St. Alexander succeeded St. Achillas as bishop of Alexandria in 313. He was a champion of orthodox Catholic teaching, and spent the majority of his ministry fighting against the Arian heresy. At the time, Arius, a priest of Alexandria, was claiming that Jesus was not truly God, and that at one time, the Son did not exist.
Although Alexander corrected Arius gently at first, when the heresy began to spread to a larger following, he excommunicated Arius in 320. Alexander’s writings on the Arian heresy survived, and are still an important part of ecclesiastical literature.
Historians assume that St. Alexander drew up the acts for the first General Council of Nicea in 325, which officially condemned Arianism. He died in Alexandria two years after returning from the council.
St. Alexander is also remembered for his charity to the poor and his doctrine on life.
