Saint Alexander of Thessaloniki

Alexander of Thessalonica (died between 305 and 311) was an early Christian Greek prelate and martyr who suffered during the reign of the Roman Emperor Maximian. He served as Archbishop of Thessalonica in the 4th century. Alexander of Thessalonica was among the bishops present at the First Council of Nicaea. According to historical sources, Alexander was an active supporter of Athanasius the Great in his struggle against Arianism for the prestige of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He signed the acts of the council as Alexander of Thessalonica, on behalf of those under him in Macedonia Prima and Secunda, along with Greece, all of Europe, both Scythias, and all of Illyricum, Thessaly, and Achaea. He served as Archbishop of Thessalonica from 305 to 335. For professing the Christian faith, he was seized by pagans and brought before Emperor Maximian (305–311). He not only openly declared himself a Christian but, in response to a demand to offer sacrifice to idols, indignantly overturned the pagan altar. The emperor ordered the saint to be beheaded. When the execution was carried out, the emperor and the executioner witnessed a heavenly angel preceding the soul of the holy martyr Alexander as it ascended to heaven. The emperor permitted Christians to bury the saint's body with honor in the city of Thessalonica, which they joyfully fulfilled.