Some mistakenly assume that devotion to the saints (otherwise known as the cult of saints) is such a distinctively Catholic practice that its very existence deepens the divide between Catholics and other Christians. Not so.

The feast of St. Andrew, the Apostle, is one of many instances which contradict that impression. Andrew's feast day (November 30) is celebrated not only by the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches, but also by the Church of England, The Episcopal Church (in the United States), and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Andrew has given his name to the oldest and most famous golf course in the world, St. Andrew's in Scotland, which is one of the countries, along with Russia and Greece, of which he is the patron saint.

For those interested in obscure ecclesiastical data, St. Andrew's was also the name of the monastery in Rome where St. Augustine of Canterbury served as prior before Pope Gregory the Great dispatched him to England in the late sixth century to re-establish Christianity there.

Andrew himself seems to have suffered a martyr's death in or around the year 70. He is said to have been crucified at Patras, Greece, on an X-shaped cross, now known as St. Andrew's Cross. It was incorporated into the Union Jack, the flag of Great Britain, to represent Scotland.

Andrew was one of Jesus' first disciples and the first of the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus called (John 1:35-40). His name, which in Greek means "manly," or perhaps better, "courageous," is included on all of the lists of the Twelve: Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13. Philip is the only other member of the Twelve with a Greek name.

Andrew was born in Bathsaida, on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 1:44), where Philip and Andrew's brother Peter were also from. Both Andrew and Peter were later residents of Capernaum (Mark 1:29), where they worked as fishermen (Mark 1:16). Besides being the patron saint of Scotland, Russia and Greece, Andrew is also the patron of fishermen and sailors.

Having learned of Jesus through John the Baptist, whose disciple he was, Andrew then introduced Jesus to his brother Peter (John 1:40).

In the famous miracle where Jesus fed the multitude of some five thousand, it was Andrew who noticed the boy with the five barley loaves and the two fish, but quickly added, "What good are these for so many?" (John 6:8). With Philip he later conveyed to Jesus the request of the Greeks to see him (John 12:22).

Second-century apocryphal literature (that is, popular writings whose authenticity was not universally acknowledged) tells the story of Andrew's missionary travels. The Acts of Andrew and Matthias reports Andrew's rescue of the Apostle Matthias from cannibals, and the Acts of Andrew tells of miracles performed by Andrew in Greece and Asia Minor.

Even after the composition of these Acts, which had initially brought the Apostle to the attention of a much wider audience, Andrew remained relatively obscure for nearly six centuries. However, sometime in the eighth century, The Anchor Bible Dictionary reports, he was "pressed into service to legitimate Byzantine claims to apostolicity."

While Rome could, and did, claim the Apostle Peter as its founder (along with Paul), Constantinople, then the center of the Byzantine Empire and a city known today as Istanbul, Turkey, could claim no founding Apostle. This did not make any real difference when the two ecclesiastical centers were on friendly terms, but after they had a falling-out, Constantinople felt the need for "apostolic pedigree." Andrew supplied that.

The Acts of Andrew had placed Andrew's missionary endeavors in the area of the Black Sea and even in Byzantium itself. From the time of the emperor Constantius II, some of Andrew's relics --- always an important commodity in the first Christian millennium, in Europe as well as in the East --- were reposed in Constantinople's Church of the Holy Apostles.

According to Celtic tradition, Andrew's arm had been taken to St. Andrew's, Scotland, which may account for the saint's popularity in the British Isles, while his head and other bones were reserved in Constantinople. These relics, however, were stolen by the Crusaders in 1204 during the sack of the city and brought to Amalfi, Italy. They were transported later to Rome.

In 1964 Pope Paul VI returned the relics to Constantinople as a token of ecumenical reconciliation. It may not have appeared to be a momentous gesture to many Catholics and others at the time, but those with a sense of history and of the importance of the cult of saints would have immediately recognized its significance.

Fr. Richard McBrien is the Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.