St Andrews and golf are synonymous in many parts of the world as a result of the long history of the game of golf being interwoven with the town. St Andrew is often considered the patron Saint of golfers. Certainly his cross or image appear in many guises around the world where the Scots have brought their influence- none more so than golf-arguably one of Scotland’s greatest gifts to the world.

St Andrew is the Patron St of Scotland, and St Andrew's Day is celebrated by Scots around the world on the 30th November.

The flag of Scotland is the Cross of St Andrew, and this is widely displayed as a symbol of national identity.

Very little is really known about St Andrew himself. He was thought to have been a fisherman in Galilee (now part of Israel), along with his elder brother Simon Peter (St Peter). Both became followers (apostles) of Jesus Christ, founder of the Christian religion.

St Andrew is said to have been responsible for spreading the tenets of the Christian religion though Asia Minor and Greece. Tradition suggests that St Andrew was put to death by the Romans in Patras, Southern Greece by being pinned to a cross (crucified). The diagonal shape of this cross is said to be the basis for the Cross of St Andrew which appears on the Scottish Flag.

St Andrews bones were entombed, and around 300 years later were moved by Emperor Constantine (the Great) to his new capital Constantinople (now Istambul in Turkey). Legend suggests that a Greek Monk (although others describe him as an Irish assistant of St Columba) called St Rule (or St Regulus) was warned in a dream that St Andrews remains were to be moved and was directed by an angel to take those of the remains which he could to the "ends of the earth" for safe-keeping. St Rule dutifully followed these directions, removing a tooth, an arm bone, a kneecap and some fingers from St Andrew's tomb and transporting these as far away as he could. Scotland was close to the extremities of the know world at that time and it was here that St Rule was shipwrecked with his precious cargo.

St Rule is said to have come ashore at a Pictish settlement on the East Coast of Scotland and this later became St. Andrews. Thus the association of St Andrew with Scotland was said to have begun.

Perhaps more likely than the tale of St Rule's journey is that Acca, the Bishop of Hexham, who was a reknown collector of relics, brought the relics of St Andrew to St. Andrews in 733. There certainly seems to have been a religious centre at St Andrews at that time, either founded by St Rule in the 6th century or by a Pictish King, Ungus, who reigned from 731 - 761.

Whichever tale is true, the relics were placed in a specially constructed chapel. This chapel was replaced by the Cathedral of St. Andrews in 1160, and St. Andrews became the religious capital of Scotland and a great centre for Medieval pilgrims who came to view the relics.

There are other legends of how St Andrew and his remains became associated with Scotland, but there is little evidence for any of these, including the legend of St Rule. The names still exist in Scotland today, including St Rules Tower, which remains today amongst the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral.

It is not known what happened to the relics of St Andrew which were stored in St. Andrews Cathedral, although it is most likely that these were destroyed during the Scottish Reformation. The Protestant cause, propounded by Knox, Wishart and others, won out over Roman Catholism during the Reformation and the "idolatry of catholism", that is the Saints, relics, decoration of churches, were expunged during the process of converting the Roman Catholic churches of Scotland to the harsh simplicity of Knox's brand of Calvanism.

The place where these relics were kept within the Cathedral at St. Andrews is now marked by a plaque, amongst the ruins, for visitors to see.

The larger part of St Andrew's remains were stolen from Constantinople in 1210 and are now to be found in Amalfi in Southern Italy. In 1879 the Archbishop of Amalfi sent a small piece of the St's shoulder blade to the re-established Roman Catholic community in Scotland.