When is St. Andrew the First-Called Day?
St. Andrew the First-Called Day is a public holiday in Georgia celebrated annually on May 12th.
History of St. Andrew the First-Called Day
Saint Andrew is known as the 'First Called' as he was the first of the twelve Apostles to be called by Jesus.
Originally a fisherman like his brother, St Peter, Andrew is credited with spreading the gospel to several regions in Eastern Europe such as Georgia, Greece, Romania and Russia.
According to the tradition of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Andrew arrived in the Ajara region, in the south-west of present-day Georgia, having been told to go to Georgia by the Virgin Mary. The church regards him as the first preacher of Christianity in the region and the founder of the Georgian church.
In 60AD, he was working in Patras, where he baptised the wife and brother of the Governor, Aegeus. The Governor was so incensed by this, that St. Andrew was arrested and crucified on November 30th, which is his Feast Day.
The importance of St. Andrew to the Georgian Orthodox Church is such that he has a second feast day in Georgia on December 13th, but this is not a public holiday.
Consecration to the Virgin Mary
Since 2019, May 12th also marks the country's consecration to the Virgin Mary.
The declaration was the initiative of the Georgian Orthodox Church and was backed by the government. After being addressed by government, parliament convened an extraordinary session on May 8th 2019 and passed the bill in it’s third and final hearing.
Amendments were made to the Georgian Labour Code enshrining the day as a public holiday.
The head of Parliament's Human Rights Committee, Sopho Kiladze, told Maestro TV following the vote that 'It is important for Georgia to be officially declared as the domain of the Virgin Mary'. She said that the holiday had a 'huge symbolic significance for our society' and that MPs respect the people’s choice.
