Alexander of Jerusalem

The holy hieromartyr Alexander of Jerusalem was bishop of Jerusalem in the third century and died in prison, in the persecution of Decius, in 251. He is commemorated on 16 May and on 12 December.

Discipleship

Alexander was the notable disciple of Clement of Alexandria, at the Catechetical School of Alexandria, towards the end of the second century, and a close friend of Origen. Eusebius of Caesarea tells of their tie; in a letter to Origen, Alexander calls Pantaenus “a truly blessed man and teacher” and Clement “my teacher and benefactor”, saying that through them he came to know Origen, “a man without blame, my lord and brother”.

Bishop in Cappadocia

Alexander was from Cappadocia and was its first known bishop, about 200-212. In the persecution of Septimius Severus he was thrown into prison for the faith, where he stayed some years. Clement of Alexandria, forced by the persecution to leave Egypt, went to him and found him in prison; from there Alexander wrote to the Church of Antioch, about the election of Asclepiades, a confessor, as bishop, and the letter was carried by Clement, who held his see during his imprisonment.

At Jerusalem

After his release, Alexander went to Jerusalem, to pray at the holy places. The faithful received him with love and begged him not to return home. The Life says that the cause was a vision by night, in which the citizens saw that they went out beyond the gates to receive the bishop appointed for them by the Lord. The aged Bishop Narcissus, who could no longer bear the office because of deep old age, asked him to stay and help in governing the see, and Alexander was the first known case of a bishop moved from one see to another. He governed the Church of Jerusalem some thirty-⁠eight years. He allowed Origen, though a layman, to speak in the churches; for this he was rebuked, but he defended himself by showing examples of such permissions given to Origen himself elsewhere, though he was then very young. Later he ordained him priest. He is praised for the library he built at Jerusalem, the first Christian library mentioned by the sources, in which he gathered the books of Holy Scripture and the works of the Christian writers of the time and from which Eusebius profited when he wrote the Ecclesiastical History.

Martyrdom

In the persecution of Decius, Alexander was seized again and, despite his age, was taken in chains, with other bishops, to Caesarea of Palestine, for trial. There he boldly confessed that Christ is the only true God and King, and that worship of idols is worship of demons. He was tortured and thrown to the beasts. It is told that, praying, he said: “Lord, Thy will be done; if it is Thy will that I end now, so be it.” Then some beasts bowed before him, others licked his feet, others his wounds, and he remained unharmed. He was taken back to prison, where he died a martyr, between 250 and 251, giving thanks to God. It is said of him that the glory of his white hairs and his great holiness made a double crown for him in captivity. Eusebius preserved fragments of his letters to the Antinoites, to the Antiochenes, to Origen and, together with Theoctistus of Caesarea, to Demetrius of Alexandria.