The Lives of the Saints
St. Alexandra
The
TheHoly Empress Alexandra was the wife of Diocletian (284-305). Her supposed death was described in the Martyrdom of Saint George, which was written immediately after his death. The empress, however, received the crown of martyrdom several years later, in 314.
Many events occurred during these years. In 305 the emperor Diocletian resigned the throne and power passed to his co-ruler Maximian Galerius (305-311), a fanatic pagan, as well as a coarse and fierce soldier. His wife was St Valeria, the daughter of the holy Empress Alexandra, whom Diocletian had given in marriage against her will.
St Alexandra raised her daughter in Christian piety. When Galerius died, the emperor Maximinus sought her hand in marriage. When he was refused, he banished St Valeria to Syria, where she lived with her mother.
After the death of Maximinus in 311 the mother and daughter arrived in Nicomedia, trusting in the mercy of the emperor Licinius (311-324). Together with St Constantine, he had subscribed to the Edict of Milan, which gave Christians the freedom of religion, but secretly he remained an enemy of Christianity. Licinius gave orders to execute the holy Empress Alexandra and her daughter Valeria. They were beheaded, and their bodies thrown into the sea.
In another account, Alexandra was not beheaded but rather died peacefully on her way to be martyred, after having declared herself as a Christian.
While Diocletian, her depraved husband, was having Saint George tortured, the Empress went to the arena and bowed before St. George and professed her faith openly. Her husband was so outraged by this and by so many people being converted by witnessing George’s miracles and patient endurance, that he ordered both of them to be beheaded.
Alexandra quietly accepted her sentence and prayed as the guards walked her to the place of execution. She asked if she could rest for a moment. The guards allowed this. While resting by the wall of a building, she quietly gave her soul to God. She reposed on April 21, 303. Two days later, St. George was beheaded.
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They are commemorated at the same time along with Anatolios, Protoleon and the 630 others who were martyred for professing faith while witnessing George’s martyrdom.
St. Alexandra, Pray For Us