There is little information available on Alexander's early life as a layman prior to becoming a monk at the monastery of the Enaton west of Alexandria.
Upon the death of Simeon of Alexandria in 701, the Patriarchate of Alexdandria remained vacant for approximately four years, while the members of the church sought an appropriate successor.
The lack of a patriarch, though, created economic problems for the church, so the secretary of state, or mutawallī al-diwān in Alexandria, a Copt named Athanasius, asked the governor to allow the bishop of al-Qays, Anbā Gregorius, to assume authority over the church's finances until a new patriarch would be elected.
Athanasius gathered together all the Coptic scribes, clergy, and bishops, and the group unanimously selected Alexander based on his sterling reputation.
The failure at Constantinople, coupled with the financial strains brought about by the Al-Zubayr rebellion, made the Caliphs look to Egypt as the closest source of funds from which to prop themselves up economically.
He also employed a native Copt named Benjamin who assisted him in locating where the people had hidden their wealth, which would then be confiscated by the government.
He also ordered all his subjects to wear a leaden identification badge around their necks, and required that all Copts who wished to engage in business activity have the mark of a lion branded on their hands.
[1] When the government decided that Alexander, as patriarch, must submit to being branded with the lion as well, he protested and asked that he be allowed to plead his case before the viceroy himself.