Ambrose

Ambrose of Milan (c. 339–397) was a Roman governor who became a bishop by popular acclamation and used his political skill and theological tenacity to reshape the relationship between Church and State in the Western Roman Empire. Born into an aristocratic Roman family in Trier (in modern-day Germany), where his father served as Praetorian Prefect of Gaul, Ambrose received a classical education in Rome and pursued a career in law and public administration. By his early thirties he had risen to consularis (governor) of the provinces of Aemilia-Liguria, with his seat in Milan — then the de facto capital of the Western Empire. When the Arian bishop of Milan died in 374, Ambrose intervened to keep order during the contentious episcopal election. To his astonishment, both the Arian and Nicene factions acclaimed him as bishop — despite the fact that he had not yet even been baptized. According to tradition, the acclamation was sparked by a child's voice crying out his name. As bishop, Ambrose became the most powerful churchman in the West. He successfully opposed Empress Justina's attempts to hand over Milanese basilicas to the Arian faction, and he worked to mediate the conflict between Emperors Theodosius I and Magnus Maximus. Most famously, in 390 he barred Theodosius from the cathedral in Milan and excommunicated him for ordering the massacre of thousands at Thessalonica, compelling the emperor to months of public penance. The assertion that a bishop could hold an emperor morally accountable set a precedent felt across subsequent centuries of Western history. Ambrose was also a prolific writer. His ethical treatise De Officiis Ministrorum (c. 377–391) adapted Cicero's moral philosophy for Christian clergy, and his Exameron (386–390) offered an extended biblical commentary on creation. He played a direct role in the conversion of Augustine of Hippo: Augustine credits Ambrose's preaching as instrumental in dissolving his intellectual objections to Christianity, and Ambrose baptized him at the Easter Vigil of 387. Ambrose composed hymns — at least four are securely his, including Splendor Paternae Gloriae — to teach Nicene doctrine to ordinary worshippers during the Arian controversy. Tradition credits him with introducing antiphonal chant to the Western Church, and the so-called Ambrosian chant bears his name, though modern scholars are cautious about the scope of this attribution. The Te Deum, long ascribed jointly to Ambrose and Augustine, is similarly now regarded by scholars as not his work. His securely attributed hymns nonetheless shaped the course of Latin liturgical music. Ambrose was declared one of the four original Great Latin Doctors of the Church in 1298, alongside Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great. He is venerated as patron of Milan and of beekeepers — the latter tied to the legend that a swarm of bees settled on his infant face, an omen of the eloquence that would define his life.