The Feast of Saint Andrew

The feast of the Saint is celebrated in the East and West tradition alike on 30 November, the day of his death.

After the Divine Liturgy, an imposing procession of the holy relics and the large, silver-plated icon of the Saint takes place in the main streets of the city, attended with reverence by many locals. This procession was introduced in 1836 and was abolished from 1874 until 1930. Since then it takes place without fail.

Patras enjoys the greatest gift and honour to “receive as its divine shepherd and patron” one of the Lord’s twelve disciples and to have the glorious and praiseworthy Apostle Andrew the Protoclete martyr, on its soil.

Celebration of the return of Saint Andrew’s Holy Head

On 26 September 1964, 502 years later, during the see of the late Metropolitan Constantine of Patras, the relic was reintroduced to our city with an official ceremony attended by 31 archpriests and an official Vatican delegation. Its return was granted on 22 June 1964, by Pope Paul VI, following an appeal by the local authorities and the Metropolis of Patras, with the assistance of the then Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras. The relic was deposited in the Old Church “from Saint Peter’s Basilica of Rome to the Saint Andrew’s Basilica of Patras”, until the consecration of the New Church (Cathedral of Saint Andrew). Since then, this holy relic has been treasured in the Cathedral of Saint Andrew and kept in a new reliquary (after the destruction of the old one in 1970). The new reliquary, crafted in the Byzantine style, serves as a pilgrimage site for the country and the entire Christian world—a sacred relic that envelops, guards, and protects the city of Patras and the Nation from every danger and circumstance.

The anniversary is celebrated every year on the last Sunday of September.

Celebration of the Return of Saint Andrew’s Cross

On 19 January 1980,through the efforts of the Metropolitan Nikodimos of Patras, the cross was transferred from the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseilles, France, where it had been kept since before 1250.

This anniversary is celebrated every year on the Sunday after 19 January.