Scotland's patron saint like many others saints is also the patron saint of at least seven countries and dozens of cities and smaller regions. Andrew the Apostle as he is known across Christian churches was born around AD 5 in the town of Galilee in Israel. He was the brother of Jonah and Peter and was one of Jesus's most devoted followers. The countries that include Andrew the Apostle as their patron Saint include Scotland, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Barbados, Ukraine and Greece as well as the Spanish island of Tenerife and the town of Amalfi in Italy where his remains were moved.Barbados
The former British colony has had a long association with St Andrew who lends his name to 11 of the parishes that cover the island in the Lesser Antilles as well as being on the country's highest civilian award. Its coat of arms is also a saltire - in the form of two crossed sugar cane stalks. Parts of the St Andrews parish are still known locally as ‘the Scotland district’, a legacy of the colonial era when settlers are said to have remarked the hilly terrain resembled their homeland.
Greece
The link to Greece goes back to an ancient Scottish legend that states a Greek monk known as St Rule who was ordered in a vision to bring Andrew the apostle to the 'ends of the earth' for safe keeping, which led him to the now town of St Andrews in Fife.The relics were housed in a cathedral that was once the largest building in Scotland with the other links going back to his crucification the in the city of Patras with his remains in the St Andrew's Cathedral.
Russia
In Russia the saltire has acted as the ensign for the navy since 1699 when it was adopted under the orders of Tsar Peter the Great. The blue cross is on a white background and is a common sight at its military parades. Peter the Great also created the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called the highest order conferred by both the Russian Imperial Family as an Order of Knighthood and by the Russian Federation. It was established as the first and highest order of chivalry of the Russian Tsardom and the Russian Empire in 1698, it was removed from the honours system under the USSR before being re-established as the top Russian civil and military order in 1998. It goes back to the stories that links him to Romania, Ukraine as well as Russia as it was one of the lands he visited when he was preaching before his eventual Crucifixion as he reached the lands of Novgorod in Russia
Romania
In Romania, St Andrew's Day was made a national holiday in 2012 as it reflected the saint's growing popularity since the end of communist rule in 1991. It led to them building churches with many of its finest dedicated to St Andrew. Stories claim that Andrew the Apostle introduced Christianity to the lands that later became Romania.
