Icon of the Pope Alexander of Alexandria in Veljusa Monastery, North Macedonia
Saint Alexandre, évêque
Après avoir vainement
essayé de ramener à la foi orthodoxe, Arius, l'un de ses prêtres, Alexandre,
évêque d’Alexandrie en Egypte, convoqua un concile pour condamner l'hérésie
naissante. Secondé par l'un de ses diacres qui deviendra saint Athanase, il fait
triompher la vérité lors du concile de Nicée en 325. Il était plein de
miséricorde pour recevoir les "lapsi" ceux qui étaient tombés devant
les tortures, avaient quitté l'Eglise et voulaient y revenir une fois la paix
revenue. Il mourut en 326.
Saint Alexandre
Évêque
d'Alexandrie (+ 326)
Après avoir vainement
essayé de ramener à la foi orthodoxe, Arius, l'un de ses prêtres, il convoqua
un concile pour condamner l'hérésie naissante.
Secondé par l'un de ses
diacres qui deviendra saint
Athanase, il fait triompher la vérité lors du concile de Nicée en
325.
Il était plein de
miséricorde pour recevoir les "lapsi" ceux qui étaient tombés devant
les tortures, avaient quitté l'Église et voulaient y revenir une fois la paix
revenue. Il refusa les intégrismes soutenus par l'évêque Mélèce de
Lycopolis, connut les débuts de l'hérésie arienne où le même évêque soutenait
Arius. Saint Alexandre rencontra ainsi bien des difficultés tant devint grande
l'extension de l'hérésie, grâce aux chansons populaires qui la traduisaient. Il
put voir le concile œcuménique de Nicée et eut la joie d'être soutenu par saint
Athanase.
Commémoraison de saint
Alexandre, évêque d’Alexandrie, glorieux vieillard enflammé de zèle pour la
foi. Devenu évêque de cette ville après saint Pierre,
il chassa de la communion de l’Église Arius, son prêtre perverti par l’impiété
hérétique, réfuté par la vérité divine, et que, plus tard, il condamna avec les
trois cent dix-huit Pères du Concile de Nicée. Quelques mois après le Concile,
en 326, il s’en alla vers le Seigneur.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/5846/Saint-Alexandre.html
Saint Alexandre
Patriarche d’Alexandrie
(250-326)
Successeur d’Achillas, il
fut élu en 313 patriarche d’Alexandrie. C’était, au rapport de Théodoret, un
saint prêtre, dans la vie duquel il n’y avait rien que de louable. Le sachant
d’humeur douce et tranquille, Aldus, le plus dangereux des hérésiarques, crut
en avoir facilement raison et ne mit plus de retenue dans la propagande de sa
doctrine touchant la divinité de Jésus-Christ. Mais l’évêque fit bien voir en
cette occasion la sincérité de ses sentiments et l’intime énergie de son
caractère. Après avoir employé les voies de la douceur pour ramener le
schismatique, il le sépara de la communion des fidèles, lui et ses partisans,
sentence qui fut ratifiée dans un concile métropolitain tenu vers la fin de
320.
Il paraît que l’empereur
Constantin traita d’abord cette grave affaire comme une controverse sans
conséquence, puisqu’il adressa aux deux adversaires une lettre commune pour les
inviter à la réconciliation et à la paix. Cela n’empêcha point Alexandre de
s’opposer de toute sa force à l’hérésie, et les deux épîtres qu’on a de lui à
ce sujet, l’une à Constantin, l’autre à tous les évêques du monde, font le plus
grand honneur à sa mémoire: il y presse vivement Arius et ceux de son parti; il
représente leur doctrine d’une manière qui découvre tout ce qu’elle a de plus
odieux, et la combat par des preuves très solides.
L’empereur, mieux
informé, fit réunir un concile général à Nicée (325); l’erreur y subit une
honteuse défaite, et le dogme catholique fut solennellement défini. Alexandre
eut une grande part à ces décisions; mais il ne survécut pas longtemps au
triomphe de l’Église, et mourut à Alexandrie, le 26 février 326, laissant
Athanase pour continuer avec éclat ses bons exemples sur son siège et sa lutte
contre les ariens.
La Vie des Saints
illustrée pour chaque jour de l’année, d’après les grands recueils de
l’hagiographie moderne, Paris, Librairie de Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1887.
SOURCE : https://sanctoral.com/fr/saints/saint_alexandre_patriarche.html
Vénérable Père ALEXANDRE,
archevêque d’ALEXANDRIE
Né vers 250, saint
Alexandre occupa durant l’épiscopat de saint Pierre d’Alexandrie (cf. 24 nov.)
une place importante dans le clergé de la métropole d’Égypte. Homme pieux,
animé d’un saint zèle, doux, affable et modeste, il avait un grand amour de ses
frères et se souciait tout particulièrement des pauvres. À la mort d’Achille,
qui n’occupa le siège épiscopal que pendant cinq mois, ce fut Alexandre qui fut
élu pour lui succéder (313). Assumant la reconstitution de l’Église d’Égypte
après la persécution, il prit soin de la formation de son clergé, et éleva à la
cléricature et à l’épiscopat des hommes qui s’étaient sanctifiés dans l’ascèse
et la solitude. Il fit édifier la grande église de Saint-Théonas à Alexandrie et
organisa l’assistance envers les fidèles éprouvés. Il eut d’abord à affronter
les partisans de l’évêque Mélèce de Lycopolis qui avait ordonné des clercs dans
les évêchés vacants pendant la persécution, et qui pour justifier son schisme
avait adopté les positions extrémistes de ceux qui refusaient la réconciliation
des lapsi. Pendant les premiers temps, le prêtre Arius, autrefois partisan des
mélétiens, qui avait été rétabli dans la communion ecclésiastique grâce à
l’entremise d’Alexandre, entretint avec lui des relations cordiales. Mais, en
318, il commença à contredire l’enseignement de l’archevêque, en enseignant, à
l’aide d’arguments dialectiques, que le Verbe de Dieu n’a pas été de tout
temps, qu’Il est une simple créature, et que par conséquent on ne peut pas
parler d’unité des Trois Personnes divines. Alexandre, averti de ses menées, ne
prit pas immédiatement des mesures contre Arius, essayant de le ramener à la
doctrine orthodoxe par des entretiens et de paternelles exhortations. Mais ces
efforts s’avérèrent inutiles, et l’hérésie s’étendit bientôt à toute l’Égypte
qui se trouvait alors divisée entre les Orthodoxes, les partisans d’Arius et
les mélétiens qui défendaient la doctrine de la monarchie divine. Alexandre
décida d’excommunier Arius, mais celui-ci ayant trouvé des appuis en Palestine,
Syrie et Asie Mineure, il fallut réunir un concile d’une centaine d’évêques à
Alexandrie, pour confirmer la sentence et décider l’exil d’Arius et de ses
disciples.
En Palestine, l’hérétique
se fit passer pour un innocent persécuté et réussit à se gagner des prélats
influents, tel Eusèbe de Nicomédie, qui se réunirent en concile et demandèrent
à Alexandre de révoquer sa sentence et de l’accepter de nouveau dans sa
communion. Mais saint Alexandre tint ferme et résista à toutes les
sollicitations, et dans une lettre où il protestait contre l’ingérence d’Eusèbe
de Nicomédie, il fit un exposé de la nouvelle hérésie, montrant qu’elle
renversait toute la doctrine du Salut. Alors qu’Arius se targuait d’approcher
les mystères de la foi au moyen des syllogismes et de la philosophie,
Alexandre, s’appuyant sur la Tradition de l’Église, proclamait que c’est parce
que le Verbe est Fils de Dieu par nature, que nous sommes constitués par Lui
fils adoptifs et pouvons jouir de la vie éternelle, et il se déclarait prêt à
mourir pour la défense de cette sainte vérité. Profitant des rivalités entre
Constantin et Licinius, Arius rentra en Égypte, où il s’acquit de nombreux
partisans dans le peuple, grâce à la composition de chansons et de poèmes
rendant facilement assimilables ses erreurs. L’hérésie avait pris une dimension
universelle lorsque Constantin resta seul au pouvoir (323). Sur l’influence
d’Eusèbe de Nicomédie, l’empereur écrivit à Alexandre et à Arius, en leur
reprochant de créer des désordres pour des riens, et il envoya saint Osius de
Cordoue (cf. 27 août) en Égypte pour lui faire un rapport sur la situation.
Osius réalisa la gravité de l’hérésie et, sur le conseil d’Alexandre, avisa
l’empereur qu’on ne pourrait la vaincre sans un concile œcuménique. L’année
suivante Constantin (325) réunit le premier saint Concile Œcuménique à Nicée.
Saint Alexandre s’y rendit, malgré son grand âge et ses infirmités, et il y
prit une part décisive, secondé par son protégé, saint Athanase [Sur tous ces
événements cf la notice de S. Athanase, au 18 janv]. Arius et ses partisans y
furent clairement condamnés, et le Fils de Dieu déclaré « Consubstantiel »
au Père. Le Concile régla également le schisme des mélétiens, en cantonnant
Mélèce dans son propre diocèse, et reconnut à l’archevêque d’Alexandrie la
juridiction sur l’Égypte, la Libye et la Pentapole. Saint Alexandre joua de
plus un rôle décisif dans la fixation de la date de Pâques, et le Concile
décida que l’archevêque d’Alexandrie devrait, chaque année, adresser une lettre
encyclique à toutes les Églises, annonçant la date commune de Pâques. Cet usage
persista jusqu’au Concile de Chalcédoine (451), époque à laquelle la plus
grande partie de l’Égypte tomba dans le monophysisme. Le Concile terminé, saint
Alexandre rentra en triomphe dans sa cité épiscopale où il travailla à réparer
les maux causés par l’hérésie et le schisme, restant inflexible à l’égard des
tentatives faites par des gens haut placés pour rétablir Arius. Il s’endormit
en paix le 26 février 326 (ou 327), et saint Athanase fut aussitôt élu par
l’assemblée des évêques d’Égypte, pour continuer brillamment son œuvre de
défense de la vraie foi et de confirmation de l’Église.
SOURCE : http://foi-orthodoxe.fr/vie-des-saints/juin/venerable-pere-alexandre-archeveque-dalexandrie/
Alexander
of Alexandria, patriarch and bishop (313-326), Szentek élete I, Budapest 1899,
page 222
Also
known as
Alessandro di Alessandria
formerly 17
April
29 May (Eastern
Orthodox)
Profile
Known as a pious
youth. Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt in 313.
Worked against Arianism,
and excommunicated Arius when
he preached in
the area around Alexandria.
Key figure in the Council of Nicaea in 325.
Patriarch of Alexandria. Doctor
of the Church.
Born
3rd
century in northern Egypt
February 326 at Alexandria, Egypt
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MLA
Citation
“Saint Alexander of
Alexandria“. CatholicSaints.Info. 20 February 2023. Web. 15 April 2023.
<http://catholicsaints.info/saint-alexander-of-alexandria/>
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-alexander-of-alexandria/
Book of
Saints – Alexander – 26 February
ALEXANDER (Saint) Bishop
(February 26) (4th century) The successor of Saint Achillas in the Patriarchal
See of Alexandria, and a champion of the Faith against the heretic Arius. To
his influence over the Emperor Constantino are due in great part the facilities
which that monarch afforded to the Bishops for their gathering at the memorable
Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). Saint Achillas died in the following year.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Alexander”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 24
May 2012.
Web. 15 April 2023.
<http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-alexander-26-february/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-alexander-26-february/
New
Catholic Dictionary – Saint Alexander – 17 April
(died 326) Confessor, Doctor
of the Church, Patriarch of Alexandria. His appointment excluded Arius from
that post. Although a supporter of Athanasius, he treated Arius with
consideration; but he is said to have drawn up the Acts of the Council of
Nicrea in which Arius was
condemned. Feast, 17
April.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Alexander”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 27
July 2012.
Web. 15 April 2023. <http://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-alexander-17-april/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-alexander-17-april/
St. Alexander
Feast day:
Feb 26
St. Alexander succeeded St. Achillas as bishop of
Alexandria in 313.
Alexander was a champion
of orthodox Catholic teaching.
The majority of his
ministry was dedicated to fighting against the Arian heresy. Arius, a priest of
Alexandria, claimed Jesus was not truly God and that there was a time when the
Son, the second person of the Trinity, did not exist.
The bishop was gentle
with Arius but when Arianism started accumulating a larger following, Alexander
finally excommunicated Arius. The sentence of excommunication was confirmed in
the year 320.
Alexander's epistle on
the Arian heresy has survived and remains an important part of ecclesiastical
literature.
It is assumed that St.
Alexander drew up the acts of the first General Council of Nicaea in 325, where
Arianism was formally condemned.
He died in Alexandria two
years after his return from the council.
St. Alexander was also
famous for his charity to the poor and his doctrine on life.
SOURCE : https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-alexander-159
St. Alexander of Alexandria
Feastday: February 26
Death: 328
Bishop and defender of
the faith. He was born circa (c.) 250, probably in Alexandria, Egypt, becoming
the bishop of
the see in 313. The heresy of Arianism was
sweeping the region, as Arius was
preaching the doctrine there. Alexander excommunicated Arius in
321, a decision upheld by a council. Alexander is also credited with drawing up
the acts of
the First General Council of Nicaea in
325. He was described by contemporaries as "a lover of God . .
.just . . . eloquent." His successor, St. Athanasius, was the choice of
Alexander on his deathbed.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1246
Alexander of Alexandria B
(RM)
Born c. 250; died
326-328. Named bishop of Alexandria in 313 to succeed Saint Achillas, Saint
Alexander is famed chiefly for his opposition to the Arian heresy, which
claimed the Jesus was not truly God, that the Son was a creature, and that
there was a time when the Son did not exist. Alexander is also known for his
apostolic doctrine and life, one of the great accomplishments of which was his
training of a young deacon name Athanasius, who was later to be celebrated
throughout the whole Christian world.
Alexander was gentle with
the Arians but he was determined. Many accused him of compromising the position
of the Church by the former attitude, many others said he was an impetuous man
because of the latter position. He nevertheless must be considered a champion
of orthodox Catholic teaching and credited with great pastoral zeal for the
kindly, fatherly expostulation he addressed to Arius for a long period before
excommunicating him at a meeting of his clergy about 321. The excommunication
was confirmed at a local synod in Alexandria. His circular epistle on the Arian
heresy has survived and is an important part of the ecclesiastical literature
of this period.
As a bishop, Alexander
seems to have preferred monks as bishops, appointing by preference those who
had lived in hermitages or in the desert since he considered these the proper
models of what a bishop ought to be to his flock. Alexander also insisted on
charity to the poor in the dioceses under his control--a thing for which he was
famous in the diocese of Alexandria.
Alexander is reputed to
have drawn up the acts of the first General Council of Nicaea in 325, where
Arianism was formally condemned. He died in Alexandria two years after his
return from the council, having appointed Athanasius his successor
(Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Walsh). Click here to see an anonymous
Greek icon of Saint Alexander of Alexandria.
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0226.shtml
St. Alexander
Patriarch of Alexandria, date of
birth uncertain; died 17 April, 326. He is, apart from his own greatness,
prominent by the fact that his appointment to the patriarchial see
excluded the heresiarch Arius from
that post. Arius had begun to teach his heresies in
300 when Peter, by whom he was excommunicated,
was Patriarch. He was reinstated by Achillas, the successor
of Peter and then began to scheme to be made a bishop.
When Achillas died Alexander was elected, and after that Arius threw
off all disguise. Alexander was particularly obnoxious to him,
although so tolerant at first of the errors of Arius that
the clergy nearly
revolted. Finally the heresy was
condemned in a council held in Alexandria, and later on, as is
well known, in the general Council of Nicaea,
whose Acts Alexander is credited with having drawn up. An
additional merit of this great man is that during his priesthood he
passed through the bloody persecutions of Galerius, Maximinus,
and others. It was while his predecessor Peter was in prison,
waiting for martyrdom,
that he and Achillas succeeded in reaching the pontiff,
and interceded for the reinstatement of Arius,
which Peter absolutely refused declaring that Arius was
doomed to perdition. The refusal evidently had little effect, for when
Achillas succeeded Peter, Arius was made a priest;
and when in turn Alexander came to the see,
the heretic was
still tolerated. It is worth recording that the great Athanasius succeeded Alexander,
the dying pontiff compelling the future doctor
of the Church to accept the post. Alexander is described as
"a man held in the highest honour by
the people and clergy,
magnificent, liberal, eloquent, just, a lover of God and man,
devoted to the poor, good and
sweet to all, so mortified that
he never broke his fast while
the sun was in the heavens." His feast is
kept on 17 April.
Campbell,
Thomas. "St. Alexander." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 25 Feb.
2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01296a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01296a.htm
February 26
St. Alexander, Patriarch
of Alexandria, Confessor
From Theodoret, St.
Athanasius, &c. See Hermant, Tillemont, t. 6. p. 213. 240. Ceillier, t. 4
A.D. 326.
ST. ALEXANDER succeeded
St. Achillas in the see of Alexandria, in 313. He was a man of apostolic
doctrine and life, mild, affable, exceedingly charitable to the poor, and full
of faith, zeal, and fervour. He raised to the sacred ministry chiefly those who
had first sanctified themselves in holy solitude, and was happy in the choice
of bishops throughout all Egypt. The devil, enraged to see the havoc made in
his usurped empire over mankind, by the disrepute idolatry was generally fallen
into, used his utmost endeavours to repair the loss to his infernal kingdom, by
procuring the establishment of a most impious heresy. Arius, a priest of
Alexandria, was his principal instrument for that purpose. This heresiarch was
well versed in profane literature, was a subtle dialectitian, had an exterior
show of virtue, and an insinuating behaviour; but was a monster of pride,
vain-glory, ambition, envy, and jealousy. Under an affected modesty he
concealed a soul full of deceit, and capable of all crimes. He joined Meletius,
the bishop of Lycopolis, in the beginning of his schism against St. Peter, our
saint’s predecessor, in 300: but quitting that party after some time, St. Peter
was so well satisfied of the sincerity of his repentence, that he ordained him
deacon. Soon after Arius discovered his turbulent spirit, in accusing his
archbishop, and raising disturbances in favour of the Meletians. This obliged
St. Peter to excommunicate him, nor could he ever be induced to revoke that
sentence. But his successor, St. Achillas, upon his repentance, admitted him to
his communion, ordained him priest, and made him curate of the church of
Baucales, one of the quarters of Alexandria. Giving way to spite and envy, on
seeing St. Alexander preferred before him to the see of Alexandria, 1 he
became his mortal enemy: and as the saint’s life and conduct were
irreproachable, all his endeavours to oppose him were levelled at his doctrine
in opposition to which the heresiarch denied the divinity of Christ. This error
he at first taught only in private; but having, about the year 319, gained
followers to support him, he boldly advanced his blasphemies in his sermons,
affirming, with Ebion, Artemas, and Theodotus, that Christ was not truly God;
adding what no heretic had before asserted in such a manner, that the Son was a
creature, and made out of nothing; that there was a time when he did not exist,
and that he was capable of sinning, with other such impieties. St. Athanasius
informs us, 2 that
he also held that Christ had no other soul than this created divinity or
spiritual substance made before the world: consequently, that it truly suffered
on the cross, descended into hell, and rose again from the dead. Arius engaged
in his errors two other curates of the city, a great many virgins, twelve
deacons, seven priests, and two bishops.
One Colluthus, another
curate of Alexandria, and many others, declaimed loudly against these
blasphemies. The heretics were called Arians, and these called the Catholics
Colluthians. St. Alexander, who was one of the mildest of men, first made use
of soft and gentle methods to recover Arius to the truth, and endeavoured to
gain him by sweetness.and exhortations. Several were offended at his lenity,
and Colluthus carried his resentment so far as to commence a schism; but this
was soon at an end, and the author of it returned to the Catholic communion.
But St. Alexander, finding Arius’s party increase, and all his endeavours to
reclaim him ineffectual, he summoned him to appear in an assembly of his
clergy, where, being found obstinate and incorrigible, he was excommunicated
together with his adherents. This sentence of excommunication the saint
confirmed soon after, about the end of the year 320, in a council at
Alexandria, at the head of near one hundred bishops, at which Arius was also
present, who repeating his former blasphemies, and adding still more horrible
ones, was unanimously condemned by the synod, which loaded him and all his
followers with anathemas. Arius lay hid for some time after this in Alexandria,
but being discovered, went into Palestine, and found means to gain over to his
party Eusebius, bishop of Cæsarea, also Theognis of Nice, and Eusebius of
Nicomedia, which last was of all others his most declared protector, and had
great authority with the emperor Constantine, who resided even at Nicomedia, or
rather with his sister Constantia. Yet it is clear from Constantine himself,
that he was a wicked, proud, ambitious, intriguing man. It is no wonder, after
his other crimes, that he became an heresiarch, and that he should have an
ascendant over many weak, but well-meaning men, on account of his high credit
and reputation at court. After several letters that had passed between these
two serpents, Arius retired to him at Nicomedia, and there composed his Thalia,
a poem stuffed with his own praises, and his impious heresies
Alexander wrote to the
Pope, St. Sylvester, and, in a circular letter, to the other bishops of the
church, giving them an account of Arius’s heresy and condemnation. Arius,
Eusebius, and many others, wrote to our saint, begging that he would take off
his censures. The emperor Constantine also exhorted him by letter to a
reconciliation with Arius, and sent it by the great Osius to Alexandria, with
express orders to procure information of the state of the affair. The deputy
returned to the emperor better informed of the heresiarch’s impiety and malice,
and the zeal, virtue, and prudence of St. Alexander: and having given him a
just and faithful account of the matter, convinced him of the necessity of a
general council, as the only remedy adequate to the growing evil, and capable
of restoring peace to the church. St. Alexander had already sent him the same
advice in several letters. 3 That
prince, accordingly, by letters of respect, invited the bishops to Nice, in
Bithynia, and defrayed their expenses. They assembled in the imperial palace of
Nice, on the 19th of June, in 325, being three hundred and eighteen in number,
the most illustrious prelates of the church, among whom were many glorious
confessors of the faith. The principal were our saint, St. Eustathius,
patriarch of Antioch, St. Macarius of Jerusalem, Cecilian, archbishop of
Carthage, St. Paphnutius, St. Potamon, St. Paul of Neocessarea, St. James of
Nisibis, &c. St. Sylvester could not come in person, by reason of his great
age; but he sent his legates, who presided in his name. 4 The
emperor Constantine entered the council without guards, nor would he sit till
he was desired by the bishops, says Eusebius. 5 Theodoret
says, 6 that
he asked the bishops’ leave before he would enter.
The blasphemies of Arius
who was himself present, were canvassed for several days. Marcellus of Ancyra,
and St. Athanasius, whom St. Alexander had brought with him, and whom he
treated with the greatest esteem, discovered all the impiety they contained,
and confuted the Arians with invincible strength. The heretics, fearing the
indignation of the council, used a great deal of dissimulation in admitting the
Catholic terms. The fathers, to exclude all their subtilties, declared the Son
consubstantial to the Father, which they inserted in the profession of their
faith, called the Nicene creed, which was drawn up by Osius, and to which all
subscribed, except a small number of Arians. At first they were seventeen, but
Eusebius of Cæsarea received the creed the day following, as did all the others
except five, namely, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Theognis of Nice, Maris of
Chalcedon, Theonas and Secundus of Lybia, the two bishops who had first joined
Arius. Of these also Eusebius, Maris, and Theognis conformed through fear of
banishment. The Arian historian Philostorgius 7 pretends
to excuse his heroes, Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis, by saying they
inserted an iota, and signed 8 like
in substance, instead of 9 the
same substance; a fraud in religion which would no way have excused their
hypocrisy. Arius, Theonas, and Secundus, with some Egyptian priests, were
banished by the order of Constantine, and Illyricum was the place of their
exile. The council received Meletius and his schismatical adherents upon their
repentance; but they afterwards relapsed into their schism, and part of them
joined the Arians. The council added twenty canons of discipline, and was
closed about the 25th of August. 10 Constantine
gave all the prelates a magnificent entertainment, and dismissed them with
great presents to their respective sees. St. Alexander, after this triumph of
the faith, returned to Alexandria; where, after having recommended St.
Athanasius for his successor, he died in 326, on the 26th of February, on which
day he is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology.
A true disciple of
Christ, by a sincere spirit of humility and distrust in himself, is, as it
were, naturally inclined to submission to all authority appointed by God, in
which he finds his peace, security, and joy. This happy disposition of his soul
is his secure fence against the illusions of self-sufficiency and blind pride,
which easily betrays men into the most fatal errors. On the contrary, pride is
a spirit of revolt and independence: he who is possessed with this devil is
fond of his own conceits, self-confident, and obstinate. However strong the
day-light of evidence may be in itself, such a one will endeavour to shut up
all the avenues of light, though some beams force themselves into his soul to
disturb his repose, and strike deep the sting of remorse: jealousy and a love
of opposition foster the disorder, and render it incurable. This is the true
portraiture of Arius, and other heresiarchs and firebrands of the universe. Can
we sufficiently detest jealousy and pride, the fatal source of such great
evils! Do we not discover, by fatal symptoms, that we ourselves harbour this
monster in our breasts? Should the eye be jealous that the ear hears, and
disturb the functions of this or the other senses, instead of regarding them as
its own and enjoying their mutual advantage and comfort, what confusion would
ensue!
Note 1. Theodoret,
l. 1. c. 1. Socrates, l. 1. c. 5. [back]
Note 2. L. de. Adv.
Chr. p. 635. [back]
Note 3. Rufinus (l.
1. Hist. c. 1.) says, that the council was assembled by the advice of the
priests. Ex sacerdotum sententia. And the third council of Constantinople
attributes its convocation to St. Sylvester as much as to the emperor. Constantinus
et Sylvester magnam in Niceâ synodum congregabant. Conc. Constantinopolitanum
tertium, Act. 18. p. 1049. t. 6. Conc. [back]
Note 4. This is
acknowledged by the oriental bishops assembled at Constantinople, in 552, (t.
5. Conc. p. 337, 338.) The legates were Vito, or Victor, and Vincent, two Roman
priests, to whom the pope joined Osius, bishop of Cordova, as being the most
renowned prelate of the West, and highly esteemed by the emperor. Ipse etiam
Osius ex Hispanis nominis et famæ celebritate insignis, qui Sylvestri episcopi
maximæ Romæ locum obtinebat, una cum Romanis presbyteris Vitone et Vincentio
adfuit; says Gelasius of Cyzicus. (Hist. Conc. Nicen. l. 2. c. 5. t. 2. Conc.
p. 155.) The same is affirmed by Pope Adrian. (t. 6. Conc. p. 1810.) In all the
editions of this council, Osius, with the two priests, Vito and Vincent, is
first named among the subscribers. Socrates also names them first, and before
the patriarchs. Osius Episc. Cordubæ, ita credo, ut sup. dictum est. Vito et
Vincentius presbyteri urbis Romæ. Egypti Alexander Episc. Antiochiæ Eustathius,
&c. (Socr. l. 1. c. 13.) It is then false what Blondel (de la primauté de
l’Eglise, p. 1195.) pretends, that St. Eustathius of Antioch presided. He is
indeed called, by Facundus, (l. 8. c. 1. & l. 11. c. 1.) the first of the council;
and by Nicephorus, (Chronol. p. 146.) the chief of the bishops, because he was
the first among the orientals; for St. Alexander of Egypt was certainly before
him in rank. Theodoret (l. 1. c. 6.) says, he sat the first on the right hand
in the assembly. And it appears from Eusebius, that the pope’s legates and the
patriarch of Alexandria sat at the head on the left side. This might be the
more honourable on several accounts, as being on the right to those that came
in. It is certain that the pope’s legates presided in the council of Chalcedon,
where they, in the same manner, sat first on the left, above the patriarch of
Alexandria, and the patriarch of Antioch was placed on the right. [back]
Note 5. L. 3. de
vit. Constant. c. 10. [back]
Note 6. L. 1. c.
7. [back]
Note 7. L. 1. c.
9. [back]
Note 8. [Greek]. [back]
Note 9. [Greek]. [back]
Note 10. The Arabic
canons are falsely ascribed to the Nicene council, being collected out of other
ancient synods. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler
(1711–73). Volume I: January. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
Alexander was the Bishop
of Alexandria who first opposed Arius and
continued to oppose him and his teaching until his death. His cause was then
carried by the more famous Athanasius.
According to Epiphanius,
Alexander wrote 70 letters to bishops all over the empire, combating Arianism.
These were still preserved in Epiphanius’s day (though its unclear whether
Epiphanius had seen them or just knew of them, see Against Heresies 69.4).
This chart includes the
correspondance to and from Alexander as well as two sermons of unknown date.
The date is taken from Opitz. Most of these documents are included in the list
of Documents of the Early Arian Controversy.
Opitz’s date – description
- CPG
318-319 Alexander to his clergy
concerning Arius 2001
c. 318 Alexander’s encyclical letter
on Arius’ deposition 2000
c. 320 Arius and other Alexandrian
clergy to Alexander pleading his cause 2026
c. 320 Eusebius of Caesarea to
Alexander pleading Arius’ cause 3501
c. 320 Part of a letter of Paulinus of
Tyre, attacking Alexander’s position 2065
c. 322 Athanasius of Anazarbus to
Alexander defending Arius 2060
c. 322 Priest George to Alexander
defending Arius 3555
324 Alexander to Alexander of
Byzantium 2002
324 Part of a letter of Alexander
to all bishops 2003
324 Letter of Alexander to
Sylvester of Rome 2005
Oct. 324 Emperor Constantine to
Alexander and Arius 2020
June 325 Letter of the Council of Nicaea
to the Egyptian church 8515
June 325 Emperor Constantine to the
church of Alexandria 8517
Beginning of 328 Fragment of a letter from Emperor
Constantine to Alexander 2021
- - Exhortation
to Christological Orthodoxy
- -Discourse
on the Incarnation of our Lord, and on the soul and the body 2004
Created by AJW
SOURCE : https://www.fourthcentury.com/alexander-chart/
Sant' Alessandro di
Alessandria Patriarca
250 - 328
Eletto patriarca
d’Alessandria d’Egitto, rinnovò il clero scegliendo uomini di provata
rettitudine e costruì la grande Chiesa di S. Theonas. Lottò contro Ario dopo
aver tentato di convincerlo paternamente. La sua vita e la fermezza con cui condusse
la lotta contro l’arianesimo sono tuttora testimonianza del suo senso di
giustizia, della sua forza spirituale e della sua integrità morale.
Etimologia: Alessandro =
protettore di uomini, dal greco
Martirologio Romano:
Commemorazione di sant’Alessandro, vescovo: anziano glorioso e dal fervido zelo
per la fede, divenuto dopo san Pietro capo della Chiesa di Alessandria, separò
dalla comunione ecclesiale il suo sacerdote Ario, pervertito dalla sua insana
eresia e confutato dalla verità divina, che egli poi condannò quando entrò a
far parte dei trecentodiciotto Padri del Concilio di Nicea I.
Tra i numerosi santi con questo nome, il patriarca Alessandro, nato verso il 250, merita un posto di primissimo piano nell'elenco dei grandi campioni della fede, essendo stato uno dei protagonisti nella lotta all'eresia ariana. Uomo di profonda cultura unita a zelo e bontà, Alessandro fu eletto nel 313 alla importante sede patriarcale di Alessandria d'Egitto. Pare che lo stesso Ario, ordinato sacerdote dal predecessore S. Achilla forse dietro indicazione di Alessandro, sia stato tra i promotori della sua elezione.
Il sessantenne patriarca rivolse le prime cure alla formazione e alla scelta dei chierici tra uomini di comprovata virtù e diede inizio alla costruzione della chiesa di S. Theonas, la più grande della città. Ma il suo nome resterà legato alla edificazione di quel grande baluardo della ortodossia, costruito per sua iniziativa, al primo concilio ecumenico di Nicea, contro il dilagare di un concentrato di eresie propagate da uno dei suoi sacerdoti, Ario, un vero precursore dei moderni metodi pubblicitari. Per diffondere le sue teorie (l'incomunicabilità di Dio alle creature, la posizione subordinata e intermediaria di Cristo tra Dio e il mondo, quindi la negazione della consustanzialità del Figlio col Padre), Ario ricorse infatti perfino alle canzoni, che il popolo cantava senza rendersi conto degli errori dottrinali che vi si celavano. Alessandro cercò di riportarlo all'ovile con dolcezza e paternamente, ma, visto inutile ogni tentativo, il santo patriarca convocò un sinodo di vescovi, durante il quale le tesi di Ario vennero esaminate e respinte. Ario non si sottomise e riparò in Palestina, dove ebbe modo di farsi accogliere come perseguitato e cercò di screditare Alessandro. Nella controversia si inserì lo stesso imperatore Costantino, il quale, poco esperto in questioni teologiche, finì per dare un colpo alla botte e uno al cerchio: Alessandro e Ario ebbero in uguale misura severi richiami all'ordine. La disputa non poteva finire così e allora Costantino, per le stesse insistenza di Alessandro, convocò il concilio a Nicea di Bitinia.
In questa prima grande assise ecumenica troviamo accanto all'anziano e malato Alessandro il suo battagliero diacono Atanasio, che gli succederà nella sede episcopale e porterà a fondo la lotta all'eresia ariana. Alessandro venne accolto trionfalmente al suo ritorno ad Alessandria, dove si rimise al lavoro per sanare le ferite prodotte dallo scisma. La morte lo colse cinque mesi più tardi. La data è incerta: quella del 26 febbraio del 328 è suffragata da maggiori testimonianze.
Autore: Piero Bargellini
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/42850
ALESSANDRO di
Alessandria, santo
di Alberto Pincherle - Enciclopedia Italiana (1929)
Fu il predecessore di S.
Atanasio sulla cattedra episcopale, nella quale succedette a Pietro e ad
Achilla (312 o 313). Ebbe a sostenere varie lotte, a proposito della
celebrazione pasquale (contro Crescenzio) e soprattutto contro lo scisma di
Meleto di Licopoli. Dopo aver tollerato per qualche tempo l'insegnamento
ereticale di Ario, dovette procedere alla sua condanna. L'appoggio concesso
all'eresia dall'episcopato asiatico inasprì la controversia al punto da
provocare l'intervento di Costantino, prima con una lettera ad Alessandro e ad
Ario, poi con la convocazione del concilio di Nicea. Alessandro vi partecipò,
insieme con Atanasio, e assistette alla vittoria dell'ortodossia. Morì
probabilmente nel 328.
Bibl.: Due lettere di lui
contro Ario, citate da S. Epifanio (haer., 69, 4), sono ristampate in
Migne, Patrol. graeca, XVIII, coll. 523-607; altri frammenti in
Pitra, Analecta sacra, IV, p. 196 segg., 430 segg.; in Mai, Nova
Patrum Bibl., II, Roma 1844, p. 529 segg.; in E. A. W. Budge, Coptic
Homilies, Londra 1910, p. 407 segg.; in Hyvernat, Les actes des martyrs de
l'Égypte, Parigi 1886, p. 247 segg. Cfr. Bardenhewer, Geschichte der
altkirchlichen Literatur, III, Friburgo in B. 1912, p. 34 segg.
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/alessandro-di-alessandria-santo_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/
