Saint Alexander the Dervish

Saint Alexander the New Martyr of Thessaloniki is a Christian saint. He was born in Thessaloniki during the time of great Turkish tyranny over the city. As a young man, he converted to Islam. Initially, his conscience did not trouble him for this action, and he traveled to the Kaaba with other Muslim pilgrims and became a dervish. However, as a dervish in Thessaloniki, he began to repent. Through this repentance, he came to the realization that he could wash away the terrible sin of apostasy only with his own blood. Once he had repented and resolved to suffer martyrdom for Christ, he declared himself a Christian before the Turks. The Turks threw him into prison and subsequently subjected him to other tortures. Yet Alexander only cried out: "I was born a Christian, and I want to die a Christian." Finally, the Turks sentenced him to death, which greatly rejoiced the repentant Alexander. He was beheaded in Smyrna in 1794. The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates his feast day on May 26 according to the church calendar, which corresponds to June 8 in the Gregorian calendar.