Outside of the inner circle of the three closest disciples to Jesus, Andrew is perhaps the next of the more well-known disciples. Andrew is a Greek name for the word "manly" in which there is no known Hebrew equivalent to this name. As mentioned earlier, he is the brother of Peter who later becomes a disciple as well. Andrew was the first to be called by Jesus and was already a student of John the Baptist. It was as a result of Andrew that Peter was eventually introduced and brought to Jesus (John1:41-42). It was only later that Jesus formally called them to be disciples while fishing (Mark 1:16-18). Their father was either named Jona (Greek. for Jonah), Jonas, or John (Matt. 16:17, John 1:42). Both Andrew and Peter were fishermen and lived along with Peter's mother-in-law in Bethsaida, a suburb of Capernaum (Mark 2:29). The Biblical references to Andrew are few. He is present at the feeding of the five thousand and is in fact the one to make notice of the two fish and five loaves that Jesus would miraculously multiply (John 6:8). He was one of the disciples to ask Jesus about events that would take place in the future as described in the Olivet Discourse (Matt.24:1-25; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-24). Andrew however is most credited with being a productive foreign missionary. Aside from introducing Peter to Jesus, he, along with Philip, told Jesus about the inquiring Greeks who wanted to see Him (John 12:22). Aside from the Biblical references, it is believed according to tradition that Andrew successfully preached the Gospel in Greece, Asia Minor, Thrace, and Scythia. The Scythians inhabited the land just north of the Black Sea in what is today modern day Russia. To the ancients, the Scythians were the most fierce and barbaric people living on earth at that time. They were usually associated with having a lack of intelligence and were also known to be highly uncivilized and rather barbaric.

Andrew's day is November 30th, because, according to late medieval tradition, Andrew was arrested and crucified then at Patrae in Achaia, a province of the Roman empire, upon a crux decussata, an X-shaped cross, later known as St. Andrew's cross. This cross later appears on the flag of Great Britain representing Scotland, whose patron saint is Andrew. Additionally, Andrew is the patron saint of the Russian Orthodox church perhaps due in part to his early missionary journey's to ancient Russia.