Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/April 17

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Pope Alexander of Alexandria (died April 17, 326) was the nineteenth Pope of Alexandria from 313 to his death. During his patriarchate, he was forced to deal with a number of issues relevant to the church's positions on issues facing the church. These included the dating of Easter, the actions of Meletius of Lycopolis, and the issue of Arianism among them. He was the leader of the opposition to Arianism at the First Council of Nicaea, at which he had been called to preside. He also is remembered for being the mentor of the man who would be his successor, Athanasius of Alexandria, who would become one of the leading saints of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the majority of Christianity in general.Comparatively little is known of Alexander's early years. During his time as a priest he experienced the bloody persecutions of Christians by Galerius, Maximinus, and others.Alexander became patriarch on the passing of Achillas of Alexandria, whose own remarkably short reign was thought by some to have been brought about by his breaking the command of his own predecessor, Peter of Alexandria, to never readmit Arius into communion.Alexander himself faced three primary challenges during his term as patriarch. The first of these was a schismatic sect, led by Erescentius, which was disputing the timing of Easter. Alexander found himself put in the position of writing a special treatise on the controversy, in which he cited earlier statements regarding the matter by Dionysius of Alexandria. Alexander's own efforts, while they did serve to quiet the dispute, were not enough to quiet the controversy themselves, although the First Council of Nicaea, held during his tenure, did resolve the matter.
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