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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

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 ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

(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 ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

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

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

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 (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, 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 (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

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 Military saints

Life

Trial and death

See also

References