Commontide
Liturgical Color: Red
The 1st Sunday in Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Advent
Because you sent your beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life; that when he shall come again in power and great glory to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.
Most liturgical texts are from the Book of Common Prayer (2019) of the Anglican Church in North America.
The New Coverdale Psalter, © 2019 by the Anglican Church in North America. Used by permission.
Psalms 144, 145, 146
Psalms 147, 148, 149, 150
Apostle and Martyr
Red Letter Day
Andrew was a Galilean fisherman and one of the twelve apostles, the brother of Simon Peter and, in John's Gospel, the first of the disciples to follow Jesus and the first to bring another person to him. The church has honoured him ever since as the Protokletos, the First-Called. Tradition sent him north and east as a missionary, into Scythia by the Black Sea and on into Greece, and remembers him crucified at Patras in Achaia. He is the patron of Scotland, Greece, and Russia, and his feast is November 30.
Andrew and his brother Simon were fishermen from Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee (John 1:44). According to the Fourth Gospel, Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist. When the Baptist pointed to Jesus and declared 'Behold, the Lamb of God,' Andrew followed Jesus, spent the day with him, and then found Simon with the words: 'We have found the Messiah' (John 1:35–42). The Synoptic Gospels present a simpler call narrative: Jesus sees Andrew and Simon casting nets and says, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men' (Matthew 4:18–20; Mark 1:16–18).
Andrew appears in all four apostolic lists (Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14, Acts 1:13). In John's Gospel he has three significant scenes: bringing Peter to Jesus (1:40–42), identifying the boy with five barley loaves and two fish (6:8–9), and introducing the Greek seekers to Jesus alongside Philip (12:20–22). Each episode shows Andrew as a connector — the apostle who bridges the gap between seekers and the Lord.
After Pentecost, the canonical record falls silent about Andrew. His subsequent missionary activity and death depend entirely on later sources.
Traditionally, Andrew is said to have preached in Scythia (the regions around the Black Sea), Asia Minor, and Greece. According to the most widely attested tradition, he was martyred at Patras in Achaia, crucified on an X-shaped cross (the saltire or St. Andrew's Cross), reportedly at his own request, considering himself unworthy to die on a cross of the same shape as his Lord's. He is said to have preached from the cross for two days before dying. His relics were later translated to Constantinople, and veneration of the apostle became central to the Ecumenical Patriarchate's identity.