Ambrose

Saint Ambrose
Saint Ambrose, mosaic in the Basilica of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan
Born	between 337 and 340 C.E. in  Trier, southern Gaul
Died	April 4, 397 in  Milan, Italy
Venerated in	Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Lutheran Church
Major shrine	Basilica of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan
Feast	December 7
Attributes	Beehive, child, whip, bones
Patronage	bee keepers; bees; candle makers; domestic animals; French Commissariat; learning; Milan, Italy; students; wax refiners

Saint Ambrose known in Latin as Ambrosius (c. 339 - April 4, 397 C.E.), was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the fourth century. In Catholic tradition, Ambrose is considered one of the four great Fathers of the Christian church.

Born around 339 C.E. in what is now France, Ambrose was the son of the Roman prefect of Gaul. Following his father's footsteps, he embarked upon a career in law and politics and by 370, he had become the Imperial governor of Northern Italy.

While he was serving as the consular governor of Liguria and Æmilia, with residence in Milan, Ambrose was drafted into ecclesiastical service. When the episcopal see of Milan became vacant in 374, the people reportedly demanded that Ambrose be made their bishop. The neighboring bishops and the Emperor convinced him to accept this call as the will of God, and so the catechumen Ambrose was baptized and ordained first deacon, then priest, then bishop, all in a single week. He proved to be a fierce opponent of heresy, paganism, and hypocrisy. He battled to preserve the independence of the Church from the state and courageously excommunicated the powerful Christian Emperor Theodosius I for a massacre of innocent civilians in Thessalonica. On the other hand, Ambrose also challenged the emperor for ordering Christians to rebuild a Jewish synagogue which had been destroyed by a Christian mob, on the grounds that the state must support only the Christian religion.

In his ecclesiastical role, he was a social critic, fighter against heresy, and political theorist. Both before and after assuming the bishopric, Ambrose was strongly influenced by the Neoplatonic tradition, and he carried those ideas into his theology. He also had a significant impact on sacred music through the composition of hymns and psalm tones that are known to this day as Ambrosian chant. Besides numerous sermons and treatises on the spiritual life, Ambrose is responsible for two of the first great theological works written in Latin, De Sacramentis (on the Sacraments) and De Spiritu Sancto (On the Holy Spirit).

Around 385, an ambitious professor of public speaking named Augustine came to hear Ambrose preach. In 386, the future Saint Augustine was baptized by Ambrose, became his disciple, and went on to become bishop of Hippo in North Africa. Ambrose and his pupil, Augustine, together with St. Jerome and Saint Gregory the Great, make up the four original Doctors of the Latin Church. Ambrose died on Holy Saturday (April 4) in the year 397 C.E. His feast day in the Roman calendar is December 7, the day he was ordained bishop.

Life

Statue of Saint Ambrose

Worldly career

Ambrose was a citizen of Rome, born between about 337 and 340 in Trier, Germany, into a Christian family at a time when being a Christian had become both socially acceptable and political advantageous in the Roman Empire. He was the son of a praetorian prefect of Gallia Narbonensis; his mother was a woman of intellect and piety. There is a legend that as an infant, a swarm of bees settled on his face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered this a sign of his future eloquence. For this reason, bees and beehives often appear in the saint's symbology.

After the early death of his father, Ambrose was educated in Rome, studying literature, law, and rhetoric. Praetor Anicius Probus gave him his first official appointment and then, in about 372, made him governor of Liguria and Emilia, with headquarters at Milan, which at that time was the virtual capital of Italy. Ambrose made an excellent administrator in this important position and soon became very popular.

Bishop of Milan

Saint Ambrose by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664)

There was a deep conflict in the diocese of Milan, as well as in the rest of the Church, between the Trinitarians and the Arians. In 374, Auxentius, bishop of Milan, who was a supporter of Arianism, died, and the Arians challenged the succession. The governor went personally to the basilica where the election should take place, to prevent an uproar which was probable in this crisis. His address was interrupted by a call "Ambrose for bishop!" which was taken up by others, upon which he was supposedly elected bishop by unanimous voice vote.

Ambrose was a likely candidate in this situation, because he was known to be personally a Trinitarian, but acceptable to the Arians due to the charity shown in theological matters in this regard. At first he energetically refused the office, for which he was in no way prepared—he was so far only catechumen, not even baptized yet, with no theological training. Only by the intervention of the emperor did he give in, receiving both baptism and ordination, and was duly installed as bishop of Milan within a week.

As bishop, he immediately adopted an ascetic lifestyle, apportioned his money to the poor, donating all of his land, making only a provision for his sister Marcellina, and committed the care of the rest of his family to his brother.

Ambrose and the Arians

Ambrose's supposed charity toward the Arians never materialized in his new role. He immediately and forcefully moved against Arianism in Milan. At that time the Arians dominated the higher levels of society. Using his excellent knowledge of Greek (which was then rare in the West) to his advantage, Ambrose studied the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible and Greek authors like Philo, Origen, Athanasius, and Basil of Caesarea, with whom he was also exchanging letters. He applied this knowledge as a preacher, concentrating especially on exegesis of the Old Testament. His rhetorical abilities impressed Augustine of Hippo, who hitherto had thought poorly of Christian preachers.

The Arians appealed to many high-level leaders and clergy in both the Western and Eastern Empires. Although the Western Emperor Gratian ascribed to the Nicene creed, the younger Valentinian II, who became his colleague in the empire, adhered to the Arian creed. Ambrose did not sway the young prince's position. In the East, Emperor Theodosius I likewise professed the Nicene creed; but there were many adherents of Arius throughout his dominions, especially among the higher clergy.

In this contested state of religious opinion, two leaders of the Arians, Bishops Palladius of Ratiaria and Secundianus of Singidunum, confident of numbers, prevailed upon Gratian to call a general council from all parts of the empire. This request appeared so equitable that Gratian complied without hesitation. However, Ambrose feared the consequences and prevailed upon the emperor to have the matter determined by a council of the Western bishops. Accordingly, a synod composed of 32 bishops was held at Aquileia in the year 381. Ambrose was elected president, and Palladius, being called upon to defend his opinions, declined. A vote was then taken, and Palladius and his associate Secundianus were deposed from the episcopal office.

Nevertheless, the increasing strength of the Arians proved a formidable task for Ambrose. In 386, Emperor Valentinian II and his mother Justina, along with a considerable number of clergy and laity, especially military, professed the Arian faith. They attempted to turn over two churches in Milan, one in the city, the other in the suburbs, to the Arians. Ambrose refused and was required to answer for his conduct before the council. He went and his eloquence in defense of the orthodox Trinitarianism reportedly awed the ministers of the emperor, so he was permitted to retire without having to surrender the churches. The day following, when he was performing the liturgy in the basilica at Milan, the prefect of the city came to persuade him to give up at least the church in the suburbs. As he still refused, the court proceeded to violent measures and the officers of the imperial household were commanded to prepare the basilica and the suburban churches to celebrate the divine service upon the arrival of the emperor and his mother at the ensuing festival of Easter. In spite of imperial opposition, Ambrose declared:

If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death, I will not resist; but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succor me; I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it. The tumult of the people I will not encourage: but God alone can appease it.

Ambrose and emperors

Saint Ambrose and emperor Theodosius by Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)

Although the imperial court was displeased with the religious principles of Ambrose, his aid was soon solicited by the emperor. But, when Magnus Maximus usurped the supreme power of the Western Roman Empire in Gaul in 383 by order of the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I and was meditating a descent upon Italy, Valentinian II sent Ambrose to dissuade Magnus Maximus from the undertaking, and the embassy was successful.

On a similar second attempt, Ambrose was again employed. However, he was unsuccessful this time. Magnus Maximus entered Italy, and Milan was taken. Although the royal household fled, Ambrose remained at his post, and did good service to many sufferers by causing the plate of the church to be melted for their relief.

Ambrose challenged Theodosius I for being too supportive of the rights of the Jews when the emperor of the Eastern Empire ordered the rebuilding of a Jewish synagogue at a local bishop's expense after a Christian mob in his city of Callinicum in Mesopotamia had burned it in 388. Ambrose argued that it was inappropriate for a Christian emperor to protect the "Christ-rejecting" Jews in this way, saying sarcastically: "You have the guilty man present, you hear his confession. I declare that I set fire to the synagogue, or at least that I ordered those who did it, that there might not be a place where Christ was denied." The emperor backed down, and the bishop who had perpetrated this crime went unpunished. The event was hailed by some as a victory for the independence of the Church from state control. Although it provided immunity for Christian Jew-baiters and reportedly occasioned the damage and destruction of synagogues all over the empire, nevertheless Ambrose himself did "occasionally say a good word for the Jews" through his commentaries on the Hebrew Bible.

Ambrose was also zealous in combating the attempt made by the upholders of the old state religion to resist the enactments of Christian emperors. The pagan party was led by Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, consul in 391, who presented to Valentinian II a strong but unsuccessful petition praying for the restoration of the Altar of Victory to its ancient station in the hall of the Roman Senate, state support of seven Vestal Virgins, and the regular observance of the other pagan ceremonies. To this petition, Ambrose replied eloquently in a letter to Valentinian, arguing among other things that heathen sacrifices were offensive to Christians, and that it was the duty of a Christian prince to suppress pagan ceremonies.

Ambrose also threatened Theodosius with excommunication for the massacre of 7,000 persons at Thessalonica in 390, after the murder of the Roman governor there by rioters. Ambrose told Theodosius to imitate David in his repentance, just as he had imitated the violent king in guilt. Ambrose readmitted the emperor to the Eucharist only after several months of penance. Ambrose's influence upon Theodosius is credited with eliciting the enactment of the "Theodosian decrees" of 391, in which he declared Christianity as the only legitimate imperial religion and officially ended state support for the traditional Roman religion.

In 392, after the assassination of Valentinian II and the attempted usurpation by Eugenius, Ambrose supplicated Theodosius for the pardon of those who had supported Eugenius after Theodosius was eventually victorious. Soon after acquiring the undisputed possession of the whole Roman Empire, Theodosius died at Milan in 395, and two years later (April 4, 397) Ambrose also died. He was succeeded as bishop of Milan by Simplician. Ambrose's body may still be viewed in the church of Saint Ambrogio in Milan, where it has been continuously venerated—along with the bodies identified in his time as being those of Saints Gervase and Protase—and is one of the oldest extant bodies of historical personages known outside of Egypt.

Character

Many circumstances in the history of Ambrose are characteristic of the general spirit of the times. The chief causes of his victory over his opponents were his great popularity and the reverence paid to the episcopal character at that period. But it must also be noted that he used several indirect means to obtain and support his authority with the people.

He was liberal to the poor; it was his custom to comment severely in his preaching on the public characters of his times; and he introduced popular reforms in the order and manner of public worship. It is alleged, too, that at a time when the influence of Ambrose required vigorous support, he was admonished in a dream to search for, and found under the pavement of the church, the remains of two martyrs, Gervasius, and Protasius. The bodies, though they would have to have been hundreds of years old, looked as if they had just died. The applause of the people was mingled with the derision of the court party.

Writings and music

Selected theological writings of Ambrose, include: De fide ad Gratianum Augustum ("On Faith, to Gratian Augustus"); De officiis ("On the Offices of Ministers," an important ecclesiastical handbook); De Spiritu Sancto ("On the Holy Spirit"); De incarnationis Dominicae sacramento ("On the Sacrament of the Incarnation of the Lord"); De mysteriis ("On the Mysteries"); and Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam ("Commentary on the Gospel according to Luke").

His ethical works include: De bono mortis ("Death as Good"); De fuga saeculi ("Flight from the World"); De institutione virginis et sanctae Mariae virginitate perpetua ad Eusebium ("On the Birth of the Virgin and the Perpetual Virginity of Mary"); De Nabuthae ("On Naboth"); De paenitentia ("On Repentance"); De paradiso ("On Paradise"); De sacramentis ("On the Sacraments"); De viduis ("On Widows"); De virginibus ("On Virgins"); De virginitate ("On Virginity"); Exhortatio virginitatis ("Exhortation to Virginity"); and De sacramento regenerationis sive de philosophia ("On the Sacrament of Rebirth").

Among Ambrose's works of biblical exegesis are: Hexaemeron ("Six Days of Creation"); De Helia et ieiunio ("On Elijah and Fasting"); De Iacob et vita beata ("On Jacob and the Happy Life"); De Abraham ("On Abraham"); De Cain et Abel ("On Cain and Abel); De Ioseph ("on Joseph"); De Isaac vel anima ("On Isaac, or the Soul"); De Noe ("On Noah"); De interpellatione Iob et David ("On the Prayer of Job and David"); De patriarchis ("On the Patriarchs"); De Tobia ("On Tobit"); Explanatio psalmorum ("Explanation of the Psalms"); and Explanatio symboli ("Commentary on the Symbol").

His funeral orations are: De obitu Theodosii; De obitu Valentiniani; and De excessu fratris Satyri. His other writings include 91 letters, a collection of hymns, fragments of sermons, and Ambrosiaster or the "pseudo-Ambrose," a brief commentary on Paul's Epistles which was long attributed to Ambrose.

Ambrose is traditionally credited with (but not actually known to have composed) any of the repertory of the Ambrosian chant, also known simply as "chant." Ambrosian chant was named in his honor due to his contributions to the music of the Church. He is also credited with introducing hymnody from the Eastern Church into the West. The success of Arian psalmody led Ambrose to compose several original hymns as well, four of which still survive, along with music which may not have changed too much from the original melodies. Each of these hymns has eight four-line stanzas and is written in strict iambic tetrameter.

Selected music by Ambrose includes: Deus Creator Omnium; Aeterne rerum conditor; Jam surgit hora tertia; Jam Christus astra ascendante"; and Veni redemptor gentium (a Christmas hymn); and the text of some Ambrosian Hymns. Ambrose was also traditionally credited with composing the hymn Te Deum, which he is said to have composed when he baptized Saint Augustine, his celebrated convert.

Legacy

Ambrose was a theological giant of the western church, later known as Roman Catholicism, without whom the history of the struggle between Arianism and orthodox Trinitarianism, for better or worse, might have been very different. He also played a large role in laying the foundations for the independence of the church from the political vicissitudes of the state in his courageous opposition to various imperial policies.

Unfortunately, in one of these cases he struck a blow for the church at the expense of the Jews, whom the Emperor wanted to compensate (with church funds) for a Christian-led attack on their synagogue.

Ambrose ranks with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great, as one of the Latin Doctors of the Church. He succeeded as a theologian despite his juridical training and his comparatively late learning of biblical and doctrinal subjects. His spiritual successor, Augustine, whose conversion was helped by Ambrose's sermons, owes more to him than to any writer except Paul.

Ambrose is also the subject of a curious anecdote in Augustine's Confessions which bears on the history of reading: "When [Ambrose] read, his eyes scanned the page and his heart sought out the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still… When we came to visit him, we found him reading like this in silence, for he never read aloud." The extraordinary aspect of this passage is that Augustine felt it noteworthy that Ambrose could read silently, implying that hardly anyone else could do so at the time.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Attwater, Donald, & Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. Penguin Books, 1996. ISBN 0140513124
• Ramsey, Boniface. Ambrose.London: Routledge, 1997. ISBN 978-0415118422
• Raynolds, Robert. The Sinner of Saint Ambrose. Bobbs-Merrill, 1952. ASIN B000PHSF28
• Sutterlee, Craig A. Ambrose of Milan's Method of Mystagogical Preaching. Liturgical Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0814661857

External links

Retrieved November 10, 2007.

• Writings of St. Ambrose www.monachos.net.
• Official Catholic Encyclopedia Live Article on St. Ambrose www.catholiclibrary.com.
• Early Christian writings: Letters of St. Ambrose of Milan www.earlychristianwritings.com.
• Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Works of Ambrose of Milan www.ccel.org.
• Saint Ambrose at the Catholic Encyclopedia www.newadvent.org.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Ambrose  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Ambrose"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.