Alexander Joins Narcissus

Since Narcissus was no longer able to carry out his ministry because of his extreme old age, the providence of God called Alexander, already mentioned, who was then bishop of another church, to share that ministry with Narcissus, by a revelation that appeared to him in a vision at night. [a] So, as if in obedience to an oracle, he made the journey from the land of the Cappadocians, where he had first been counted worthy of the office of bishop, to Jerusalem, to pray and to learn about the places there. The people there received him most warmly and would not let him return home, because of another revelation that they too had seen at night, in which one very clear voice spoke to the most earnest among them. It told them to go out of the gates and receive the bishop foreordained for them by God. They did so, and with the common consent of the bishops who governed the churches round about, they compelled him to stay. [b] Alexander himself, in his own letters to the people of Antinoe, which are still preserved among us, mentions that Narcissus shared the presidency with him. At the end of the letter he writes in these words: [c] “Narcissus greets you. He held the place of bishop here before me, and is now joined with me in the prayers. He has completed one hundred and sixteen years, and he urges you, as I do, to be of one mind.” [d]

So it was with these things. In the church at Antioch, when Serapion had gone to his rest, Asclepiades succeeded to the office of bishop; he too had been distinguished in the confessions during the persecution. Alexander mentions his appointment, writing to the Antiochenes as follows: “Alexander, a servant and prisoner of Jesus Christ, to the blessed church of the Antiochenes, greetings in the Lord. The Lord has made my chains light and easy, since I learned during my time in prison that, by divine providence, Asclepiades, whose faith makes him most fit for the honor, has been entrusted with the office of bishop of your holy church of the Antiochenes.” [e] He indicates that he sent this letter by Clement, writing toward the end of it as follows: “These letters, my lords and brothers, I have sent you by Clement, the blessed presbyter, a man virtuous and approved, whom you already know and will come to know well. While here, by the providence and oversight of the Master, he strengthened and increased the Lord’s church.” [f]