On Illustrious Men

62. Alexander the bishop

P. de Lanversin, “Une belle ‘dispute.’ Hippolyt est-il d’Occident ou d’Orient?” PrOrChr 6 (1956): 118–22; G. Kretschmar, “Bibliographie zu Hippolyt von Rom,” JLH 1 (1955): 90–95. LXII. ALEXANDER THE BISHOP hen alexander, bishop of Cappadocia,1 went to Jerusalem because of a wish to visit the holy places, and when Narcissus, bishop of the same city,2 already a very old man, was ruling the church, there was an apparition3 to Narcissus and to many of his clergy that on the morning of the next day a bishop would enter, who should become a coadjutor of the bishop’s chair. 2. And so, when the facts turned out just as predicted, with all the bishops of Palestine assembled together, and with Narcissus in particular giving the fullest assent, Alexander jointly undertook with him the government of the church of Jerusalem.4 3. At the end of a letter which he wrote To the Antinoites,5 he spoke as follows about the peace of the church:6 “Narcissus salutes you, he who before me occupied the episcopal see, and continues to rule the same with me by his prayers. He is around one hundred and sixteen years old and prays that you are of one and the same mind with me.” 4. He also wrote another letter, To the Antiochenes,7 by the hand of Clement, a priest of Alexandria, about whom we have spoken earlier,8 and another letter, To Origen,9 and one in defense of Origen Against Demetrius,10 because according to the testimony of Demetrius, he had ordained Origen as a priest. And there are other letters11 of his addressed to different persons . 5. In the seventh persecution under Decius,12 however, at the time when Babylas13 suffered martyrdom in Antioch, he was conducted to Caesarea, incarcerated, and crowned with martyrdom for confessing Christ.14 90 ST. JEROME ...