Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Andrew the First-Called
Nativity Fast. Day of Church-wide Prayer for the Father and Head of the UGCC.
Read
1 Corinthians 4:9-16; John 1:35-51
When He who was proclaimed by the voice of the Forerunner,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,
bringing life and salvation to all the earth,
you, holy Andrew, were the first to follow Him.
You were offered to Him as the first-fruits of the human race.
You proclaimed to Peter your brother: “We have found the Christ!”
Pray that He may save our souls.
Rejoice, Andrew, the first-called apostle!
You are the imitator of the passion of Christ.
With the Cross as your hook, you drew us up from the sea of ignorance,
offering us to the Lord of Glory.
Therefore we the faithful, delivered from evil, cry out to God:
merciful Lord, through the prayers of Your apostle,
grant peace to our lives and salvation to our souls!”
-Vespers stichera for St. Andrew
Through the prayers of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, inflame within us Lord a zeal to proclaim your Gospel to all people.