Câteva considerații privind un sfânt mucenic mai puțin cunoscut – Sfântul Mucenic Alexandru de la Dinogeția
Abstract
The Martyrologium Hieronimianum (= MH) mentions in Scythia Minor, four times, the Saint Martyr Alexander: prid. id. mai (= 14th of May), to Dinogetia; idus mai (= 15th of May), also to Dinogetia; VIII id. iun. (=6th of June), to Noviodunum; kl. oct. (= 1st of October), to Dinogetia or Tomis. The identification of this Saint created real problems among the scholars. Some of them considered that he was a local Saint of Dinogetia. Others identified him with the homonym Saint of Drusipara, in the dioceze of Thrace. He suffered martyrdom on 25th of February, during the persecution of Diocletian. His worship was widespread in the Roman Balkans provinces – Thracia, Macedonia, Moesia. The MH, as it is preserved today, is very alterated. Its informations about the Eastern Saints proceeded from the Martyrologium of Nicomidia (= MN), dating to the half of the 4th century A.D. This last document it is lost today. Its general content and form are reflected in the MH and, in brief, in the Breviarum siriacum (= BS), dating to the end of the 4th century. Very likely, one of the source of the Oriental Martyrologium (= MO) was the Martyrology of Tomis. This document, also lost today, was a general martyrology of the Roman province Scythia Minor (today’s Dobruja, in Romania). From this last document, the informations about the martyrs venerated in Scythia Minor were copied in MO and, from it, in MH and, a little part of them, in BS. One of the two consecutive days of worship – the 14th and 15th of May – of St. Alexander in Dinogetia is the result of a copyist mistake. This kind of mistake is very common in MH. But it certifies that one of them existed in MO, the source of MH. It seems that the real day of worship of St. Alexander in Dinogetia was 14th of May. In the section of this day the name of the Scythian town has a less corrupt form – Denegothie or denecutiae. In the second one – the 15th of May –, the name is very corrupted – Digni. Cotthie or digni chottiae or digni choti tidiê. The second mention of St. Alexander appears in Scythia Minor in the city of Noviodunum, on 6th of June. In this day, Alexander was venerated here together with the Saints Zotikos, Attalos, Kamasis and Philippos. The relics of these four martyrs were descovered in the village Niculiþel, placed in the neighbourhood of Noviodunum. In the same time, it should be noted that Noviodunum bordered upon Dinogetia. The last mention of our Saint is on 1st of October. It is less clear. In this section are mentioned two cities of Scythia Minor: Tomis, the metropolis of the province, and Dinogetia. Some of the scholars considered that the both cities had their own feast in this day. As regard Saint Alexander, they considered that he was venerated in this day to Dinogetia. In this case, this was his second day of veneration in this town. It is also possible that the name of Dinogetia indicated in this case the place of the martyrdom of Saint Alexander, in the form: In Thomis ciuitate Alexandri Dinogetiae, i.e. In the city of Thomis, [the feast] of Alexander of Dinogetia. In both cases, this Alexander seems to be a martyr of Dinogetia. From this little town his worship spread even in the neighboring city of Noviodunum. As regard the time of his martyrdom, there is no information regarding this issue. It is possible that he was a victim of the persecutions of Diocletian (303-304) or Liciniu (320-324).
