The Feast of Ambrose, Doctor and Bishop of Milan, 397O GOD, who by thy Holy Spirit hast given unto one man a word of wisdom, and to another a word of knowledge, and to another the gift of tongues: We praise thy Name for the gifts of grace manifested in thy servant Ambrose, and we pray that thy Church may never be destitute of the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
St Ambrose of Milan is one of my favourite saints, not necessarily for his teachings, but rather for the story of his life, how he became a Christian, and how he chose to be a defender of Christian orthodoxy.Feria in EastertideALMIGHTY Father, who hast given thine only a Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification: Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may alway serve thee in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
St Ambrose, born Aurelius Ambrosius, was born in around 340 AD, either at Trier, Arles or Lyons. He was raised in Trier where his family, an ancient and noble Roman family, had converted to Christianity. His father, sharing his name of Aurelius Ambrosius, was the praetorian prefect of Gaul, placing him in charge of modern Britain, France, Spain and parts of North Africa. His mother was a pious Christian. He was the youngest of three siblings, with an elder sister named Marcellina who ultimately became a nun, and an elder brother named Satyrus who followed Ambrose’s path into Government, before ultimately retiring to come and live with his brother after he was raised to the episcopacy.
When Ambrose was still young, his father died. His mother moved their family to Rome, where she assisted in the religious training of her three children. Marcellina, who was about ten years older than Ambrose, took a vow of virginity, living a consecrated life in her mother’s house. Her vows greatly influenced St Ambrose, who is remembered in part for his own love of virginity.
In Rome, he studied literature, law and rhetoric. His education included learning Greek, the language of the Septuagint, and his Greek learning helps distinguish him from some of his great contemporaries, such as St Augustine of Hippo, who did not have the benefit of an education in Greek language and literature.
When he completed his education, he applied himself to the practice of law. So eloquent were his arguments that he obtained a patron, Praetor Anicus Probus, who took Ambrose into his Council. In 372, Anicus petitioned Emperor Valentinian on Ambrose’s behalf and obtained for him the office of consular governor of Liguria and Æmilia, with a residence in the second most important city in Rome, Milan.
Over the next two years, Ambrose would earn the love and esteem of the people of Milan for his judicious leadership over them. He was eloquent, fair and just, able to build concensus and compromise between factions to bridge political divides. There were many in this time, as Milan was a city in relative chaos when Ambrose arrived.
In 355 the Nicene bishop of Milan, Dionysius, had been dragged into exile and replaced by an Arian bishop, Auxentius, from Cappadocia. This outsider bishop created a significant strain on Milanese Christians, particularly those orthodox Christians who subscribed to the Nicene Creed and opposed the Arian Heresy. After becoming Governor, Ambrose was sometimes forced to weigh into these controversies and debates in order to prevent further disruption. Known to be orthodox in his personal beliefs, he was none the less respected by Arians for his artful compromises.
In 374, Auxentius died. At the time, bishops in Milan were chosen by election of the people. So concerned over the possibility of violence or other tumult stemming from such a popular vote, the provincial bishops petitioned the Emperor to simply appoint a successor, however Valentinian refused. As the governor, it fell to Ambrose to maintain order. Using his well-known oratory, he began to speak to the assembled people and clergy, attempting to calm them, speaking of peace and moderation. As he was speaking, however, a voice interrupted him, shouting out, “Ambrose, bishop!” The chant was joined by others, and to Ambrose’s complete shock he was unanimously elected bishop.
Ambrose had initially no wish to serve. He hadn’t even been baptised and was still only a catechumen, though this lay largely due to a misguided and common practice of the day to delay baptism until near death due to reverence for the sacrament. The people wrote to the Emperor asking him to confirm their elected choice, and he did, ordering Ambrose to be imprisoned until he accepted.
Ambrose accepted, was baptised and in December 374 was consecrated as Bishop of Milan. His first act as bishop was to give his worldly possessions to the poor and his land to the church, after making provision for the care of his sister. Given his lack of theological training, he then devoted himself to the study of the Church Fathers and the Holy Scriptures. Soon he began placing his significant oratorical skill and keen mind to work in the pulpit, where he would soon enough famously convert St Augustine to Christianity by the power of his homilies.
He surprised the Arians by strongly refusing to acquiesce to them in the way he had as governor. He refused to give them a building to meet in and wrote against them. Ultimately he would help to define the meaning of Christian orthodoxy in that age, and bringing an end to Arianism.
While Ambrose was a fierce opponent of heresy and paganism, his zeal for Christian orthodoxy and religious persecution of heretics did not extend to how they were treated civily. Arians and pagans were still citizens, and still had rights. As human beings, they were still God’s creates whom he loved and wanted saved. Ambrose showed respect to them, even as he opposed them theologically. His position was quite innovative at its time, and earned him a significant amount of respect from all people.
Aside from his conversion of St Augustine to Christianity, St Ambrose is mostly known for his impact on Church-State relations, particularly due to his friendship with Emperor Theodosius. In 390, a popular charioteer in Thessalonica was imprisoned for attempting to rape a male cup bearer. The people demanded his release because he was a popular and successful charioteer, and when the government officials refused, a general revolt occurred in which the military commander and a number of other Roman officials were killed. When Emperor Theodosius heard of this, he was outraged and dispatched the army to capture the city, as if it were hostile. They massacred thousands of civilians. Shortly after he dispatched the army units, he changed his mind and sent a messenger to cancel the orders, but the messenger never caught up with the army units who proceeded to slaughter the inhabitants of Thessalonica, some 7,000 killed according to some accounts.
St Ambrose was stunned when he heard of what happened and immediately wrote a letter to the Emperor demanding that he repent of his act in ordering the massacre. Theodosius refused. Ambrose was simply a clergyman in far off Milan, while he was the Emperor of the entire Roman Empire, sitting on his throne in Constantinople. However, shortly after receiving the letter from Ambrose, imperial business took him to Milan. As a Christian, Theodosius went to church when he was in Milan, but Ambrose refused to offer Theodosius communion unless the Emperor publicly repented of his acts.
Ultimately, the Emperor relented. Divesting himself of his imperial vestments, clothed in a sackcloth and with ash streaked on his face in a sign of penance, Theodosius repented for the massacre.
In standing up to the Emperor, St Ambrose placed his own life on the line for his calling and for God’s truth. He showed great courage for his office in upholding both Christian orthodoxy in the theology being preached in his diocese and also in rebuking those who failed to measure up to Christian virtues with egregious public sins while still acting as if they had committed no wrong.
While later bishops would use St Ambrose’s example as a means to manipulate civil leaders by withholding the sacraments, St Ambrose’s purpose was never to force the submission of the state to the Church, but rather to show that no person, regardless of civil or religious status, was exempt from God’s laws.
NB. The Feast of Ambrose is commemorated on 4 April, but as that fell on Holy Saturday, the feast is transferred to a ferial day.
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