St Andrew
Christianity in Scotland
St Andrew
Learning Intentions
• To learn about who St Andrew was
• To learn about the Saltire
• To learn about St Andrew’s Day in
Scotland and other countries
Who was St Andrew?
• Born between 5-10 AD near the Sea of
Galilee, in Israel.
• Worked as a
fisherman
• Andrew became
the first disciple –
he was the man who
found the boy with the
loaves and fish to feed
the 5000.
Who was St Andrew?
• After the death and resurrection of
Jesus, Andrew travelled around
teaching about Christianity
• He travelled to different
places including Asia, Poland
and Greece
The Death of St Andrew
• Andrew was captured by the Romans
in southern Greece, around 69 AD
• Andrew asked to be
crucified on a diagonal
cross
• He carried on talking
about Jesus for 3 days
until he died
The Saltire
• This is why the Scottish flag is a
Saltire – a white cross against a blue
background.
• The cross is the
symbol of the death
of Andrew
• The blue is for the sky
The Journey to Scotland
• St Andrew was buried in Greece
• 300 years later in 345 AD his bones
were moved to
Constantinople
(now called
Istanbul, in
Turkey)
St Rule
• Legend says that a monk called St
Rule had a dream where an angel told
him to take the bones of St Andrew
to the end of the world
• St Rule travelled with the
bones and ended up
shipwrecked in the place we know
today as St Andrews
St Andrews
• A special chapel was built for the
bones (relics)
• In 1160 they were moved to the
Cathedral of
St Andrews
• St Andrews became
a place of pilgrimage
St Andrews today
• Today, the bones of St Andrew can be
found in a cathedral in Edinburgh
• The cathedral at St Andrews
is a ruin now, but there is a
plaque showing where the
bones were kept
• The tower of St Rule can still be visited
today, next to the cathedral
St Andrew – Patron Saint
• King Angus dreamed a sign would
appear and he would win the battle
against the English
• In the morning a white
cross appeared in the sky
• The Scots won the battle
• From then on St Andrew and the
Saltire were symbols of Scotland
St Andrew’s Day
• St Andrew’s Day is November 30th, the day
of his death.
• There are ceilidhs,
and traditional
Scottish food – Scots all
over the world celebrate
• Saltire flags are also
flown on many buildings
on this day.
St Andrew’s Day around the
world
• St Andrew is also the patron saint of other
countries, including Russia and Greece
• Different countries have
different traditions
• In Romania, people believe
St Andrew’s Day is a time to get rid of
evil. Cloves of garlic are placed beside
doors, windows and chimneys.
Activity
• Each person at your table will have a
different fact file
• You have to choose the most
important information from
your fact file, and write it
in your jotter
• You have 10 minutes!!
Activity
• You are going to make a Saltire
• Each part of the Saltire will contain your
important information from your fact files
• After your
information is on the
Saltire, you may
decorate it with
drawings or photos
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