RELIC OF SAINT ANDREW, APOSTLE

Rare oval silver reliquary with a glass front, containing a precious relic of Saint Andrew the Apostle, brother of Saint Peter and the first disciple called by Christ.
The relic, carefully laid upon a background of ancient red fabric, is identified by a handwritten label in Latin: “S. Andreae A.”, the traditional abbreviation of Sanctus Andreas Apostolus. Surrounding the sacred fragment, a refined decoration in gilt paper forms a radiant display alternating solar motifs and small stylized points, evoking a luminous halo intended to enhance the apostolic dignity of the saint.

The ensemble has remained in its original state, retaining its ancient glass, its ecclesiastical seal, and its silk sealing threads still perfectly intact, attesting that the reliquary has never been opened since its creation.

Authenticated relics of Saint Andrew the Apostle are particularly sought after, due to the essential place he occupies in the life of Christ and in the earliest days of the Church. A disciple of John the Baptist before following Jesus, he was the first to recognize the Messiah and to lead his brother Peter to Him. According to tradition, he evangelized Greece and Asia Minor before dying a martyr’s death, crucified on an X-shaped cross in Patras, which became one of his principal symbols.

PERIOD : 18th century
DIMENSIONS : 3 cm × 2.5 cm
SIZE : 1.2" × 1"

Saint Andrew, an apostle of ardent heart and tireless missionary zeal, remains one of the most venerated figures of early Christianity. Patron saint of fishermen, of Greece, Russia, and Scotland, he embodies the immediacy of the call, absolute fidelity to Christ, and the joy of proclaiming the Gospel unto the total gift of his life. His cult, widespread from the earliest centuries, spread throughout all of Christendom and made him one of the spiritual pillars of the early Church.