ALEXANDER, EVENZIUS, and THEODULUS, Saints, Martyrs. — The *Martyrologium Hieronymianum*, the Gregorian Sacramentary, and the Gelasian Sacramentary of the 8th century recall them on May 3: "At Rome, on the Via Nomentana, at the seventh milestone, the birthday of the saints Eventius, Alexander, and Theodulus" (*Martyrologium Hieronymianum*, p. 227).
The history of this group of martyrs is not known to us from reliable texts. The authors of the *Liber Pontificalis* (ed. L. Duchesne, I, pp. XLI-XLII, 127) and of the *Passio Alexandri* (BHL, 266) without foundation identified Pope (v.) the first of that name, and made Evenzius and Theodulus two members of the Roman clergy. The two authors are not interdependent, but reflect a common tradition regarding the identification, the date of martyrdom, and the place of burial. They differ, however, on other points of considerable importance: while the *Liber Pontificalis* has Alexander die by beheading and declares Evenzius a priest and Theodulus a deacon, the *Passio* has Alexander die after various torments, following pricks inflicted over his entire body, and assigns the priestly dignity to the consuls. In reality, they were three martyrs, probably victims of the Diocletianic persecution, belonging to the community of Ficulca or Nomentum.
They were buried in two different galleries of a modest rural cemetery: Evenzius and Alexander together, Theodulus alone in a site not yet certainly identified. Toward the end of the 4th century, two small shrines were erected over their tombs, which in the following century were repeatedly joined and enlarged without following an organic plan, resulting in a grandiose but irregular monumental complex; the main altar, now almost entirely reconstructed, was erected over the tombs (the two-seater tomb remaining off-center and at an oblique angle to the hall) of Evenzius and Alexander by Bishop Orso of Nomentum at the beginning of the 5th century, as is evident from the dedicatory inscription. It is worth noting that Alexander’s name is placed after those of the others in the oldest documents: the inscription mentioned and the *Martyrologium Hieronymianum*, while it precedes in the *Passio*, in the two sacramentaries cited, and in the *Notitia* of William of Malmesbury (ed. Valentini-Zucchetti, Rome 1942, p. 145). The sanctuary, which fell into ruin after the 7th century, was rediscovered in 1854 and completely restored in 1936. Of the original cemetery, only a few galleries remain, with some rough pictorial decoration and a considerable number of graffiti and inscriptions, some of which are dated to the 4th–6th centuries.
ALEXANDER, EVENZIUS and THEODULUS – ALEXANDER THE GREAT
ALEXANDER, EVENZIUS and THEODULUS, Saints – Southern interior of the basilica dedicated to the martyrs with altar and presbyteral enclosure (5th century) – Rome, Cemetery of St Alexander on the Via Nomentana.