Venerable Auxentius of Bithynia

Auxentius, son of a Persian named Addas, held a post at the court of Theodosius II in Constantinople and was known for his learning in Scripture and in secular studies. He became a monk, then a deacon and a priest, and was so sought after in the city that he left for Bithynia and settled on Mount Oxia near Chalcedon, later called Mount Auxentius after him. Shepherds looking for lost sheep found him there, and soon crowds came for healing and advice; local people built him a cell on the summit, and he spoke to visitors through a small window. His Life tells that one night he announced that Simeon the Stylite had just died, and the news later confirmed it. He died in old age, c. 470.