Ambrose, Saint (ăm`brōz), 340?–397, bishop of Milan, Doctor of the Church, b. Trier, of Christian parents. Educated at Rome, he became (c.372) governor of Liguria and Aemilia—with the capital at Milan. He was highly regarded as governor and popular pressure resulted in his appointment (374) as bishop, although he was reluctant and lacked religious training. After much study he became the chief Catholic opponent of Arianism in the West. He was adviser to Emperor Gratian Gratian , 359–83, Roman emperor of the West (375–83). At the death of his father, Valentinian I, he accepted the army's election of his brother, Valentinian II, as his colleague.
..... Click the link for more information. , whom he persuaded to outlaw (379) all heresy in the West. He firmly refused the demands of Justina and the young Emperor Valentinian II Valentinian II, 371?–392, Roman emperor of the West (375–92), son of Valentinian I. Upon the death of his father, he was proclaimed emperor with his brother Gratian as coregent. After the death (378) of Valens, Gratian made Theodosius I ruler in the East.
..... Click the link for more information. to surrender a church of his diocese to the Arians. "The Emperor," he preached, "is in the Church, not above it." He excommunicated Theodosius I Theodosius I or Theodosius the Great, 346?–395, Roman emperor of the East (379–95) and emperor of the West (394–95), son of Theodosius, the general of Valentinian I.
..... Click the link for more information. for the massacre at Salonica (390) and imposed a heavy public penance on him before reinstating him. Ambrose's eloquent preaching spurred the conversion of St. Augustine. His writings have come down to us largely from his hearers. They reveal wide classical learning, knowledge of patristic literature, and a Roman bent toward the ethical and practical. Of his formal works, On the Duties of the Clergy (De officiis ministrorum) shows the influence of Cicero; On the Christian Faith (De fide) was written at Gratian's request. Ambrose's method of biblical interpretation was allegorical, following Philo and Origen. About 386 he arranged hymns and psalms for the congregation to sing antiphonally. A plainsong plainsong or plainchant, the unharmonized chant of the medieval Christian liturgies in Europe and the Middle East; usually synonymous with Gregorian chant, the liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church.
..... Click the link for more information. called Ambrosian chant is attached to his name. His hymns, written in the iambic dimeter that became standard in Western hymnody, were widely imitated. Only a few are extant. The Ambrosian Rite used in Milan today is probably a development of a liturgy Ambrose introduced. Feast: Dec. 7.
(born 339, Augusta Treverorum, Belgica, Gaul—died 397, Milan; feast day December 7) Bishop of Milan. Raised in Rome, he became a Roman provincial governor. As a compromise candidate, he was unexpectedly elevated from unbaptized layman to bishop of Milan in 374. He established the medieval concept of the Christian emperor as subject to episcopal advice and censure when he forced the emperor Theodosius to seek forgiveness from the bishop, and he opposed tolerance for adherents of Arianism. He wrote theological treatises influenced by Greek philosophy, including On the Holy Spirit and On the Duties of Ministers, as well as a series of hymns. His brilliant sermons and personal example converted St. Augustine.
..... Click the link for more information. , whom he persuaded to outlaw (379) all heresy in the West. He firmly refused the demands of Justina and the young Emperor Valentinian II Valentinian II, 371?–392, Roman emperor of the West (375–92), son of Valentinian I. Upon the death of his father, he was proclaimed emperor with his brother Gratian as coregent. After the death (378) of Valens, Gratian made Theodosius I ruler in the East.
..... Click the link for more information. to surrender a church of his diocese to the Arians. "The Emperor," he preached, "is in the Church, not above it." He excommunicated Theodosius I Theodosius I or Theodosius the Great, 346?–395, Roman emperor of the East (379–95) and emperor of the West (394–95), son of Theodosius, the general of Valentinian I.
..... Click the link for more information. for the massacre at Salonica (390) and imposed a heavy public penance on him before reinstating him. Ambrose's eloquent preaching spurred the conversion of St. Augustine. His writings have come down to us largely from his hearers. They reveal wide classical learning, knowledge of patristic literature, and a Roman bent toward the ethical and practical. Of his formal works, On the Duties of the Clergy (De officiis ministrorum) shows the influence of Cicero; On the Christian Faith (De fide) was written at Gratian's request. Ambrose's method of biblical interpretation was allegorical, following Philo and Origen. About 386 he arranged hymns and psalms for the congregation to sing antiphonally. A plainsong plainsong or plainchant, the unharmonized chant of the medieval Christian liturgies in Europe and the Middle East; usually synonymous with Gregorian chant, the liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church.
..... Click the link for more information. called Ambrosian chant is attached to his name. His hymns, written in the iambic dimeter that became standard in Western hymnody, were widely imitated. Only a few are extant. The Ambrosian Rite used in Milan today is probably a development of a liturgy Ambrose introduced. Feast: Dec. 7.
Bibliography
See biography by A. Paredi (1964); C. Morino, Church and State in the Teaching of St. Ambrose (1969).
Ambrose, Saint
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St. Ambrose, detail from a stained-glass window; in St. Michael's Church, Kirby-le-Soken, Essex, …
(credit: E & E Image Library/Heritage-Images)
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