THE PROPHECIES OF SAINT ANDREW THE FOOL-FOR-CHRIST
THE PROPHECIES OF SAINT ANDREW THE FOOL-FOR-CHRIST
The first prophecy, which concerns the pious king, refers to Saint John III Doukas Vatatzes the Merciful and to the Orthodox Ellenic Kingdom that will arise in Constantinople after the events of the Great War. The subsequent prophecies concern the years that follow, until the Antichrist and the Second Coming of the Lord. Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite mentions that Saint Andrew wrote many prophecies that were never published and are kept in the Monastery of Iveron on Mount Athos.
The Beginning of the Birth-Pangs
Epiphanios once met the holy man and took him to his house so that he might rest for at least a week from his many labours. They sat alone somewhere, and the young man began to question him:
“How will the end of the world come? What are ‘the beginning of the birth-pangs’, and when will they occur? How will people understand that the consummation is near, and what signs will reveal it? What end will our City (Constantinople), this New Jerusalem, meet? What will become of the venerable churches? What will happen to the holy crosses, the sacred icons, and the holy books? Where will the relics of the saints be safeguarded? Explain to me, I beg you! I know that to you and to the saints like you God has said: ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven’, and how much more the mysteries of this world!”
“This City,” replied the blessed one, “which holds the primacy among many other cities and nations, will remain impregnable and free. The Theotokos guards it ‘under the shelter of her wings’, and by her intercessions it will remain invulnerable. Many nations will besiege its walls, but their strength will be broken, and they will depart in shame. From her many will grow rich and enjoy her good things.
“Yet a certain prophecy says that the Hagarenes will take it and slaughter multitudes of people with the sword. I, however, believe that the blond race will also rush in, whose name begins with the seventeenth letter of the alphabet (Ρ). It will enter and slaughter, laying the sinners low upon the ground. Woe to it, however, from the two kindred nations. Their weapons will be swift as the wind and destructive as a sharp sickle that cuts the harvest. These weapons will not be hindered, yet afterwards they will be dissolved.”
The Pious King
“Now, my child, how can I tell you without tears about the beginning of the birth-pangs and the consummation? In the last days the Lord will raise up a king who is poor in worldly goods. This king will reign with righteousness, will put an end to all wars, and will make the poor rich. Happiness will reign as in the days of Noah. People will become very wealthy, will live in peace and deep tranquillity, will eat and drink, will marry, will go about in great ease and, free from care, will enjoy the good things of the earth, because there will be no wars; they will turn their swords into sickles, their arrows into stakes, and their spears into farming tools to till the soil.
“Later the king will turn toward the East and humble the Hagarenes, for the Lord is angry with them because of their blasphemous religion and because of the Sodomitic sin they commit. Many of them, indeed, will be baptised, will please the king and be honoured; the rest, however, will be utterly destroyed, burned, or put to a cruel death.
“In that age Illyricum will return to the Empire of the Romans, and Egypt will submit by treaty. This king will stretch out his right hand over the surrounding nations, will tame the blond races, and defeat his foes. His reign will last thirty-two years. For twelve years he will levy neither taxes nor tolls; he will rebuild altars that have been torn down and restore holy temples that have been demolished. In his days there will be no trials, nor will there be any unrighteous or wronged person; this king will cause the whole earth to fear him, he will compel men by fear to live wisely, and he will destroy the law-breaking rulers.
“In that time the Lord will reveal to the king all the gold, wherever it may be hidden. He will scatter it ‘with a shovel’ throughout his land. Because of the great wealth, the nobles will live like kings and the poor like nobles. This king will perform great deeds. With great zeal he will set out to drive away the Jews. Not a single Israelite will remain in this City. There will be no revelry with lyres, guitars, and shameful songs. Nothing impure will be done, for he will hate and utterly destroy ‘out of the city of the Lord all those who work iniquity’ (Ps. 100:8).
“Then great joy and exultation will prevail. The earth and the sea will give their produce abundantly. Life will flow peacefully and calmly, and people will rejoice as in the days of Noah, until the flood came.”
The Chiliarch Aran
“After this reign the calamities will begin. The son of perdition, the chiliarch Aran, will come to this City and reign for three years and six months. He will force men to commit such lawlessness as has never been committed since the world was created, nor ever will be again. He will command and legislate that father lie with daughter, son with mother, brother with sister, whether they wish it or not. Whoever resists or speaks against it will be put to death. Yet whoever dies in this way will be ranked on the day of judgment together with John the Forerunner.
“This king will order monks to be joined with nuns, and likewise priests. Thus the lawlessness of mixing will become worse than murder. He himself will commit fornication with his mother and his daughter. Since licentiousness will become law, all the debauched will hold orgies with their sisters. The stench of incest will rise to heaven, and the Lord will be exceedingly angry with the whole world. He will then give the command, and lightning and thunder will begin to fall upon the whole earth with uncontrollable fury. Many cities will burn. People will be paralysed by the terrible crash of the thunder and will die an evil death, while others will be consumed by the lightning.
“Woe then to the earth, for the fearful threat and the wrath of the Almighty draws near! Famine will come, and people will die in heaps from hunger. A mighty earthquake will follow, and every building will collapse. Many workers of iniquity will meet a bad end buried in the ruins.
“The sun will become black and dark, the moon like blood, because of the men who have become like swine. The stars will fall to the earth. Every mountain and island will be moved by the violence of the earthquake and the threat. The priests of God, together with the remaining virtuous and continent, will flee to the mountains and caves.
“Then that lawless king will be struck down and banished to the outer darkness. Blessed will be those who dwell in elder Rome, in Arsenoe, in Strovilos, in Armenopetra, or in Karyoupolis. In these cities people will live in peace. In the others, however, there will be wars and upheavals, as it is written: ‘Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars’ (Mark 13:7) and what follows.”
The Idol-Worshipping King
“Afterwards another king will ascend in this City. He will be grim and dark, a denier of God and of the saints. He will study the books of the Ellenics, will embrace their religion, and will make war against the saints and the Church of Christ. When the first days of his reign have passed, he will burn all the holy vessels and call the Cross ‘a fork’. He will also disband the priesthood and slaughter half the population in the public streets.
“In those days parents will turn against children, children against parents, and they will kill one another. Brother will betray brother to death, and friend friend. Many who confess that Jesus Christ is God and ‘King of all’ will receive the crown of martyrdom.
“This king will move the inhabitants from the islands to the region of Thrace, Macedonia, and the Strymon, so that the islands will be deserted. In heaven there will be terrible crashes, on earth great earthquakes and the overthrow of cities. Nations and kingdoms will rise up against one another. There will be great destruction upon the earth, and men will fall into tribulation and anguish.
“At the same time fire will appear in the sky like burning coals, which with the speed of lightning will menacingly overshadow the whole earth. Such confusion will prevail in the air that one bird will crash into another. The earth will be filled with serpents that will bite the unrepentant sinners. And all these things will be the beginning of the birth-pangs.”
The Last King of the Romans
“When the impious king dies, a man from Ethiopia, from the first ‘horn’, will come and reign, as they say, for twelve years. His reign will be peaceful. He will rebuild the holy temples demolished by his predecessors and will return the people to their islands. For his goodness God and all the people will love him. While he reigns, joy and gladness will prevail throughout the world.
“After him a man from Arabia will reign for one year. In his days, by a single nod of the Almighty, the holy parts of the precious and life-giving Cross will be joined together and will be given whole to the king. He will take it and journey to Jerusalem. When he reaches the Place of the Skull, he will place his royal crown with his own hands upon the top of the Cross, raise it, and say: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, the years that Thou didst preordain for the kingdom of the Romans are fulfilled. Receive Thy glorious and wondrous gift, and with it my spirit.’
“Forthwith an angel of the Lord will descend from heaven and take the precious Cross together with the diadem, as well as the soul of the king. Thus the kingdom of the Romans will come to an end, for its support has always been for Christians the precious Cross. Blessed then will be those who leave that City and flee to the wilderness and the caves.”
The Joint Rule
“Afterwards three young men will appear in our City – foolish, shameless, and corrupt. They will reign, but by diabolical power they will begin a terrible war among themselves. The first will set out, enter Thessalonica, and say: ‘City of the Thessalonians! Thou shalt conquer thine enemies, for thou art the boast of the saints, and the Lord hath sanctified thee.’
“He will conscript citizens from seven years old and upward. He will also conscript priests and monks, build war chariots, prepare a great fleet, and march upon Rome. Before its gates he will stand and cry: ‘Hail, thrice-strong and honoured Rome! Thou bearest a sharp sword and whetstone and sharpened arrows. Hold fast thy faith and change it not until the consummation, and thy inhabitants shall be blessed.’ Then he will conscript the blond races and await the other two kings.
“The second will conscript Mesopotamia and the islands of the Cyclades (or, according to another reading: the valleys of the islands). He will also conscript priests and monks, burning with terrible hatred against the other two. He will set out and come to the ‘navel’ of the earth. Some say the ‘navel’ of the world is Alexandria. There he will await the other two with whom he will fight.
“The third will also set out from the City and conscript Caria, Phrygia, Asia, Armenia, Galatia, and Arabia. When he reaches Sylaion he will say: ‘Though thou art called Sylaion, thou shalt neither be plundered nor conquered by any enemy.’ Afterwards he will ally himself with an independent people who have submitted neither to him nor to the other two kings.
“At last all three will gather, draw up their armies, and face one another. A great and terrible battle will follow, and they will be cut to pieces like sheep in a slaughterhouse. The three kings will be killed, as well as their entire armies. The blood of the Romans will flow like water after a heavy rain. No one will be saved. The sea water will mingle with blood for twelve stadia. Women will be left widows. Seven women will seek one man and not find him, until others come from abroad. As for the minors who remain, when they come of age they will, because of excessive debauchery, become as insensible as swine.
“Blessed and thrice-blessed then will be those who struggle for the Lord in the mountains and caves, for they will not see the evil that will be done in the world. These will await the contest with the Antichrist. These are the innocent sheep who will be sacrificed for Christ by the evil demon, the Antichrist.”
The Abominable Queen
“At that time, since there will be no worthy man but all will be stupefied, a wicked and shameful woman will come from the Pontos and reign in the queen of cities. She will be a reveller, a sorceress, and a harlot – in a word, a daughter of the devil.
“In her days one will plot against another, and massacres will take place in the streets and houses of the city. The stronger will kill the weaker. Son will kill father, father son, mother daughter, daughter mother, brother brother, and friend friend. Great evil and hatred will prevail among men. In the churches there will be acts of lewdness, adultery, debauchery, incest, dancing, and satanic songs, mockeries, and games such as no man has ever seen or heard.
“That unclean queen will call herself a goddess and will make war against God. She will defile the holy altars with uncleanness. She will wash her body, and with the water of that shameful washing she will defile the whole people. She will turn her face from God. She will seize the precious vessels from the temples, the precious crosses and venerable icons, the Gospels, the Apostolos, and every holy book. Gathering them into a great heap, she will set fire to them and burn them. As for the churches, she will raze them to the ground. She will even search for relics of saints to burn them, but will not find them, for God by invisible power will have transported them elsewhere. Then the wretch will shatter the holy Table of the Great Church of Holy Wisdom and destroy everything within it. Afterwards she will turn toward the East and with insolence say to the Most High: ‘O Thou who art called God, did I hesitate to wipe Thy face from the earth? See what I have done to Thee, and Thou couldst not harm a single hair of mine. Wait a little, and I will rend the heavens and come to fight with Thee, and then we shall see which God is stronger and mightier.’
“These things the gangrene will say and do even worse, spitting toward heaven and throwing stones. Her most shameful deeds, however, I will not mention.
“Then the Almighty Lord will bend His bow in wrath against this great City and stretch out His hand with terrible power over it. He will seize it firmly, cut with the sickle of His might the ground on which it stands, and command the waves of the sea to swallow it. They will obey, rushing from both sides with astonishing speed and great roaring. Then the Lord will uproot the foundation of the city from the earth, lift it high, whirling it like a millstone, while the inhabitants in great terror cry ‘Woe!’ Afterwards He will hurl it upon those waves, which will rush upon it, cover it, and sweep it into the terrible and vast deep.
“This, my child Epiphanios, will be the end of our city. And all that I have told you will happen are those woes which our Lord Jesus Christ called ‘the beginning of birth-pangs’. After the destruction of this city the events of the consummation will follow.”
The Consummation of the Age
The Re-establishment of the Israelite State
“After the completion of the kingdom of the nations, some say that God will re-establish the Israelite state so that it may reign on earth until the end of the age. They cite as proof the following passage from Isaiah: ‘And it shall be in the last days that the Lord God will raise a sign at the completion of the nations over all the sheep of Judah scattered among the nations, and He will gather the outcasts of Israel into the holy city Jerusalem. And it shall be for Israel as on the day it came out of the land of Egypt’ (cf. Isa. 11:12, 16). They also cite the Apostle Paul, who says: ‘When the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, then all Israel shall be saved’ (Rom. 11:25-26).
“With one voice they assert these things, while the martyr Hippolytus adds that at the coming of the Antichrist the Jews will be deceived first. Christ Himself had already foretold this when He said to them: ‘I have come in My Father’s name, and ye receive Me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive’ (John 5:43).
“It is very clear that God will again gather the Israelites in Jerusalem and restore to them what they had before, in order to overturn their excuse until then that their loss was due to their dispersion. For on the day of judgment they could defend themselves before Christ thus: ‘Hadst Thou gathered us in Jerusalem and restored what we had, then we would have believed in Thee, for there would no longer be reason to envy the nations who were so preferred above us.’
“Thus they will all be gathered together and recover what they were deprived of, yet they will remain in the same unbelief. How then shall they be saved when at that very time the Antichrist will come among them and they will all believe in him, according to the word of the Lord? God does not lie. ‘I am the truth,’ He proclaims through His only-begotten Son. By their restoration they will automatically be deprived of that excuse.
“When the Apostle Paul says they will be saved, he does not mean they will be saved from eternal punishment, but from their wandering all these years among foreign nations, from the reproach of other peoples, and from their unspeakable shame. They will be gathered into their homeland and saved from slavery, the yoke, and the mockery they have suffered so many years. They will not, however, be saved from eternal punishment. If affliction did not persuade them to believe in Christ, how will supposed grace persuade them?”
The Sinking of Hagia Sophia
“My spiritual father,” said Epiphanios, “leave these things and explain to me what is said: that Hagia Sophia will not sink together with the City, but will remain suspended in the air by some invisible power.”
“What are you saying, my child?” replied the righteous one. “When the whole City sinks, how will the church be saved, and who will enter it to worship?
“Does God dwell in man-made temples? By no means. Yet there is some truth in this report: only the column that stands in the forum, because it holds the ‘precious nails’, will be preserved. This alone will be saved so that passing ships may tie their ropes to it and mourn this seven-hilled Babylon, saying: ‘Woe to us! The great and ancient City has sunk. Here we prospered in our trade and grew rich.’ Her mourning will last forty days. Because of the sorrow of those days the kingdom will be given to elder Rome, as well as to Sylaion and Thessalonica. These things will happen when the consummation draws near, when the state of the world will grow worse and pains and calamities will multiply.”
The Abominable Nations
“In that year the Lord will open the gates of India which Alexander, king of the Macedonians, closed. Seventy-two kings with their peoples will come forth from there – the so-called abominable nations, more loathsome than any abomination or stench. They will scatter over the whole world. They will eat men alive and drink their blood. With great pleasure they will also devour flies, frogs, dogs, and every uncleanness.
“Woe to the regions through which they pass! If it be possible, O Lord, let no Christians be alive then! Yet I know, however, that there will be.
“In those days the sun will darken as though in mourning for the atrocities those foul nations will commit. The sun will become as blood, the moon and all the stars will be darkened as they behold them upon the earth vying in uncleanness. These peoples will dig up the earth, turn the altars into latrines, and put the holy vessels to dishonourable use. Then let those who dwell in Asia flee to the islands of the Cyclades (or, according to another reading: to the valleys of the islands), for the foul nations will not go there, and let them mourn for six hundred and sixty days.”
The Antichrist
“Then Satan will be incarnate from the tribe of Dan – that is, the Antichrist will be born. He will not, however, become man by his own power; rather, God will fashion for him a shameful and unclean vessel so that the words of the prophets may be fulfilled. He will be released from the bonds with which the Lord Christ bound him when He descended into Hades, and he will enter that vessel prepared for him. Thus he will become man, grow to manhood, reign, and then begin to display his deception, as the theologian John says. Afterwards he will make war against the islands of the Cyclades (or: the valleys of the islands). By ‘islands’, as Isaiah says, are meant the churches that came from the Gentiles (Isa. 24:15; 45:16; 49:1; 66:19).
“Then Enoch, who lived before the Mosaic law, will appear. Elijah, who lived during the law, and John the Theologian, who lived in the age of the new grace, will also appear. These three will preach throughout the world concerning the time of the consummation, the coming of the deceiver, and the Second Coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. They will even perform signs and wonders.
“Whoever wishes to kill them or harm them in any way, fire will come forth and consume them. They will act with great authority and rebuke the Antichrist. They will, however, be slain by him in Jerusalem, and their bodies will be left unburied in the middle of the city. There the inhabitants will gather and mock them as though defenceless (Rev. 11:5-10).
“Their holy bodies will lie three whole days in the square. In the middle of the fourth day a dove bright as lightning will descend from heaven, walk upon them, and give them life. Then the saints will be strengthened and rise up, and those who see them will be greatly afraid. At that moment a voice will be heard from heaven saying: ‘Come up hither, My friends, to Me.’ Immediately a cloud will descend, lift them up, and place them in Paradise (Rev. 11:9-13).
“That deceiver and vain one, the Antichrist, will exceedingly torment the Christians of his time until their last breath with afflictions and terrible punishments. Whoever is not deceived and does not believe in him will be shown to be chosen and a worthy friend of Christ. All the saints are indeed blessed, but thrice-blessed will be those who are martyred in the time of the Antichrist. Unspeakable glory and exultation await them forever.
“Then a terrible war will follow between the Antichrist and the Lord Christ. As soon as the Antichrist perceives that the world is nearing its end, he will in fury make opposition against heaven: he will cast lightning and thunder and make such crashes that the universe will shake and resound terribly from the sound of the roar. Who then, my child, will not fear and shudder? Blessed, as I said before, will be those whose faith in Christ, our true God who was incarnate and born of the holy Virgin Mary, is not shaken. Blessed also those who die for the love of Christ and boldly rebuke the dragon and his deception. Blessed those who rise up against him and with courage denounce his errors…”
Thus spoke the blessed one, while Epiphanios wept from the depths of his soul wept at what was to befall the world. Then he asked the holy man:
“Tell me, I beg you, how men will be removed from the earth and how the resurrection will take place.”
“Some, my child, the abominable nations will kill, others will perish in the dense wars, and still others the Antichrist will destroy. To those who believe in and worship the Antichrist the Lord will send, according to the prophecy of Ezekiel, winged beasts having stings full of poison in their tails. All who do not bear upon their foreheads intact and whole the seal of Christ will suffer a horrible death from the sting and venom of those beasts. Then the saints who with great struggle have kept the seal of Christ intact will migrate to the mountains and deserts. But the Lord by His divine power will gather them into the holy city of Zion. These are those written in the book of life.
“When the Antichrist is defeated and led captive together with the other demons to the tribunal, and is judged for the souls he led to perdition, then the trumpet will sound and the dead will rise incorrupt. Then those who remain alive at the Second Coming will, as Paul said, in the twinkling of an eye be changed from corruptible to incorruptible and, together with the resurrected dead, will be caught up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17).
“Whoever therefore sees the abominable nations coming into the world, let him know that all that is to happen is ‘at the door’ and that the Judge is coming to render to each according to his works.”
These things the blessed Andrew said to Epiphanios in my own humble presence. Thus we remained awake the whole night. When the wooden semantron sounded, Epiphanios went to the church, while the blessed Andrew remained in the house praying.
In the heart of tenth-century Constantinople, during the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise, there lived a man named Andrew, a Skythes (barbarian nation of central balkan) by birth who had been captured young and sold into slavery. Purchased by a wealthy officer named Theognostus, Andrew was raised with care, educated in letters, and immersed in the Christian faith. He frequented churches, devoured the Scriptures, and drew inspiration from the lives of saints, his soul aflame with devotion. Yet, his path was not one of conventional piety. One fateful night, as he prayed fervently, Andrew experienced a divine vision: an arena where radiant angels battled dark demons. An angel urged him to fight, promising celestial crowns for victory over evil. Triumphing through cunning faith, Andrew heard the Lord's command: "Become a fool for My sake, and you shall inherit the Kingdom." This calling marked the beginning of his extraordinary life as a "fool for Christ," a deliberate embrace of feigned madness to humble himself utterly before God and humanity.
Released from his master's household after convincing all of his insanity—including a failed exorcism at the Church of Saint Anastasia—Andrew wandered the bustling streets of the Byzantine capital. Half-naked, ragged, and exposed to the elements, he endured relentless mockery, beatings from passersby, and the gnawing bites of stray dogs. By day, he acted the madman, babbling incoherently and provoking disdain; by night, he poured out his soul in secret prayer. He begged for alms only to distribute them to the destitute, mocking recipients to deflect any gratitude, ensuring his rewards came solely from heaven. Through this radical self-abasement—hunger, thirst, cold, and scorn—Andrew purified his spirit, gaining profound gifts: the ability to discern hidden sins, exorcise demons, and foresee events. He unmasked hypocrites, such as a miserly monk entangled by a serpentine demon of avarice, whom he counseled to relinquish his hoard and find redemption. In another instance, at a lavish funeral, Andrew perceived black imps cavorting around the corpse of a wealthy sinner, revealing the man's unrepented vices of lies, hatred, bloodshed, and moral corruption that had damned three hundred souls.
Amid his trials, divine visions sustained him. During a brutal winter, frozen on a dunghill, Andrew was transported to Paradise for two weeks—whether in body or spirit, he could not say. There, he beheld lush gardens, crystalline rivers, and the throne of Christ, radiant amid seraphim. The Lord spoke three ineffable words that filled Andrew with indescribable joy, though he yearned in vain to see the Theotokos, who was aiding the earthly afflicted. Later, in the Blachernae Church with his disciple Epiphanius—a young noble who would become Patriarch—Andrew witnessed the Mother of God, surrounded by saints and angels, extending her protective veil over the faithful, an apparition commemorating the Feast of the Protection.
Andrew's teachings, often shared in private with Epiphanius, delved into the soul's nature. He described it as an intellectual spirit, a luminous essence that animates the body like a god to flesh—pure at birth, shining brighter than the sun. Through virtuous struggles like fasting, prayer, and endurance, the soul grows radiant, drawing nearer to God and becoming divine by grace of the Holy Spirit, much as iron glows in fire. Conversely, sin darkens it like ashes, sinking it into mire. In dialogues, Andrew warned of escalating wickedness in end times, where humans would surpass demons in evil—idolatry, slander, malice, sodomy, drunkenness, and greed—yet emphasized repentance's power to reclaim lost souls.
After 66 years of unyielding ascesis, Andrew reposed in 936, his body exuding a heavenly fragrance. His life, chronicled by a presbyter of Hagia Sophia, endures as a testament to humility's triumph over worldly wisdom, inspiring the Orthodox faithful to this day.
In the vibrant yet turbulent era of Byzantine Constantinople, under the rule of Emperor Leo the Wise in the late ninth and early tenth centuries, a remarkable figure emerged whose life blurred the lines between madness and sanctity. Saint Andrew, born a Slav in distant Scythia around 870, was captured as a youth and sold into slavery in the imperial city. His master, Theognostus—a high-ranking protospatharios and bodyguard to the emperor—recognized the boy's innate goodness and handsome demeanor. Treating him almost as a son, Theognostus provided Andrew with an education, fostering his deep love for the Church, the Holy Scriptures, and the exemplary lives of saints. Andrew's days were filled with fervent prayer and attendance at divine services, his soul yearning for deeper union with God.
But divine providence steered him toward an unconventional path. One night, amid intense prayer, Andrew heard ominous knocks at his door, a demonic ploy to terrify him. Falling asleep, he dreamed of a grand arena: on one side, luminous warriors in white; on the other, grotesque black demons. An angel, bearing crowns of gold, pearls, and flowers, exhorted Andrew to wrestle a demon for heavenly treasures. Victorious through faith—tripping the fiend as it charged—Andrew awoke to the Lord's voice: "Go forth and become a fool for My sake, and on the day of My kingdom, you will be greatly rewarded." This vision, echoing the Apostle Paul's words on divine foolishness surpassing human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), compelled Andrew to embrace "salos," or holy foolishness—a ascetic practice where one feigns insanity to mortify pride and serve God incognito.
The next morning, at his master's well, Andrew tore his garments and slashed them with a knife, simulating derangement. Heartbroken, Theognostus chained him and sought healing at the Church of Saint Anastasia, known for curing afflictions. There, Andrew persisted in his act during the day but prayed secretly at night. In a confirming vision, Saint Anastasia herself appeared, affirming his path: "He is already healed by Him who commanded him to become a fool." After four months of failed rituals, Andrew was deemed incurable and set free. Thus began decades of wandering the streets: barefoot, clad in tatters, sleeping among refuse and dogs, enduring hunger, thirst, scorching heat, and freezing cold. Mocked as a lunatic, beaten by youths, and shunned even by beggars, he distributed alms anonymously, scorning thanks to preserve heavenly merit. His endurance mirrored Job's, purifying his spirit like gold in a furnace, deadening carnal desires through radical poverty.
Yet, beneath this veil of madness, Andrew wielded extraordinary spiritual gifts, bestowed by God for his humility. He discerned men's secrets, exposing hidden sins to prompt repentance. Encountering a avaricious monk, he beheld a serpent coiled around the man's neck—the demon of greed—and urged him to disperse his wealth to the poor, freeing his soul and restoring his guardian angel. At a opulent funeral procession, Andrew perceived demons capering around the bier, one grinning like a harlot, another barking like a dog, as they mocked the deceased's unrepented evils: lies, hatred, bloodshed, miserliness, and the corruption of three hundred souls. The man's guardian angel wept nearby, lamenting a life squandered in vice despite earthly honors. In a cemetery, Andrew thwarted a grave robber intent on desecrating a virgin's corpse; the dead woman herself struck the thief blind until his repentance.
Andrew's visions offered glimpses of celestial realms. During a savage winter, nearly perishing on a dung heap, a radiant youth warmed him with a fragrant touch, transporting him to Paradise—whether bodily or spiritually, he knew not. For two weeks, he wandered gardens of indescribable beauty: fruit-laden trees, melodious birds, rivers of wine, milk, oil, and honey. Ascending through heavens, he beheld Christ's throne, encircled by seraphim, the Lord clad in crimson, His gaze kind. Prostrating, Andrew heard three unspeakable words that ignited eternal joy in his heart. Inquiring of the Theotokos, he learned she had descended to aid the suffering world. This experience fortified him against earthly trials.
Another profound revelation occurred in the Blachernae Church during an all-night vigil. With his secret disciple Epiphanius—a devout youth destined for patriarchal glory—Andrew saw the Mother of God airborne, flanked by John the Baptist, John the Theologian, and angelic hosts. Tearfully interceding, she unfurled her omophorion like a protective dome over the congregation. "Do you see the Queen and Lady of all?" Andrew asked. "I see and am in awe," Epiphanius replied. This miracle, commemorated as the Protection of the Theotokos on October 1, underscored divine guardianship amid peril.
In intimate discourses with Epiphanius, Andrew unveiled profound teachings on the soul. "The soul of man," he explained, "is everything—the life, even the spirit (''breath of God'') of this earthly body, animating and guiding it with warmth." Its essence: an intellectual spirit, luminous and wise, calm and gentle, fashioned into invisible limbs, initially shining brighter than the sun. Through life's choices, it transforms: virtuous struggles—fasting, vigils, abstinence—illuminate it, drawing it nearer to God, rendering it divine by the Holy Spirit's grace, like iron glowing in fire. Sin, however, darkens it like ashes, plunging it into sin's mire. All souls begin stainless in the womb, but deeds shape their fate; the righteous flash forth in brilliance, participating in God's nature, while the wicked blacken eternally. He also saw the soul extending up to boundaries of God's Substance.
At age 66, in 936, Andrew peacefully departed, his body emanating sweet myrrh, a fragrance of sanctity. His biography, penned by Nikiphorus, presbyter of Agia Sophia, preserves this legacy, blending hagiography with apocalyptic fervor. In Byzantine context, amid Arab threats and internal strife, Andrew's life exemplified radical discipleship, challenging societal norms and inspiring fools for Christ across ages. His prophecies, echoing Pseudo-Methodius and Danielic visions, offered hope amid foreboding, urging vigilance, repentance, and trust in divine protection.
