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Blessed Andrew loved God's Church He was born a Scythian and came to live in Constantinople as the Holy [[Scripture]]s and he had slave of Theognostus, a strong desire ''protospatharios'' ("first sword-bearer," an honorific title) to devote himself totally to [[God]]Emperor Leo VI the Great (886-912). He took upon himself was also the spiritual child of Nicephorus, a very difficult and unusual priest at [[asceticHagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Hagia Sophia]] feat of [[fool-for-Christ]]; during that is, he acted as if he were insanetime.
Seeming to be insane, Blessed Andrew was brought to loved God's Church and the St. Anastasia Church for his care. There St. [[Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions|AnastasiaHoly Scriptures]] appeared to him in , and he had a dream and encouraged him strong desire to continue his ascetic feat. He was driven off the church property because of his faked madness and had devote himself totally to live on the streets of the capital city, hungry and half-naked. For many years the saint endured mockery, insults, and beatings. He begged for [[almsGod]] and gave them away to the poor. The beggars to whom he gave his last coins despised him, but St. Andrew endured all his sufferings humbly He took upon himself a very difficult and unusual [[prayer|prayedascetic]] feat of [[fool-for those who hurt him-Christ]]; that is, he acted as if he were insane.
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Blessed '''Andrew the Fool-for-Christ''' was a Slav who lived in Constantinople during 10th century [[fool-for-Christ]], famed for his vision of the tenth century[[Protection of the Mother of God]]. He is commemorated by the Church on [[October 2]].
==Life==
Seeming to be insane, Andrew was brought to the Church of St. Anastasia for his care. There St. [[Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions|Anastasia]] appeared to him in a dream and encouraged him to continue his ascetic feat. He was driven off the church property because of his faked madness and had to live on the streets of the capital city, hungry and half-naked. For many years the saint endured mockery, insults, and beatings. He begged for [[alms]] and gave them away to the poor. The beggars to whom he gave his last coins despised him, but Andrew endured all his sufferings humbly and [[prayer|prayed]] for those who hurt him. St. Andrew's holy wisdom and extraordinary spiritual beauty were revealed when he removed his mask of folly. This occurred when talking to his [[spiritual father]], a [[presbyter]] of [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Hagia Sophia]] Church, or to his [[disciple]] EpiphanusEpiphanius.
For his meekness and self-control, the saint received from the Lord the gifts of [[prophecy]] and wisdom, saving many from spiritual perils. Like the [[apostle Paul]], he was taken to the third sky and had the honor of seeing Lord [[Jesus Christ]] himself, [[angels]] and many holy [[saints]], yet he was surprised not to see the Most Holy Virgin.
While praying at the Blachernae church, it was St. Andrew who, with his [[disciple]], the Blessed Epiphanius, saw the [[Theotokos|Most Holy Mother of God]], holding her veil over those praying [[Protection of the Mother of God|under her Protection]]. The Church [[synaxarion]] states that upon seeing this vision, St. Andrew turned to his companion and asked: , "Do you see, brother, the Holy Theotokos, praying for all the world?" Epiphanius answered, "I do see, holy Father, and I am in awe."
Blessed Andrew died in the year 936 at the age of 66.
== The ''Revelations of Andrew''==
An intriguing part of the ''Life'' of St. Andrew, written by a certain "Nicephorus in Constantinople" in the tenth century, is the section when Andrew is answering a question made by his disciple Epiphanius on "when and how this world will come to an an end."
During the Byzantine era, a number of writings appeared predicting the [[Apocalypse]] to be marked by the fall of Constantinople. While they were repeated in the 14th and 15th centuries, their origins are most likely in the 10th, whilst the Eastern Roman Empire was still strong. Constantinople's destruction is described along these lines in the ''Life of Andrew the Fool''.
The text claims that [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Hagia Sophia]] would survive a great flood by "floating over waters," but St. Andrew explains instead that only the column (the obelisk) would survive because beneath its foundations are the [[Holy Nails]] which were used to crucify [[Jesus Christ]]. In this work, Andrew is depicted as predicting that the world's end would fall shortly after Constantinople's fall; in those times "shortly" could be a period of 100 to up to 1,000 years.
A few of the oldest manuscripts, dating from the 14th-century or earlier, containing this information include:
* Vindobonesis hist. gr. 123, s. XIV, fols. 84-90
* Vaticanus gr. 1574, s.XI-XII, fols. 147-59
* Atheniensis 1014, a 1071, fols. 93-104
==Hymns==
:Through heat and bitter frost.
:By never avoiding the hardships of weather thou didst purify thyself as gold in the furnace.
== See also ==
* Epiphanius, who many scholars agree to be St. [[Polyeuctus]] ([[February 5]]), Patriarch of Constantinople from 956-970.
==External links==
[[Category:Fools-for-Christ]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Byzantine Saints]]
[[el:Ανδρέας ο δια Χριστόν σαλός]]
