Subj : August 11th - St. Alexander, the Charcoal-Burner To : All From : rich Date : Thu Aug 10 2017 10:06:47 From: rich August 11th - St. Alexander, the Charcoal-Burner, Bishop, Martyr (A.D. 275) The Christian community of Comana in Pontus having grown to be sufficiently large to require a bishop, St Gregory the Wonder-worker, Bishop of Neocaesarea, went thither to preside at the election. He rejected all the candidates put forward by the clergy and people, especially one who was favoured because of his high birth and wealth, reminding them that the Apostles were poor and common men. St. Gregory of Nyssa, roughly a contemporary of St. Alexander, tells us the charming story of this rather unusual churchman and saint. Alexander lived at Comana, in the province of Pontus, Asia Minor. Adherents to the Christian faith in that town had increased despite persecution. St. Gregory Thaumaturge (=E2=80=9Cthe WonderWorker=E2=80=9D) w= as the bishop of Neocaesarca and principal agent in his day for the Christianization of Asia Minor. He decided that there were now enough Christians in Comana to be given a bishop of their own. (It is important to know that in these early days, dioceses with a definite territory were not yet being established. Bishops were rather put in charge of cities, with a vaguer duty of spreading the faith into the suburban and rural areas round about. That is why there were so many bishops in the early centuries=E2=80=93one per city, (no matter how close t= he cities were to each other.) When Gregory gathered the Christians of Comana to announce his proposal, they nominated several likely candidates for the post of bishop. Gregory did not think any of the nominees was sufficiently qualified. One of them, for instance, was a popular choice because of his high birth and great wealth. The bishop rejected him precisely because he was noted and prosperous. He reminded the faithful that the apostles picked by Christ were neither rich nor of the social elite. =E2=80=9CAll right, then,=E2=80=9D replied one of the congregation sarcasti= cally, =E2=80=9Cwhy not appoint Alexander the Charcoal-Burner?=E2=80=9D St. Gregory overlooked = the sarcasm, for he realized that the Holy Spirit can communicate to us in rather surprising ways. He summoned Alexander the Charcoal-Burner to see whether he might indeed be God's candidate. Alexander came righ= t from work at his charcoal ovens. His clothing, face and hands were blackened by the carbon. However, when the bishop took him aside for a chat, he found that this charcoal-burner was a man of good birth and education. He lived by charcoal-making simply because he had given away all his property to the poor, choosing to earn his keep by manual labor in order the better to follow Christ. Gregory, therefore, asked him if he would accept the episcopate. Alexander consented, the people concurred, and Gregory ordained him a bishop and installed him in his new see. According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, Alexander did very well as a bishop. He was a man of spiritual wisdom and proved to be an excellent teacher of his flock. Eventually the Roman authorities apprehended him because he was a Christian leader, and he was martyred. Death was by burning alive- -a method perhaps suggested to the torturers as appropriate for a charcoal maker. St. James the Apostle had already warned against =E2=80=9Cfavoritism=E2=80= =9D: against giving the seat of honor to a person well-dressed and bedecked with rings, while showing scant hospitality to a poor man clad in shabby clothes (James, II). St. Gregory was exercising a =E2=80=9Cdiscrimination= =E2=80=9D of the right sort when he chose as bishop a man smudged of face but clean of heart. St Alexander was naturally revered as a patron of charcoal- burners. See the Acta Sanctorum, August, vol. ii . =E2=80=93Father bob Saint Quote: Some say it is unreasonable to be courteous and gentle with a reckless person who insults you for no reason at all. I have made a pact with my tongue; not to speak when my heart is disturbed. -- St. Francis de Sales Bible Quote: "set yourselves close to him, so that you, too, may be living stones making a spiritual house as a holy priesthood to offer the spiritual sacrifices made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." [1 Peter 2:5] <><><><> A prayer to be free from a sudden and unprovided death: O most merciful Lord Jesus, by Thine agony and sweat of Blood, by Thy precious death, deliver us, we beseech Thee, from a sudden and unprovided death. O most kind Lord Jesus, by Thy most sharp and ignominious scourging and crowning with thorns, by Thy holy Cross and bitter Passion, by Thy loving-kindness, we humbly pray that Thou wouldst not suffer us to die unprovided with Thy holy Sacraments. O dearly beloved Lord Jesus, by all Thy labors and sorrows, by Thy Precious Blood and sacred Wounds, by those Thy last words on the Cross: " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" and those other: "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit," we most earnestly beseech Thee to deliver us from a sudden death. Grant us, we pray, room for repentance; grant us a happy passing in Thy grace, that so we may be able to love Thee, praise Thee and bless Thee forever. Amen. Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory be... --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .