when I can be of no profit to you! But go to Andrew the apostle, who will be able to help your sister.' When she had gone to him and had brought the apostle to her endangered sister, the apostle said to her: 'Rightly do you suffer this, for you married wickedly, conceived wickedly, and consulted demons. But nevertheless repent and believe in Christ, and cast forth the child.' And as she believed, she brought forth a stillbirth and the pain ceased. A certain old man named Nicholas came to the apostle, saying: 'Lord, behold, the seventy years of my life are spent, in which I have always served lust.
Now once, praying to God that He might henceforth grant me continence, I received a copy of the Gospel. But, grown old in my very sin and enticed by evil desire, I straightway returned to my accustomed work. So on a certain occasion, inflamed with lust and forgetting the Gospel which I had placed upon myself, I went to a brothel; and at once the harlot said to me: "Get out, old man, get out, for you are an angel of God; do not touch me, nor presume to come hither, for I see marvels upon you." Astonished at the harlot's words, I recalled that I had carried the Gospel with me.
Now therefore, O Saint of God, let your holy prayer intercede for my salvation.' Hearing this, blessed Andrew began to weep, and prayed from the third hour until the ninth; and rising, he would not eat, but said: 'I will not eat until I know whether the Lord will have mercy on this old man.' And when he had fasted for five days, a voice came to Andrew, saying: 'You obtain your petition, Andrew, for the old man. But just as you have wasted yourself by fasting, so let him also afflict himself with fastings, that he may be saved.' And so he did, and for six months fasted on bread and water; and afterward, full of good works, he rested in peace. Then a voice came to Andrew, saying: 'Through your prayer I have regained Nicholas, whom I had lost.' A certain young Christian said secretly to Saint Andrew:
'My mother, seeing me handsome, tempts me to an unlawful act. And when I would in no way consent to her, she went to the judge, wishing to turn the charge of so great a wickedness back upon me; but pray for me, that I may not die so unjustly, for even when accused I will keep utterly silent, preferring to lose my life rather than so shamefully to defame my mother.' So the youth was summoned to judgment, and Andrew accompanied him thither. The mother steadfastly accused her son of having wished to violate her. The youth, questioned many times whether the matter was so, answered nothing at all. Then Andrew said to the mother: 'Most cruel of women, who through your lust wish your only son to perish!' Then she said to the magistrate:
'Lord, my son attached himself to this man after he wished to do this, but could not.' And so the angry judge ordered the boy to be put into a sack smeared with pitch and bitumen and cast into the river, but Andrew to be kept in prison until he should devise a torment by which he might perish. But as Andrew prayed, a horrible thunder terrified all, and a great earthquake laid them all prostrate, and the woman, struck by lightning and shriveled, fell dead. But as the rest prayed to the apostle that they might not perish, he prayed for them and all things ceased. Then the magistrate believed, and his whole household. Now when the apostle was in the city of Nicaea, the citizens told him that outside the city, beside the road, there were seven demons who killed the men who passed by.
When, at the apostle's command, these came before the people in the form of dogs, he commanded them to go where they could harm no man. They at once vanished. But those men, seeing this, received the faith of Christ. And when he had come to the gate of another city, behold, a certain dead young man was being carried out. When the apostle asked what had happened to him, he was told that seven dogs had come and slain him in his bedchamber. And the apostle, weeping, said: 'I know, Lord, that they were the demons whom I drove from the city of Nicaea.' And he said to the father: 'What will you give me if I raise up your son?' He replied: 'I possessed nothing dearer; I will therefore give him to you.' And when the prayer was made, he rose and clung to the apostle.
When certain men, forty in number, came by ship to the apostle to receive from him the teaching of the faith, behold, the sea was stirred up by the devil and all alike were drowned. But when their bodies had been brought to the shore, they were carried before the apostle and were at once raised up by him. And they recounted everything that had befallen them. Whence in a certain hymn of his it is read: 'He restored to the uses of life the forty young men drowned in the waves of the sea.' So blessed Andrew, abiding in Achaia, filled the whole land with churches and converted very many to the faith of Christ. He also taught the wife of the proconsul Aegeas the faith of Christ and regenerated her in the sacred font of baptism.
When Aegeas heard this, he entered the city of Patras, compelling the Christians to sacrifice to the idols; and Andrew, meeting him, said: 'It behooved you, who have been deemed worthy to be a judge of men on earth, to acknowledge your Judge who is in heaven, and, acknowledging Him, to worship Him, and by worshiping, wholly to recall your mind from false gods.' Aegeas said to him: 'You are that Andrew who preaches the superstitious sect which the Roman princes have lately ordered to be exterminated.' To him Andrew replied:
'The Roman princes have not yet understood how the Son of God, coming, taught that the idols are demons, which teach things whereby God is offended, so that, being offended, He turns away from men; and being turned away, He does not hear them; and not being heard, they themselves are taken captive by the devil; and once captive, they are deluded so long, until they go naked out of the body, carrying with them nothing but their sins.' Aegeas said to him: 'Your Jesus, preaching these empty things, was nailed to the gibbet of the cross.' Andrew replied: 'For our restoration, not for any guilt of His own, did He of His own will take up the gibbet of the cross.' To him Aegeas said:
'When He was betrayed by His own disciple, and seized by the Jews, and crucified by the soldiers—how can you say that He of His own will underwent the punishment of the cross!' Then Andrew began to show by five reasons that Christ suffered voluntarily: 'Namely, from the fact that He foresaw His passion and foretold it to His disciples as about to come, saying, "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem," and so forth. And from the fact that He sternly rebuked Peter, who desired to turn Him from this, saying, "Get behind me, Satan," and so forth. And from the fact that He showed He had power over both, namely, of suffering and of rising again, saying:
"I have power to lay down my life and to take it up again." And from the fact that He foreknew the betrayer when He gave him the dipped bread, yet did not avoid him. And from the fact that He chose the place to which He knew the betrayer would come.' And he asserted that he himself had been present at all these things. Andrew added that the mystery of the cross was great. Aegeas said to him: 'It cannot be called a mystery, but a punishment. Nevertheless, unless you obey me, I will make you experience that very mystery.' Andrew replied: 'If I dreaded the gibbet of the cross, I would not preach the glory of the cross.
I wish you to hear from me the mystery of the cross, that perhaps you may believe, and acknowledging it may worship it, that you may be saved.' Then he began to unfold to him the mystery of redemption, and to persuade him by five reasons how fitting and necessary it was. 'The first reason is that, because the first man brought forth death by a tree, it was fitting that the second should drive it away by a tree by suffering. The second is that, because the transgressor had been made from undefiled earth, it was fitting that the reconciler should be born of an undefiled virgin. The third is that, because Adam had incontinently stretched out his hands to the forbidden food, it was fitting that the second Adam should stretch out His undefiled hands upon the cross.
The fourth is that, because Adam had tasted the sweet forbidden food, it was fitting for this reason, that contrary should be driven out by contrary, that Christ should be fed with food of gall. The fifth is that, in order that Christ might confer His immortality upon us, it was fitting that He should take upon Himself our mortality. For unless God had become mortal, man would not become immortal.' Then Aegeas said: 'Tell these empty things to your own people, and obey me, and sacrifice to the omnipotent gods.' Andrew replied: 'To Almighty God I daily offer the immaculate Lamb, who, after He has been eaten by all the people, remains alive and whole.' When Aegeas asked how this could be, Andrew said that he should take on the form of a disciple. Aegeas said to him:
'I will extort knowledge of the matter from you by torments.' And in his anger he ordered him to be shut up in prison. When morning came, he was set before the tribunal, and Aegeas began again to invite him to sacrifice to the idols, saying: 'Unless you obey me, I will have you hung upon that very cross which you have praised.' And when he threatened him with many torments, Andrew answered: 'Whatever seems to you the greatest among torments, devise it; for I shall be the more acceptable to my King, the more constant I shall have been in torments for His name.' Then he ordered him to be beaten by twenty-one men, and, when beaten, to be bound to the cross by his hands and feet, that thus he might receive a longer torture. And as he was being led to the cross, a great crowd of people gathered, saying:
'His innocent blood is condemned without cause.' Yet the apostle begged them not to hinder his martyrdom. And Andrew, seeing the cross from afar, saluted it, saying: 'Hail, O cross, which hast been dedicated in the body of Christ and adorned with His members as with pearls. Before the Lord ascended upon thee, thou hadst an earthly fear. But now, possessing a heavenly love, thou art received according to my desire. Secure therefore and rejoicing I come to thee, that thou, exulting, mayest receive me, the disciple of Him who hung upon thee; for I have ever been thy lover and have desired to embrace thee. O good cross, which hast received beauty and comeliness from the members of the Lord.
Long desired, anxiously loved, ceaselessly sought, and at length prepared for a longing soul. Receive me from among men and restore me to my Master, that through thee He may receive me, who through thee redeemed me.' And saying these things, he stripped himself and handed his garments to the executioners; and so they hung him on the cross, as had been ordered. Living upon it for two days, he preached to twenty thousand men who stood by. Then, as the crowd threatened death to Aegeas, and said that a holy and gentle and pious man ought not so to suffer, Aegeas came to take him down. Andrew, seeing him, said: 'Why have you come to us, Aegeas? If for repentance, you shall obtain it; but if to take me down, know that I will not come down from the cross alive.
For now I see my King, who awaits me.' And when they wished to loose him, they could in no way reach him, for at once their arms became numb. But Andrew, seeing that the people wished to take him down, made this prayer upon the cross, as Augustine relates in the book On Penance: 'Do not permit me, Lord, to descend alive, but it is time that Thou commend my body to the earth: for so long now have I borne it, so long have I watched and labored over what was committed to me, that I would now wish to be freed from this obedience and stripped of this most heavy garment. I recall how much I labored in carrying its burden, in taming its pride, in cherishing its weakness, in restraining its wantonness.
Thou knowest, Lord, how often it strove to draw me back from the purity of contemplation, how often it sought to rouse me from the sleep of Thy most beloved rest, how much and how often it brought me pain. To this combatant, therefore, most kind Father, I resisted as long as I could, and by Thy help I overcame. From Thee, the just and merciful rewarder, I ask that Thou commend it to me no longer. But I render back the deposit. Commend it to another, and hinder me no longer thereby; and keep it to rise again, and restore it, that Thou too mayest receive the very reward of its labor. Commend it to the earth, that I need watch over it no more, and that it may not hold back or hinder me, anxious as I am to tend freely toward Thee, the fountain of life and of unfailing joy.' Thus far Augustine.
When he had said these things, an exceeding splendor coming from heaven surrounded him for half an hour, so that no one could see him; and as the light withdrew, together with that very light he gave up his spirit. But Maximilla, the wife of Aegeas, took the body of the holy apostle and buried it honorably. Aegeas, however, before he had returned to his own house, was seized by a demon on the way and expired before all. They say also that from the tomb of Saint Andrew there flows a manna in the manner of flour, and an oil with fragrance, by which is shown to the inhabitants of the region what the fertility of the coming year will be. For if it issues sparingly, the earth yields little fruit; if abundantly, abundant fruit. This was perhaps true in ancient times, but now the body is said to have been translated among the people of Constantinople.
The Bishop and the Devil. A certain bishop, leading a religious life, held the blessed Andrew in veneration among the other saints, so that in all his works he always set this title first: 'To the honor of God and of blessed Andrew.' The devil, the ancient enemy, envying the holy man, applied himself with all his cunning to deceiving him, and transformed himself into the form of a most beautiful woman. So she came to the bishop's palace, declaring that she wished to confess to him. The bishop directed that she confess to his penitentiary, to whom he had handed over fullness of authority. She refused, saying that she would reveal the secrets of her conscience to no man but to him; and so the bishop, won over, ordered her to come to him. To him she said:
'I beseech you, lord, have mercy on me. I, as you see, am set in my girlhood years and from childhood tenderly nurtured, and moreover sprung of royal stock, have come hither alone in a stranger's garb. For my father, a king and so very powerful, wished to join me in marriage to a certain great prince; to whom I answered: I abhor every marriage bed, for I have dedicated my virginity to Christ forever, and therefore I could never consent to carnal union. At length, so constrained that I had either to obey his will or to undergo divers tortures of the land, I secretly chose flight, preferring to live in exile rather than to break faith with my Spouse.
But hearing the proclamation of your holiness, I have fled for refuge under the wings of your protection, hoping to find with you a place of rest, where I may gather the secret silences of contemplation, avoid the shipwrecks of this present life, and flee the disturbance of the clamorous world.' The bishop, marveling in her at the nobility of her birth, the beauty of her body, so immense a fervor, and the charm of so great an eloquence, answered with a pleasing and kindly voice: 'Be secure, daughter, do not be afraid, for He, for love of whom you have so manfully despised yourself and your own and your possessions, will for this reason bestow upon you both a heap of grace in the present and the fullness of glory in the future. But I too, His servant, offer myself and my goods to you.
Choose for yourself a dwelling wherever it pleases you. And I wish that today you should dine with me.' To him she said: 'Do not, father,' she said, 'do not ask me about this matter, lest perchance from this some suspicion of evil arise and the brightness of your reputation suffer some blackening.' To her the bishop said: 'We shall be several and not alone. And therefore no scruple of evil suspicion can be generated in anyone.' So coming to the table, the bishop and she sat opposite each other, the others reclining on this side and that. The bishop gazed upon her frequently and did not cease to behold her face and to marvel at her beauty.
And so, while the eye is fixed, the mind is wounded; and while he ceases not to behold her face, the devil, the ancient enemy, wounded his heart with a heavy dart. The devil himself perceived this and began to increase his beauty more and more; and now the bishop was near to consenting, that he might attempt that unlawful deed with her whenever the opportunity should present itself. Then suddenly a certain pilgrim came to the door, knocking with frequent blows and demanding with loud cries that it be opened to him. And when they were unwilling to open, and he with loud cries and blows became exceedingly troublesome to them, the bishop asked the woman whether she would accept the entrance of this pilgrim man. To him she said:
"Let some weighty question be set before him; if he should know how to unravel it, let him be admitted, but if he does not know, let him be driven away from the bishop's presence as ignorant and unworthy." All approved her words and asked who might be capable of proposing this question. And when no one could be found, the bishop said: "Who indeed among us is so capable of this as you, O lady, who surpass the rest of us in eloquence and shine forth in wisdom more than all of us? Do you therefore propose this question." Then she said: "Let him be asked what is the greater marvel that God has ever wrought in a small thing." When the pilgrim was questioned about this through the messenger, he said: "The diversity and excellence of faces:
For among so many people who have existed from the beginning of the world and who will exist until its end, no two could be found, nor could there be, whose faces are alike in every respect; and in that so very small a face God has placed all the senses of the body." Hearing his answer, all marveled and said: "True and most excellent is the solution of the question." Then the woman said: "Let a second, more difficult question be set before him, in which we may better test his wisdom: Let him be asked where the earth is higher than all the heaven." Questioned about this, the pilgrim replied: "In the empyrean heaven, where the body of Christ abides. For the body of Christ, which is higher than all the heaven, was formed from our flesh. Now our flesh is a certain earthy substance.
Since therefore the body of Christ is above all the heavens and drew its origin from our flesh, while our flesh was made from the earth, it is established that, where the body of Christ abides, there beyond all doubt the earth remains higher than heaven." The messenger reported what the pilgrim had answered, and behold, all marveled wonderfully at his answer and magnificently praised his wisdom. Then she again said: "Let a third question be put to him, most weighty and hidden, difficult and obscure to solve, so that his wisdom may be proved a third time and he may be worthy to be admitted with merit to the bishop's table. Let him be asked how great is the distance from the earth up to heaven." Asked about this, the pilgrim said to the messenger:
"Go to him who sent you to me and inquire diligently about this. For he himself knows this better than I, and therefore he will answer you better concerning it. For he himself measured that distance when he fell from heaven into the abyss. But I never fell from heaven and never measured that distance. For it is not a woman, but the devil who has put himself into the likeness of a woman." Hearing this, the messenger was greatly terrified and recited before all what he had heard. And so, while all were amazed and astonished, the devil, the ancient enemy, vanished from their midst.
But the bishop, coming to himself, bitterly reproached himself and lamentably begged pardon for the fault he had committed; and he sent a messenger that the pilgrim might be brought in, but he was nowhere to be found anymore. Then the bishop summoned the people and clearly explained to them the course of what had happened, and he commanded that all should devote themselves to fasting and prayers, in case the Lord might deign to reveal to someone who that pilgrim had been, who had delivered him from so great a peril. And it was revealed that night to the bishop that it had been the blessed Andrew, who for the bishop's deliverance had put himself in the habit of a pilgrim. The bishop therefore began to grow magnificently in devotion to Saint Andrew and thenceforth to hold him in greater reverence.