Andrew the Fool
Andrew of Constantinople(Andrew the Fool-for-ChristorAndrew, the Fool;Greek:Ἀνδρέας ὁ Σαλός;died in 936) is considered asaintby theEastern Orthodox Church,and is revered as aFool for Christ.
Andrew, aSlavby birth, was aslaveof Theognostus, who was serving as a bodyguard inConstantinople.[1]Later, he decided to become aFool for Christ,living out his goal with humility and patience.
According to certain sources, Andrew had a vision of the Most HolyTheotokosin theBlachernae churchof Constantinople, while the city was surrounded by enemy troops (by some sources, Muslim Arabs).[1]
Andrew and his disciple Epiphanius testified that they saw theHoly Virginsurrounded by many angels and Saints, praying and extending herOmophorion(protection) over the faithful. After this vision, Constantinople was saved when its attackers retreated. That vision and the avoidance of Constantinople's destruction that was attributed to it inspired the creation of one of the most famous Eastern Orthodox holidays: the feast of theProtection of the Theotokos.
Andrew died in 936. His memory is commemorated byEastern Orthodoxcommunities on 15 October (2 October old calendar). The earliest manuscript of his Greekhagiography,theLife of Andrew the Fool,is aquirein Munich in a 10th-centuryuncial script.The work was also translated into Georgian and Slavonic.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abOrthodox Church in USA
- ^Kazhdan, Alexander,ed. (1991). "Andrew the Fool".The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 93.ISBN0-19-504652-8.
External links[edit]
- Andrew the Fool-for-Christ in Orthodoxwiki
- The Greek, tenth-century, vita of Saint Andrew the Fool (BHG 115z) with English translation: L. Rydén, The Life of St Andrew the Fool,vol. 1&vol. 2(Uppsala 1995) - Open access.
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