ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM

A contemporary of Saints Cyprian of Carthage, Saturninus of Toulouse, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Gregory of Neocaesarea, Alexander of Jerusalem saved Clement of Alexandria from persecution and ordained Origen himself as a priest. The father of church history, Eusebius of Caesarea, and the Bible translator, Jerome, wrote of him as a role model.

1 In Saint Alexander of Jerusalem, whose memory the Church celebrates on May 29, we remember one of the most epochal Founding Fathers of early Christianity. Much of what he experienced or laid down, whether we know it or not, had a colossal influence on all subsequent history and continues to serve as a living and active standard to this day.

2 Alexander was initially a pagan, received a good classical education, and attended various philosophical schools of his time and various teachers. His conscious conversion to Christianity coincided with his studies at the renowned theological school in Alexandria, where his teachers included the great ancient apologists Pantaenus and Clement. He was ordained a bishop, thereby laying the foundation for all future times of the ideal prototype for the succession of church ministry—from conversion through education to episcopacy. This path was subsequently followed by the Great Cappadocians, Saint Augustine, and many others.

3 Alexander became the first " auxiliary bishop" in history to the current primate, Saint Narcissus. This required a council decision of the bishops of Palestine “as an exception,” but was later extended to all churches. It was Alexander who initially granted permission to Origen, while he was a layman, to preach in churches. He later ordained this great theologian and confessor to the priesthood, even though Origen was not subordinate to him but was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Alexandria. Because of this, he had to work hard to protect his famous student from church bureaucrats. In his diocese, Alexander founded the first Christian literary library and theological school in history, which also served as an example for all subsequent generations of Christian episcopates.

4 As a young man, Alexander spent a decade in a pagan prison during the persecution of Emperor Septimius Severus in the early third century, and in 250 he died from torture inflicted on him by pagans during the brutal persecution of Decius. In his works, Origen reflected extensively on the restoration of the unity of God’s creation, angels, animals, and humans. When Alexander was thrown to the wild beasts in the arena at Caesarea in Palestine, they not only left him unharmed, but even fawned over him, then searched for traces of his footsteps. They were unaware that the one whose “glory of gray hair and great holiness” they had blessed and delighted had already died of exhaustion, and they waited a long time to see him again.