St. Andrew Stratelates

MID-3rd CENTURY - A.D. 300)
FEAST DAY: AUGUST 19

Saint Andrew Stratelates — sometimes called “the Tribune” or “the General” — was a Roman military commander during the reign of Emperor Maximian (284-305) who was martyred for his faith in Christ.

When the Persian army invaded Rome’s Syrian territories, the local governor Antiochus gave Andrew the title Stratelates, or “commander,” and ordered him to counter the invasion. Andrew selected a small detachment of soldiers and headed off to battle. Andrew had not yet accepted baptism but believed in the power of Jesus Christ. He told his soldiers their pagan gods could not help them but that they should instead invoke Jesus. They obeyed, and Andrew and his men routed the numerically superior Persians.

Word came back to Antiochus that Andrew was using his position to convert his soldiers to Christianity, which Rome had not yet legalized. Andrew publicly admitted his faith in Christ, and he was tortured and imprisoned. Some of his men were crucified, others imprisoned.

As Andrew was popular with the people, he and his surviving men were freed at the emperor’s command and went to Tarsus to be baptized. But Antiochus secretly ordered the Roman army to pursue and kill them. Andrew and the 2,593 soldiers with him were apprehended and beheaded.