01 — Foundations
The making of a hierarch across three cities of the early-Byzantine world: Damascus, where Andrew was born of Christian parents and (the hagiography holds) was mute until seven and healed at the Chalice; Jerusalem, where as a young monk at the Holy Sepulchre he served the Patriarchate and was sent to the Sixth Ecumenical Council; and Constantinople, where he was archdeacon at Hagia Sophia and directed the great orphanage and poorhouse — before his elevation to the see of Crete.
This section establishes what can be known of Andrew before the Great Canon, holding the firm outlines (the three cities, the diaconate, the charity work, the episcopate) apart from the legend-haloed details (the muteness, the precise dates), which are flagged where the sources require it.
Files
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| damascus-jerusalem-constantinople.md | Born at Damascus; the tradition of being mute until age seven and healed at Communion; monk at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem; the Sixth Council; deacon and orphanage/poorhouse director at Hagia Sophia |
| archbishop-of-crete.md | Consecrated Archbishop of Gortyna and Crete (c. 692–712); the pastorate and the metropolitan see of the island |
See Also
- The Great Canon — the work for which this life is remembered
- The Monothelite Episode — the episode that interrupts this otherwise luminous career
- Crete and the End — the pastorate and the death that close the life
- Orthodoxy: The Ecumenical Councils — the Sixth Council Andrew attended as a young deacon