The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Alexander of Jerusalem
d. c. 251 AD (in prison at Caesarea, Decian persecution) · Bishop of Jerusalem · Founder of the Jerusalem library · Martyr · Cappadocia → Jerusalem
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Alexander of Jerusalem was
A bishop of Cappadocia, imprisoned as a confessor in the persecution under Severus, who came afterward to Jerusalem — summoned, Eusebius says, by a vision of the night — and was made coadjutor to the aged Narcissus: the first recorded case of a bishop translated to assist another living bishop. At Aelia he gathered the great library of Christian letters and episcopal correspondence on which Eusebius himself later drew for his history. A friend and defender of Origen, he welcomed him to Jerusalem and, with Theoctistus of Caesarea, had him expound the Scriptures publicly — and later ordained him — drawing the anger of Demetrius of Alexandria. Under Decius he was brought again before the tribunal at Caesarea and died in prison, a confessor twice over.
Also listed in the bishops of Jerusalem, martyrs and the decian persecution.
Common questions
When did Alexander die?
Alexander of Jerusalem is dated d. c. 251 AD (in prison at Caesarea, Decian persecution) in the archive, which places Alexander in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Alexander?
Alexander of Jerusalem is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Alexander from?
The archive associates Alexander of Jerusalem with Cappadocia, Jerusalem. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Alexander’s contemporaries?
The archive links Alexander of Jerusalem to 10 other figures, including Narcissus of Jerusalem, Origen of Alexandria, Clement of Alexandria and Sextus Julius Africanus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Ecclesiastical History VI.11
c. AD 325Alexander… came from Cappadocia to Jerusalem… and the people there received him, being admonished in a vision by night, and detained him, that he might assist Narcissus in the episcopate.Eusebius of Caesarea · VI.11 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VI.20
c. AD 325There flourished at that time… Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, who founded the library that we have used for the collection of the materials of this history.Eusebius of Caesarea · VI.20 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VI.11, 14, 20
c. AD 325Alexander… built up the library at Jerusalem, gathering the writings of the ancients and of the men of his own time; from which we ourselves have been able to gather materials for the work now before us.Eusebius of Caesarea · 20 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
- Narcissus of Jerusalem
- Origen of Alexandria
- Clement of Alexandria
- Sextus Julius Africanus
- Hymenaeus of Jerusalem
- Asclepiades of Antioch
- Demetrius of Alexandria
- Theoctistus of Caesarea
- Mazabanes of Jerusalem
- Neon of Laranda
Events in this lifetime
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Alexander, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Cappadociaprovince only
- 2Jerusalem