What Is The Orthodox Church? The Orthodox Church is the oldest Christian Church in existence.  It traces its roots in an unbroken line to Christ’s Apostles.  When on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon them they began to speak in many languages, and they set out into the world to  fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus Christ gave them after His Resurrection: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). As the Apostles traveled and spread the Teachings of Christ they left the care of believers in the hands of Elders, later to be called Bishops.  The faith has been passed down in an unbroken line to our times through the laying on of hands by the Bishops from generation to generation. Orthodox Christians number 300 million faithful worldwide, with almost seven million in North America. (for more information click here) 

St. Andrew the First Called Apostle of Christ was Peter's brother. He was a disciple of John the Baptist and a fisherman like his brother. When the Forerunner pointed to the Lord and said, "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:36), Andrew immediately followed Jesus. Then he led his brother to the Lord. After the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles at Pentecost, Andrew preached the Gospel in Byzantium, Thrace, Ukraine, north along the Danube, over to Kyiv, around the Black Sea; then, in Patra in the Peloponnese. It was there that he brought the brother and the wife of the imperial governor, Aegeatus, to the Lord. This so infuriated Aegeatus that he tortured and then crucified St. Andrew. The Apostle continued to instruct the Christians, even from the cross. When he at last gave up his spirit to the Lord, his body shone with a brilliant light for half an hour. He suffered in the year 62. His relics were later transferred to Constantinople.