Saint Alexander: Patriarch of Constantinople

This Saturday, August 30, we celebrate an important figure in the Orthodox faith: Patriarch Alexander. Saint Alexander lived from 240 to 336 AD. He served as patriarch of Constantinople for twelve years and participated in the First Ecumenical Council. 

Eις τον Aλέξανδρον. 
Σχοίνους διαδρὰς Ἀλέξανδρε σαρκίου, 
Σχοίνισμα κλήρου χρηματίζεις Κυρίου. 

Before becoming Patriarch himself, Saint Alexander served as the first ambassador of Patriarch Metrophanes, who was elderly and commonly ill. As a result, Saint Alexander was sent as an envoy of Saint Metrophanes and often inclined to defend the Orthodox faith through his words. 

At that time, the First Ecumenical Council condemned the heresy of Arius, at which Alexander attended as an envoy of Saint Metrophanes. 

Alexander then traveled to many Orthodox dioceses and churches to convey the decisions of the 318 Fathers of the Church. Despite his advanced age, the Saint visited Orthodox centers in Thrace, Macedonia, and the rest of Greece. During those travels, Saint Metrophanes died at the age of one hundred and seventeen, signaling Alexander's return to Constantinople to assume the position of patriarch in 314 AD. 

As patriarch, he was called upon to face difficult situations. Despite his struggle against Arius, he witnessed the deception of Emperor Constantine by the occultist. The Saint received an order to let Arius partake in Holy Communion. Saddened, he prayed to God and asked for His help. The prayer was heard and in the morning the body of Arius was found torn and eaten by worms. 

Saint Alexander died peacefully in 340 AD at the age of 98. His work is one of the most important in the history of Orthodoxy before the Schism. 

Μύσται οὐράνιοι ἀποδεικνύμενοι, θεῖοι ἐκφάντορες τῷ κόσμῳ ὤφθητε, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ποιμάναντες θεαρέστως, ἱερὲ Ἀλέξανδρε, τῆς Τριάδος ὁ πρόμαχος, Ἰωάννη ἔνδοξε, ὁ τῆς χάριτος τρόφιμος, καὶ Παῦλε Ἱερέων ἀκρότης, ὅθεν ὑμᾶς ἀνευφημοῦμεν.