Homecoming 2009

29 November 2010, 13:11

St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. His day of honour on November 30 has become a celebration of all things Scottish. But the Saint never actually set foot on Scottish soil. So how did the brother of Saint Peter come to be Scotland’s patron saint?

St Andrew was a Galilean fisherman and the first disciple of Jesus. Following the crucifixion of Jesus, he preached the Gospel in lands around the Black Sea, in what is now Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.

It was in Greece where he was eventually crucified, but St Andrew insisted that he was not worthy to die in the same way as his Lord. He was crucified on a diagonal cross which has since become known as the St Andrew's Cross and forms the basis of the Scottish flag, the Saltire.

Despite having never visited the nation, legend has it that an Angel appeared before Greek monks in Rome and ordered St Andrew’s remains to be taken from Constantinople (now part of Turkey) to the ends of the Earth for safety. St Rule (Regulus in Latin) undertook the task but became shipwrecked on the east coast of Scotland at a small town later to become St Andrews.

The oirginas of the saltire are as misty as the story fo the Saint. One story goes that the cross appeared in clouds above a battlefield at Athelstaneford in East Lothian in the 8th Century and the victory cemented the link between Alba and St Andrew.

His relics remained in the town of St Andrews and were later placed in a chapel erected on the original site of the Cathedral of St Andrews built in the 11th Century. St Rule’s Tower still stands today and was a centre for pilgrims who came to view the relics.

However, their whereabouts are now unknown. It is thought they were destroyed during the reformation headed by John Knox in the 16th Century.

In 1969 Pope Paul VI recognised Scotland’s connection to St Andrew and gifted the country further relics of the saint. They remain on display in St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh.

The image of St Andrew has come to symbolise Scotland, with his cross forming the national flag, and St Andrew’s Day on November 30 becoming a celebration of Scotland at home and abroad.

Last updated: 29 November 2010, 13:54