Andrew Stratelates, also known as Andrew the Tribune (Greek: Ἀνδρέας ὁ Στρατηλάτης, tr. Andréas o Stratelátes) or Andrew the Commander is a 3rd-century

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

soldier who is commemorated with his 2,593 soldiers as martyrs by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

on 19 August.

Life

Little is known about his early life except that he was a Syrian by birth and a military commander in the Roman army during the reign of emperor

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

(284–305). When a large

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

army invaded the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

territories, the governor Antiochus entrusted St. Andrew with the command of the Roman army, giving him the title of "Stratelates" ("Commander"). Invoking

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

to aid him and a small detachment of pagan soldiers in battle, St Andrew proceeded against the adversary and routed the numerous host of Persians. Although he gloriously returned to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, having gained a total victory, certain men denounced him to the governor Antiochus, saying that he was a Christian who had converted the soldiers under his command to his faith.Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, "The Prologue of Ohrid", (New 2nd Edition 2008)
The Holy Martyr Andrew Stratelates
. Retrieved April 14, 2012.

Trial and death

Andrew was summoned to trial and then tortured. Some of his soldiers were crucified while others were locked in prison. Antiochus sent the report of charges to the emperor to decide whether to impose the death sentence upon the imprisoned commander. The emperor, who knew how the army loved St. Andrew, feared a rebellion, thus freeing them, while secretly ordering their execution on different pretexts. St. Andrew went with his faithful soldiers to Tarsus to be baptized by the local bishop Peter and Bishop Nonos of Beroea,Lives of all saints commemorated on August 19, Feasts & Saints
Orthodox Church in America
Retrieved April 14, 2012 but later fled towards mount Taurus after local persecutions in the

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

n city. In a deep gorge inside the mountains, the Roman army ambushed them, slaughtering St. Andrew and all of the 2,593 soldiers that were with him on that day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrew Stratelates 3rd-century births 300 deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs Syrian Christian saints

Life

Trial and death

See also

References