Life of St. Ambrose of Milan
“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 succour 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, 385
Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family about 330 and
was raised in Trier.
His father was
Aurelius Ambrosius, the praetorian prefect of Gaul; his mother was a woman of
intellect and piety. Ambrose's siblings, Satyrus (who is the subject of
Ambrose's De excessu fratris Satyri) and Marcellina, are also venerated as
saints.
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 and honeyed tongue. For this
reason, bees and beehives often appear in the saint's symbology.
In the late 4th century there was a deep conflict in the
diocese of Milan between the Catholics and Arians. In 374
the bishop of Milan, Auxentius, an Arian, died, and the Arians challenged the
succession. Ambrose went to the church where the election was to take place, to
prevent an uproar, which was probable in this crisis. His address was
interrupted by a call "Ambrose, bishop!", which was taken up by the
whole assembly.
In 385 Ambrose, backed by Milan's populace, refused
Valentinian II's imperial request to hand over the Portian basilica for the use
of Arian troops. In 386 Justina and Valentinian received the Arian bishop
Auxentius, and Ambrose was again ordered to hand over a church in Milan for
Arian usage.
Ambrose and his
congregation barricaded themselves inside the church, and the imperial order
was rescinded.
Theodosius I, the emperor of the East, espoused the cause of
Justina, and regained the kingdom. Theodosius was threatened with
excommunication by Ambrose 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 as he had imitated him in guilt — Ambrose readmitted the emperor
to the Eucharist only after several months of penance . This incident shows the
strong position of a bishop in the Western part of the empire, even when facing
a strong emperor — the controversy of John Chrysostom with a much weaker
emperor a few years later in Constantinople led to a crushing defeat of the
bishop.
Ambrose was known to
be Catholic in belief, but also acceptable to 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: Ambrose was neither baptized nor formally
trained in theology. Upon his
appointment, St. Ambrose fled to a colleague's home seeking to hide. Upon
receiving a letter from the Emperor Gratian praising the appropriateness of
Rome appointing individuals evidently worthy of holy positions, St. Ambrose's
host gave Ambrose up. Within a week,
Ambrose was baptized, ordained and duly consecrated bishop of Milan.
As bishop, he
immediately adopted an ascetic lifestyle, apportioned his money to the poor,
donating all of his land, making only provision for his sister Marcellina (who
later became a nun), and committed the care of his family to his brother. Ambrose also wrote a treatise by the name of
"The Goodness Of Death".
According to legend, Ambrose immediately and forcefully
stopped Arianism in Milan. He studied theology with Simplician, a presbyter of
Rome. Using his excellent knowledge of Greek, which was then rare in the West,
to his advantage, he studied 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 preacher,
concentrating especially on exegesis of the Old Testament, and his rhetorical
abilities impressed Augustine of Hippo, who hitherto had thought poorly of
Christian preachers.
Ambrose ranks with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great,
as one of the Latin Doctors of the Church. Theologians compare him with Hilary,
who they claim fell short of Ambrose's administrative excellence but
demonstrated greater theological ability. He succeeded as a theologian despite
his juridical training and his comparatively late handling 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.
Death and legacy
Soon after acquiring
the undisputed possession of the 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 S. Ambrogio in Milan, where it has been continuously venerated — along with
the bodies identified in his time as being those of Sts. Gervase and Protase —
and is one of the oldest extant bodies of historical personages known outside
Egypt.
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| The body of St. Ambrose (with white vestments) in the crypt of Sant'Ambrogio basilica |
