KISAH TENTANG SANTO ALEXANDER

St. Alexander
Feastday: March 18


St. Alexander, Bishop and Martyr. Alexander was a student with Origen at the famous Christian school of Alexandria in the late second century. He became bishop of Cappadocia and during the persecution of Severus was imprisoned for several years (204-211). Following his release from prison, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was proclaimed coadjutor bishop there in the year 212. Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria, censured Alexander for participating in the ordination of Origen and for encouraging Origen to teach in churches while still a layman. Despite this, Alexander received Origen in exile. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Alexander developed a great theological library. During the persecution of Decius, he was seized and again imprisoned. After making a public confession of faith, he was condemned and thrown to the wild beasts, but they refused to attack him. Alexander was then taken to Caesarea where he died in chains in the year 251. The Church recognizes him as a martyr. St. Alexander, despite his great learning and important ecclesiastical positions, was known as an individual of great mildness, especially in his sermons. When put to the test during two persecutions, he remained steadfast in faith and was willing to suffer death for the Faith.
Today when we are criticized by friends and society for the moral tenets of our Faith, St. Alexander is a prime example of how we should stand fast in the face of ridicule and ostracism.

St. Alexander
Feastday: July 10165
Martyr with St. Felicity and others. Tradition states that he was beheaded during the reign of Emperor Anton inusPius in Rome. Felicity, Vitalis, and Martial were slain in some manner; other companions were beaten or drowned. Alexander may be one of the so-called '"Seven Brothers."

Pope Alexander I
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pope Saint Alexander I was Bishop of Rome from about 106 to 115. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2008) identifies him as a Roman who reigned from 108 or 109 to 116 or 119. Some believe he suffered martyrdom under the Roman Emperor Trajan or Hadrian, but this is improbable.[1]
In the article on Saint Alexander I in the 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Shahan judges inaccurate the tradition that this Pope inserted into the Roman Canon the narration of the Last Supper (the Qui pridie).[2] Pope Alexander I is also said to have introduced the use of blessing water mixed with salt for the purification of Christian homes from evil influences, and the custom of mixing water with the sacramental wine. This too is considered unlikely.[1]
In some editions of the Roman Missal the Saint Alexander commemorated on 3 May is identified with Pope Alexander I. This identification is not found in the Tridentine Missal promulgated by Pope Pius V in 1570. Since nothing is known of the Saints Alexander, Eventius and Theodulus of 3 May other than their names and the facts that they were martyred and were buried at the seventh milestone of the Via Nomentana on that day,[3] the one whose name coincided with that of a pope was identified with the Pope, as has happened also in other cases: a martyr named Felix was even confused with Antipope Felix II. The identification of the martyr Alexander with the Pope was removed from the Roman Calendar by Pope John XXIII in 1960.
His remains are said to have been transferred to Freising in Bavaria, Germany in AD 834.[2]

Alexander of Bergamo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Alexander of Bergamo (died c. 303) is the patron saint of Bergamo. Alexander may simply have been a Roman soldier or resident of Bergamo who was tortured and killed for not renouncing his Christian faith.[1] Details of his life are uncertain, but subsequent Christian legends consider him a centurion of the Theban Legion commanded by Saint Maurice. He was a survivor of the decimation, that is, the killing of every tenth man. He escaped to Milan.
At Milan, he was recognized and imprisoned, and it was demanded that he renounce his Christian faith. However, he was visited in jail by Saint Fidelis and Bishop Saint Maternus. Fidelis managed to organize Alexander's escape. Alexander fled to Como but was captured again.
Brought back to Milan, he was once more condemned to death by decapitation, but during the execution the executioner's arms went stiff. He was imprisoned again, but Alexander once again managed to escape, and ended up in Bergamo after passing through Fara Gera d'Adda and Capriate San Gervasio. At Bergamo, he was the guest of the lord Crotacius, who bid him to hide from his persecutors. However, Alexander decided to become a preacher instead and converted many natives of Bergamo, including Firmus and Rusticus, who were later martyred. Alexander was once again captured and was finally decapitated on August 26, 303, on the spot now occupied by the church of San Alessandro in Colonna.

Alexander of Jerusalem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Alexander of Jerusalem (d. 251 AD) is venerated as a Martyr and Saint by both the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. He died during the persecution of Emperor Decius.[1]
He was the first Bishop of Cappadocia and was afterwards associated as coadjutor with the Bishop of Jerusalem, Saint Narcissus, who was then 116 years old. Alexander had been imprisoned for his faith in the time of Roman Emperor Alexander Severus and on being released came to Jerusalem, where he was compelled by the aged bishop to remain, and assist him in the government of that see. This arrangement, however, was entered into with the consent of all the bishops of Palestine (Syria Palaestina). It was Alexander who permitted Origen, although only a layman, to speak in the churches. For this concession he was taken to task, but he defended himself by examples of other permissions of the same kind given even to Origen himself elsewhere, although then quite young. Alban Butler says that they had studied together in the great Christian school of Alexandria. Alexander ordained him a priest.
Alexander is praised for the library he built at Jerusalem.
Finally, in spite of his years, he, with several other bishops, was carried off a prisoner to Caesarea, and as the historians say, "The glory of his white hairs and great sanctity formed a double crown for him in captivity". His vita states that he suffered many tortures, but survived them all. When the wild beasts were brought to devour him, some licked his feet, and others their impress on the sand of the arena. Worn out by his sufferings, he died in prison. This was in the year 251.
His feast is kept by the Roman Catholic Church on March 18, by the Eastern Orthodox Churches on May 29 and December 25.
Eusebius has preserved fragments of a letter written by him to the Antinoïtes; of another to the Antiochenes;[2] of a third to Origen;[3] and of another, written in conjunction with Theoctistus of Caesarea, to Demetrius of Alexandria.[4]