Auxentius of Durostorum
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| Auxentius | |
| Other names | Mercurinus |
|---|---|
| Offices held | Bishop of Milan |
| Parents | (adopted by) Wulfila |
Auxentius of Durostorum and Milan aka Mercurinus was the foster-son of Ulfilas (Wulfila), the "apostle to the Goths." Ulfilas translated the Gothic Bible and converted the Goths to Arian Christianity. Auxentius was a deacon in Alexandria[citation needed] and a follower of the Arian bishop Dionysius of Milan.[citation needed]
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[edit] Biography
In Milan, seat of the Western Imperial court, Nicene and Arian controversy flared high. In 386, Auxentius challenged Ambrose to a public disputation, in which the judges were to be the court favourites of the Arian empress; he also demanded for the Arians the use of the Basilica Portiana. Ambrose's refusal to surrender this church brought about a siege of the edifice, in which Ambrose and a multitude of his faithful Milanese had shut themselves up. The empress eventually abandoned her favourite and made peace with Ambrose.
The Letter of Auxentius (ca 400) was preserved in the margins of a manuscript of De fide of Ambrose. Along with the Creed of Ulfilas it is one of the chief witnesses to the credence of the Arian Christians and the politics of the Church at the time when Nicene Christianity continued to be debated at the highest levels of the Catholic Church.
He wrote an account of the life and death of Ulfilas that the Arian bishop Maximinus included (383) in a work directed against St. Ambrose and the Synod of Aquitesa, 381. This favourite of Empress Justina was the anti-bishop set up in Milan by the Arians on the occasion of the election of Ambrose. He challenged the latter in 386 to a public dispute in which the judges were to be the court favourites of the Arian empress; he also demanded for the Arians the use of the Basilica Portiana. The refusal to surrender this church brought about a siege of the edifice, in which Ambrose and a multitude of his faithful Milanese had shut themselves up. The empress eventually abandoned her favourite and made peace with Ambrose. [1]
[edit] External links
- The letter of Auxentius: Jim Marchand, translator (link to Latin text)
- Ambrose: Sermon against Auxentius, "On the giving up of the basilicas".
[edit] Sources
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
- Auxentius, Junior at Catholic Encyclopedia
