John's Gospel presents Andrew as a disciple of John the Baptist who heard his master point to Jesus as the Lamb of God, followed him, stayed with him that day, and then went to find his own brother Simon with the words, "We have found the Messiah." For that reason the Christian East calls him Protoclete, the first-called. The Gospel of the feast is Matthew's account by the Sea of Galilee: Jesus sees the two brothers casting a net, says, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men," and at once they leave their nets and follow him. The first reading is Saint Paul's reflection on how faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ, ending with Isaiah's cry, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news." Red vestments are worn. Ancient tradition holds that Andrew preached in Greece and Asia Minor and was crucified at Patras; the X-shaped saltire cross of his later iconography gave Scotland, of which he is patron, its flag. He is also patron of Greece, of Russia, and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which venerates him as its founder. That last connection gives the day an ecumenical character. Each year on November 30 a delegation of the Holy See travels to the Phanar for the patronal feast of the Church of Constantinople, and a delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarch comes to Rome on June 29 for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul — two brothers standing for two Churches that seek full communion. Because November 30 falls near the beginning of Advent, the feast yields in years when it coincides with the First Sunday of Advent, which takes precedence.

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November 30

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