The legend of Saint Andrew in Romania tells that today's territory of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

was Christianized by

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

in the 1st century AD. While these claims lack any historical and archeological evidence, the legend has been embraced as fact by both the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

and the Romanian state, both during Ceaușescu's

protochronism Dacianism is a Romanian term describing the tendency to ascribe, largely relying on questionable data and subjective interpretation, an idealized past to the country as a whole. While particularly prevalent during the regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu ...

period and after 1989, when Saint Andrew was named the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Romania. The legend is recent and based on references by 3rd century writer

Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus of Rome (, ; c. 170 – c. 235 AD) was one of the most important second-third century Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communities include Rome, Palestin ...

in "On Apostles", mentioning Saint Andrew's voyage to

Scythia Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. His ...

and on works by several authors which also mention the voyage, such as: Eusebius in the Chronicles of Eusebius,The Library of Eusebius of Caesarea, p234 Origen in the third book of his Commentaries on the Genesis (254 C.E.), Usaard in his Martyrdom written between 845-865, and Jacobus de Voragine in the ''Golden Legend'' (c. 1260). Scythia generally refers to a land in what is now Romania (Scythia Minor), Ukraine and southern Russia.

The Story

Historian Alexandru Barnea states that a tale started to circulate in the first half of the 20th century.Dogar, p.58 It tells of Saint Andrew's arrival in Dobruja during a harsh winter, fighting wild beasts and the blizzard before reaching a cave. At the cave, Saint Andrew hit the ground with his

walking stick A walking stick or walking cane is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion accessory, or are used for self-defense. Walking sti ...

and a spring came into being, in the waters of which he baptized the locals and cured the ill, thus converting the whole area to Christianity. This tale seems to be heavily based on the Chronicles of Eusebius. According to some modern Romanian scholars, the idea of early Christianisation is unsustainable. They take the idea to be a part of an ideology of

which purports that the Orthodox Church has been a companion and defender of the Romanian people for its entire history, which was then used for propaganda purposes during the communist era.Lavinia Stan, Lucian Turcescu, ''Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2007, p.48

Saint Andrew's Cave

According to Hippolyte of Antioch, (died c. 250 C.E.) in his On Apostles, Origen, in the third book of his Commentaries on the Genesis (254 C.E.), Eusebius of Caesarea in his Church History (340 C.E.), and other sources, like the Usaard's Martyrdom written between 845-865, and Jacobus de Voragine in Golden Legend (c. 1260), Saint Andrew preached in Scythia Minor. St. Philip may have also preached in the area.Parry, Ken. "Romanian Christianity", ''The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity'', John Wiley & Sons, 2010
There are toponyms and numerous very old traditions (like carols) related to Saint Andrew, many of them having probably a pre-Christian substratum. In Dobruja, a cave where he supposedly preached, is called "Saint Andrew's Cave" and advertised as a pilgrimage site. In 1940, Ion Dinu, a lawyer, found a cave in Ion Corvin, Constanța and spread the word that Saint Andrew lived in the cave. According to Dinu, this revelation came to him within a dream.Dogar, p.59 In 1943, the cave was consecrated and soon a monastery was built around it, named the "Saint Andre the Apostle Cave Monastery". The monks tell that early Christian objects were found in the cave, but they were lost in the meantime.Dogar, p.60 Nevertheless, historians and archeologists say that the claims about Saint Andrew's Cave are false and that early Christianity was spread by preachers in the cities, not in rural areas, caves and forests.Dogar, p.62 According to Radu Cinpoes, there is no clear evidence concerning missionary work on the part of St. Andrew near Dobruja.Cinpoes, Radu. ''Nationalism and Identity in Romania'', p.98, I.B.Tauris, 2010

Patron saint of Romania

In 1994, Saint Andrew was named the patron saint of Dobruja, in 1997 the patron saint of Romania, then in 2012, 30 November became a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

Notes

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References

* Andreea Dogar, "Apostolul Andrei: Ne-a creștinat sau nu Cel Dintâi Chemat?", in ''National Geographic România'', nr. 116, December 2012, p. 54-71 * Nicodim Nicolaescu, Teologia - year XVI, no. 4 (53), 2012 * Pr. Prof. Dr. Ion G. Coman, Scriitori teologi în Scytia Minor «De la Dunare la Mare» . Ed. Episcopiei Tomisului si Dunarii de Jos, Galati, 1979, no 72 * Andrew James Carriker, The Chronicles of Eusebius of Caesarea, 2003, ISSN 0920-623X * The Carol of St. Andrew - https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144455/http://www.ortodoxmedia.com/inregistrare/750/Colindul-Sf-Andrei * Tudor Pamfile – Sărbătorile la români - studiu etnografic * Gr. Grigoriu-Rigo, Medicina I History of Christianity in Romania Historiography of Romania Andrew the Apostle