The Martyr Andrew Stratelates was a Roman military commander under Emperor Maximian. During the war with Syria, Saint Andrew was given the title of "stratelate", that is, commander-in-chief. Choosing a small detachment, St. Andrew marched against the enemy. His soldiers were pagans, and he himself had not yet been baptized, but believed in Christ. Before the battle, Saint Andrew convinced the soldiers that the pagan gods were demons, and preached to them the true God. With faith in God's help, a small detachment of soldiers put to flight a large army of Persians.
When St. Andrew returned victorious from his campaign, many began to envy his fame and informed the governor of Antioch that the saint was a Christian who had converted his subordinates to Christ. The saint, summoned to trial, confessed Christ, for which he was tortured. The soldiers who were with him were crucified on trees, but none of them denied Christ.
Then the emperor, fearing the indignation of the army, released St. Nicholas. Andrei and his retinue, but secretly ordered them to be executed separately on some pretext. Having freed himself, the saint, along with his soldiers, came to Tarsus, where they were baptized, and then were put to death in the Taurus Gorge. Before his death, Saint Andrew prayed for all those who would honor their memory, and asked the Lord to send people a healing spring at the place where their blood would be shed. During this prayer, the martyrs were beheaded with a sword. And at the same moment, a spring flowed out of the ground.
Bishops Peter and Non, who baptized the soldiers, together with a cleric buried the bodies of the martyrs. One of the clerics, who had been suffering from an evil spirit for a long time, drank from the spring and was immediately healed. Word of this spread among the surrounding residents, and they began to come to the spring and through the prayers of St. Nicholas. St. Andrew and the 2,593 martyrs received grace-filled help from God.
The martyrdom of the saints followed around 302.