The Acts of Andrew and Matthias and the subsequent Acts of Peter and Andrew are heroic romances, written sometime between the 2nd and 5th centuries. Unlike the other apocryphal Acts, they appear to have no real doctrinal or theological purposes, but were merely intriguing fictional accounts of the apostles.
At that time all the apostles were gathered together, and they divided the countries among themselves, casting lots, and it fell to Matthias to go to the land of the cannibals. Now the men of that city ate no bread nor drank wine, but ate the flesh and drank the blood of men; and every stranger who landed there they took, and put out his eyes, and gave him a magic drink which took away his understanding. So when Matthias arrived, he was so treated; but the drink had no effect on him, and he remained praying for help in the prison. And a light came and a Voice: “Matthias, My beloved, receive sight.” And he saw. And the Voice continued: “I will not forsake you: abide twenty-seven days, and I will send Andrew to deliver you and all the rest.” And the Savior went up into Heaven. Matthias remained singing praises; when the executioners came to take victims, he kept his eyes closed. They came and looked at the ticket on his hand and said: “Three more days and we will slay him,” for every victim had a ticket tied on his hand to show the date when his thirty days would be fulfilled.
1 When twenty-seven days had elapsed, the Lord appeared to Andrew in the country where he was teaching and said: “In three days Matthias is to be slain by the cannibals; go and deliver him.” 2 “How is it possible for me to get there in time?” “Early tomorrow, go to the shore and you will find a ship.” And He left him. 3 They went—Andrew and his disciples—and found a little boat and three men. The captain was the Lord, and the other two were messengers. 4 Andrew asked where they were going. “To the land of the cannibals.” “I would go there too.” “Every man avoids that place; why will you go?” 5 “I have an errand to do; and if You can, take us.” He said: “Come on board.” 6 Andrew said: “I must tell You [that] we have neither money nor food.” “How then do you travel?” “Our Master forbade us to take money and provisions. If You will do us this kindness, tell us: if not, we will look for another ship.” 7 “If these are your orders, come on board and welcome, I truly desire to have disciples of Jesus on my ship.” So they embarked. 8 Jesus ordered three loaves to be brought, and Andrew summoned his disciples to partake; but they could not answer him, for they were disturbed with the sea; so Andrew explained to the captain, and He offered to set them ashore: but they refused to leave Andrew. 9 Jesus said: “Tell your disciples some of the wonders your Master did, to encourage them, for we are going to set sail”: so they did, and Jesus steered. 10 And Andrew told the disciples about the stilling of the storm and prayed in himself that they might sleep: and they fell asleep. 11 Andrew said to Jesus: “Tell me your art, [for] I sailed the sea sixteen years, and this is the seventeenth, and I never saw such steering: the ship is as if on land.” 12 Jesus said: “I, too, have often sailed the sea and been in danger; but because you are a disciple of Jesus, the sea knows you and is still.” Andrew praised God that he had met such a Man. 13 Jesus said: “Tell me why the Jews did not believe on your Master.” Andrew enumerated the miracles; “yet,” he said, “the Jews did not believe.” 14 “Perhaps He did not do these signs before the high priests.” “Yes, He did, both openly and privately, and they would not believe.” 15 “What were the signs He did in secret?” “O Man with the spirit of questioning, why do You tempt me thus?” “I do not tempt you, but My soul rejoices to hear of His wonderful works.” 16 “ I will tell You, then. Once, when we the twelve went with our Lord to a heathen temple, so that He might show us the ignorance of the Devil, the high priests saw us and said: Why do you follow this Man who says He is the Son of God? Does God have a Son? Is this not Joseph and Mary’s Son?—and His brothers are James and Simon. 17 And our hearts were weakened, and Jesus perceived it, and took us apart into the wilderness, and did mighty signs and strengthened our faith. And we said to the priests: Come and see, for He has convinced us. 18 And the priests came to the heathen temple, and Jesus showed us the form of the heavens, so that we might learn whether or not it was true. 19 Thirty men of the people and four priests were with us. On the right and left of the temple, Jesus saw two sphinxes carved, and He turned to us and said: Behold the form of the Heaven: these are like the cherubim and seraphim in Heaven. 20 And He said to the sphinx on the right: You, likeness of that which is in Heaven, made by craftsmen, come down and convince these priests whether I am God or man. 21 It came down, and spoke, and said: O foolish sons of Israel! This is God who made man . . . . Do not tell me that I am a stone image: the temples are better than your synagogue. Our priests purify themselves seven days from women, and do not approach the temple, but you come straight from defilement. 22 The temples will abolish your synagogues and become assemblies of the only-begotten Son of God. 23 The priests said: It speaks by magic, [for] you heard it say that this man spoke with Abraham. How is that possible? 24 . . . Jesus said to the sphinx: Go to the cave of Mambre and call Abraham; command him to rise with Isaac and Jacob and come to the temples of the Jebusaeans to convict the priests. 25 It went and called, and the twelve patriarchs rose and came out. To which of us were you sent? [The sphinx replied:] Not to you, but to the three patriarchs: go back and rest. 26 They went back, and the three patriarchs came and convicted the priests. Jesus [then] commanded them to return, and He sent the sphinx back to its place; but the priests did not believe. And He did many other wonders.”
1 Jesus, seeing that they were near land, leaned His head on one of the messengers and ceased speaking to Andrew: and Andrew went to sleep. 2 Then Jesus commanded the messengers to take the men, and lay them outside the city of the cannibals, and return: and then they all departed to Heaven. 3 Andrew awoke, and looked around him, and realized what had happened, and he roused his disciples. 4 They told him their dream: eagles came and carried them into Paradise, and they saw the Lord on His throne, and messengers, and the three patriarchs and David singing, “and you, the twelve apostles, and twelve messengers by you, whom the Lord commanded to obey you in everything.” 5 Andrew rejoiced and prayed to the Lord to show Himself: and Jesus appeared in the form of a beautiful young child. 6 Andrew asked forgiveness for his arrogance on the ship. Jesus reassured him, and told him what trials awaited him in the city, and encouraged him to endure them, and departed. 7 They entered the city, unseen, and went to the prison. The seven guards fell dead at his prayer: at the Sign of the Cross the doors opened. 8 He found Matthias, and they greeted each other. 9 Andrew looked at the victims, who were naked and eating grass, and he struck his breast and reproached the Devil: “How long will you war with men! You caused Adam to be cast out of Paradise! You caused his bread that was on the table to be turned into stones! 10 Again, you entered into the mind of the messengers, and caused them to be defiled with women, and made their savage sons the giants to devour men on the earth, so that God sent the Flood . . . .” 11 Then they both prayed, and they laid their hands on the prisoners and first restored their sight and then their sense, and Andrew instructed them to go out of the city, and remain under a fig-tree, and await him: there were two hundred seventy men and forty-nine women. 12 And Andrew commanded a cloud, and it took Matthias, and the disciples, and brothers to the mountain where Peter was teaching, and there they remained.
1 Andrew went out, and walked in the city, and sat down by a brazen pillar with a statue on it, to see what would happen. 2 The executioners came and found the prison empty and the guards dead, and they reported it to the rulers. 3 They said: “Go and fetch the seven dead men for us to eat today, and assemble the old men tomorrow, and we will cast lots for seven [each] day and eat them, until we can fit out ships, and send [them], and collect people to eat.” 4 So they fetched the seven corpses; there was a furnace in the midst of the city and a great vat for the blood: they put the men on the vat. 5 A voice came: “Andrew, look at this.” Andrew prayed, and the men’s swords fell, and their hands turned to stone. 6 The rulers cried: “There are wizards in the city! Go and gather the old men, for we are hungry.” They found two hundred fifteen, and lots were cast for seven. 7 One of these said: “Take my young son and kill him instead of me.” They asked leave of the rulers, and it was granted, and the old man said: “I have a daughter, take her too, and spare me.” 8 So the children were brought to the vat, begging for their lives, but there was no pity. 9 Andrew prayed, and again the swords fell from the men’s hands, and there was great alarm. 10 Then the Devil came in the guise of an old man and said: “Woe to you! You will all die of hunger; but search now and look for a stranger named Andrew: he is the cause of your trouble.” 11 Andrew was looking at the Devil, but the Devil could not see him. And Andrew said: “O Beliar, my Lord will humble you to the abyss!” 12 The Devil said: “I hear your voice and know it; but I cannot see where you stand.” Andrew said: “Are you not called Amael because you are blind?” 13 The Devil responded: “Look for the man who spoke to me, for it is he.” And they shut the gates and looked everywhere, but could not find him. 14 The Lord appeared and said to Andrew: “Show yourself to them.” He rose and said: “I am Andrew whom you seek.” 15 And they ran, and took him, and debated how to kill him: “If we cut off his head, it will not pain him enough; let us put a rope around his neck, and drag him through the streets every day until he dies, and divide his body and eat it.” 16 They did so, and his flesh was torn, and his blood flowed, and they cast him into prison with his hands bound behind him. 17 And so they [also] did the next day, and he wept and cried to the Lord; and the Devil told the people to strike his mouth, so that he might not speak; and they bound his hands behind him and left him in the prison. 18 The Devil took seven other devils, whom Andrew had driven out from places in the neighborhood, and they came to Andrew, and the Devil said: “Now we will kill you like your Master whom Herod slew.” And he said: “Now my children, kill him!” 19 But they saw the seal on his forehead and were afraid, and they said: “You kill him, for we cannot.” 20 And one of them said: “If we cannot kill him, let us mock him”; and they stood before him and taunted him with his helplessness, and he wept. 21 And a voice—the Devil’s voice disguised—said: “Why do you weep?” Andrew said: “Because of our Lord’s word: Have patience with them; otherwise I would have shown you . . . , but if the Lord grants me a visitation in this city, I will punish you as you deserve.” And they fled. 22 The next day, the people dragged him again, and he cried out to the Lord: “Here are Your words: A hair of your heads will not perish; behold, my flesh is torn from me.” 23 And a Voice said in Hebrew: “My words will not pass away: look behind you.” And he saw great fruit-bearing trees growing up where his flesh and blood had fallen. 24 And they took him back to prison and said: “Perhaps he will die tomorrow.” And the Lord came and took his hand, and he rose up whole. 25 And there was a pillar in the prison, and on it a statue. Andrew went to it, and spread out his hands seven times, and said: “Fear the Sign of the Cross, and let this statue pour forth water as a flood. 26 And do not say, I am only a stone, for God made us from earth, but you are clean, and therefore God gave His people the Law on tables of stone.” 27 And the statue poured water out of its mouth as from a canal, and it was bitter and corroded men’s flesh. In the morning all the people began to flee. The water killed their cattle and their children. 28 Andrew said: “Let Michael wall the city around with fire.” A cloud of fire came and surrounded it, and they could not escape. 29 The water came up to their necks and consumed their flesh. They cried and lamented until he saw their spirit was crushed, and he told the alabaster statue to cease. 30 And Andrew went out of the prison, the water parting before him, and the people prayed for mercy. 31 The old man who had given up his children came and begged. But Andrew said: “I marvel at you; you and the fourteen executioners will be swallowed up and see the places of torment and of peace.” 32 And he went as far as the great vat, and prayed, and the earth opened and swallowed the water, and the old man, and the executioners. And everyone feared greatly, but he consoled them. 33 Then he instructed them to bring everyone who had been killed by the water, but there were too many, so he prayed and revived them. 34 Then he drew out the plan for a church, and immersed them, and gave them the Lord’s precepts. 35 And they begged him to stay with them a while; but he refused, saying, “I must first go to my disciples”; and he set forth, and they lamented grievously. 36 And Jesus appeared in the form of a beautiful child, and reproved him for leaving them, and told him to stay seven days; and then he should go with his disciples to the country of the barbarians, and then return and bring the men out of the abyss. And he returned and they all rejoiced greatly.