St Auxibius, Bishop of Soli (+102)

Saint Auxibius was the son of rich Romans. His parents gave the young man a good secular education, after which they intended to marry him. When he learned of this, Auxibius secretly left home, reached the island of Cyprus and settled near the city of Soli. By God’s will the saint met here the holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, who appointed him Bishop of the city of Soli, while he himself went to Alexandria to preach the word of God. Saint Auxibius settled by the western gate of the city, near a pagan temple of Zeus, and little by little converted the priest there and other idol-worshippers to Christianity. Once Saint Heraclides, a former Bishop of Cyprus, came to the hierarch and advised him to preach the Gospel openly. And indeed, one day Auxibius went out into the market square and began to teach the doctrine of Christ there. Many who saw the signs and miracles worked by the hierarch believed in the true God.