AUXENTIUS (fl. c. 37o), of Cappadocia, an Arian theolo gian (see ARIUs). When Constantine deposed the orthodox bishops who resisted, Auxentius was installed into the seat of Dionysius, bishop of Milan, and came to be regarded as the great opponent of the Nicene doctrine in the West. When the orthodox emperor Valentinian ascended the throne, Auxentius was left undisturbed in his diocese, but his theological doctrines were publicly attacked by Hilary of Poitiers (Liber contra Auxentium, Benedictine edn.).