HISTORY

TODAY WE CELEBRATE SAINT ANDREW: He was the first apostle of Christ, and he is the patron saint of the Serbian royal family!

by Serbian Times13. December 2025.13. December 2025.

The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Andrew, the first follower of Christ. He suffered on the cross, due to his devotion to the New Testament faith. He is celebrated as a family patron saint’s day (Krsna slava).

As Christ’s first apostle, called the first-called, Saint Andrew was the older brother of Saint Apostle Peter and a disciple of Saint John the Baptist.

He was the apostle of Constantinople and Russia, the patron of the Russian Empire and the Romanov house.

He preached the Gospel in Byzantium and Thrace, in the Danube countries, and then in Russia and around the Black Sea, in Epirus, Greece, and the Peloponnese. It was there that he suffered, crucified on a diagonal cross, while preaching Christianity to the gathered people and praying to God until his death.

Parts of his relics are located in Constantinople, Rome, Moscow, and Greece. Considering that during his life he healed the poor and sick, his miraculous relics have helped many. After the cross on which he was crucified, the diagonal cross is still called the Andrew’s cross.

He is celebrated as a family patron saint’s day (Krsna slava), due to the Christmas fast, always with a lean table. He is the patron saint’s day of the Belgrade municipality of Voždovac.

The House of Karađorđević also celebrates Saint Andrew the First-Called as their protector.

The Karađorđević family has celebrated the holiday since the time of the First Serbian Uprising, and it was introduced by Vožd Karađorđe who made a vow to Saint Andrew in 1806, after the liberation of Belgrade from Turkish rule.

Folk beliefs

According to folk beliefs, Saint Andrew converses with large animals and is considered their protector. He talks to them, and they are obedient to him.

Bear tamers once celebrated Andreevdan, believing that the saint tames bears like dogs, and that he travels the world riding this beast.

It is believed that on that day bears do no harm and do not touch people, which is why it is not good to hunt them then.

It is good to eat corn on this day.