The life of St Auxentius
Troubled by the vanity of that life, he resigned his position, was ordained, and withdrew to a solitary place on Mount Oxia near the capital, in Bithynia, where he lived hidden until shepherds searching for lost sheep discovered his cell. Word spread, and the sick and afflicted began to seek him out; he became known for healing the infirm and, especially, for freeing those tormented by evil spirits, always directing the credit to God rather than to himself.
In 451 he was brought, at first against his own inclination, to the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon, where he spoke firmly against the teachings of both Eutyches and Nestorius. Afterward he withdrew to a new hermitage on nearby Mount Scopas, which came to bear his name, and there he continued to gather disciples, among them a noblewoman who used her own means to establish a community of women near him. Auxentius reposed around the year 470; so many wished to keep his relics that his followers had to settle by agreement where he would be laid to rest.
