Troparion - Tone 3
O holy apostle Andronicus,
Entreat the merciful God,
To grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.
Kontakion - Tone 2
Let us praise Andronicus, the Apostle of Christ,
As a most radiant star
Whose light of the knowledge of God illumines the nations,
And the most wise Junia who shared his labor of evangelization, crying
out:
Entreat Christ our God unceasingly in behalf of us all.
Saint Andronicus Apostle of the Seventy
and Saint Junia were relatives of the holy Apostle Paul. They labored
much, preaching the Gospel to pagans. Saint Paul mentions them
in his Epistle to the Romans: "Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen
and fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were
in Christ, before me" (Romans 16:7).
Saint Andronicus was made Bishop of Pannonia,
but his preaching also took him and St Junia to other lands, far from
the boundaries of his diocese. Through the efforts of Sts Andronicus and
Junia the Church of Christ was strengthened, pagans were converted to
the knowledge of God, many pagan temples closed, and in their place
Christian churches were built. The service in honor of these saints
states that they suffered martyrdom for Christ.
In the fifth century, during the reign of the
emperors Arcadius and Honorius, their holy relics were uncovered on the
outskirts of Constantinople together with the relics of other martyrs at
the gate of Eugenius (February 22).
It was revealed to the pious cleric Nicholas
Kalligraphos that among the relics of these seventeen martyrs were the
relics of the holy Apostle Andronicus. Afterwards, a magnificent church
was built on this spot.
