Ambrose: life and career

 

Welcome to the life-page of Aurelius Ambrose, internal link given up to life and career of the bishop and patron saint of Milan; here you can get many links, external too...

 

With Jeronymus and Augustin, Ambrose is one of the Church's Fathers, writers who connected the new christian culture to classical tradition, fixing ethical and doctrinal questions essential for the Church. He was bishop of Milan and then patron saint of the city; he was a supporter of chastity, charity and justice. Moralist, he was the guide of episcopate in the West part of the Empire.

Life

 

He was born in Treviri, Augusta Treverorum in Gallia belgica (today Trier, in Germany), at about 339 a.C.
His father was prefect of the praetorium in Trier and he has received therefore a polite rhetorical education; but when the father died, he approached to Rome with his mother, sister Marcellina, who became nun about 353, and brother Satyrus. Here he finished his studies and began a juridic-administrative career. In 370 he was sent to Milan as consularis Aemiliae et Liguriae (governor of Northern Italy).
At the death of the pro-arian bishop, Auxentius, in the 374, he, also being still catechumen, was chosen bishop of Mediolanum by acclamation; December 7th of the same year he received the baptism and the episcopal consecration. Today this is the date of the recurrence of S. Ambrose (but an ancient calendar assign his recurrence to April 4th, when he died, as for all other saints, except St.John Baptist).
Mosaico con il pių antico ritratto di Ambrogio
He began, after an accurate theological preparation, the compilation of his works, based often on the philosophical and theological ideas of Plotinus, Origene and Basilius.
He, for these writings that testify his cultural appointment and his pastoral and administrative ability, practiced a big influence on the Emperor Gratianus and on his successors Valentinian II and Theodosius. Between these works are of literary importance the six books of the Hexameron, that comment the biblical story of the creation.
Ambrogio fra i martiri Gervasio e Protasio  Foto M.Bonazzi Besides his 91 letters we must remember the treatise "On clergy's duties" and ulterior writings on the virginity and exhegetical works.
During the council of Aquileia (381) he became leader in the struggle to the Arianism. Then he convinced Emperor Gratianus to emanate laws against the paganism, that started up a harsh dispute between Ambrose and Quintus Aurelius Symmachus. The latter defended the restoration of the Victory statue in Senate and of the Vestal virgins' privileges (pagan cults). Ambrose opposed to him and won (384).
About 386 he converted and baptized Aurelius Augustin, in the baptistry whose remains we can visit under Milan's Cathedral (we can here remember that is assigned to Ambrose the introduction of octagonal plan of baptistries). In these years he occupied, with the believers, the Basilica Portiana, to prevent it from being given to the arians, according to the will of Empress Justine. Then, to fight heresy and paganism, restored the martyrs cult, discovering the relics of Saints Gervasius and Protasius (386), Nazarius and Celsus (395).
Decisive also were the relationships between Emperor Theodosius and the bishop in the constitution of a confessional state, rigorously christian.
 The most meaningful moment of the influence of Ambrose on the figure of the Emperor was in 390, when a serious crisis of therelationships between city and barbarians burst to Thessalonica. The commander of the illyrian army had been killed by citizens because he had condemned to death a charioteer of the circus.  Than Theodosius ordered to his troops the punishment: was an horrendous massacre, that provoked the death of around 70000 citizens. Ambrose excommunicated Theodosius in consequence of the episode, showing the condition of the religious power against the political one; in fact, to be readmitted to the christian sacraments, the emperor must genuflect to his presence. Ambrose died in 397 A.D., April 4th, on Saturday of Passion. Cripta con il corpo di S.Ambrogio  Foto M.Bonazzi

Burial crypt in St.Ambrose basilica 

 

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Biografie di Ambrogio:

 

Ambrose's biographies:

www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/people_n2/persons3_n2/ambrose.html : perhaps the shortest online Ambrose's Life
www.evansville.edu/~ecoleweb/glossary/ambrose.html : this one too is very short
www.rc.net/org/monks/115.html : a brief narrative biography, ended with text (engl. transl.) of hymn Te Deum, pseudo-ambrosian
ccel.wheaton.edu/a/ambrose/ambrose.htm : biography short but with links to some writings
www.pottsville.com/st_ambrose/st_amb.htm : brief Life of praise
www2.gospelcom.net/chi/glimpses/twenysix.html : biography narrative and enphatic, ended with hymn Veni, redemptor gentium
www.ely.anglican.org/~sjk/lit2000/cal/m12/h07.html : didactic biography with various informations, about music in hymnography too
www.knight.org/advent/cathen/01383c.htm : Ambrose's Life of Catholic Encyclopedia
www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/AMBROSE.TXT : rich in information
www.catholicism.org/pages/leo.htm : in the first half of the essay you can read a narrative biography
www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/STAMBROS.TXT : one of the best, with many qotations from texts

 


 

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By J.de Gioia & N.Ganino (transl.: M.Frittoli)