Ambrose in Roman Biography Ambrose, Saint, sent am'broz, [Lat. Sanc'tus Ambro'sius ; Fr. Saint-Ambroise, saN'tflN'bRwaz',] one of the Latin Fathers, was born in Gaul, at Treves, it is supposed, about 340 A.D. His father, a Roman noble, was then praetorian prefect of Gaul. Ambrose was Governor of Liguria (a province of which Milan was the capital) in 374, when Auxentius, the Arian archbishop of Milan, died. In the attempt to elect a successor, the contest between the Catholics and the Arians was very fierce, and the presence of the governor was necessary to appease the tumult. He addressed them with such eloquence and power that the assembled people declared, with one voice, "Ambrose shall be bishop." He accepted the office with great reluctance, but afterwards fulfilled its duties with unequalled ability, zeal, and disinterestedness, He sided with the Catholics, and used all his efforts and influence for the suppression of Arianism. In 390 the emperor Theodosius, incensed at the insolent disobedience of some of the people of Thessalonica, ordered an indiscriminate massacre of all the inhabitants. Ambrose was greatly shocked at this crime ; and when, shortly after, the emperor was about to enter the church at Milan, the archbishop sternly forbade him. Theodosius submitted, and, besides undergoing various other humiliations, was at last obliged to perform public penance. Ambrose died in 397. He left, besides other works, a treatise " De Officiis," on the duties of Christian ministers, which was highly esteemed, and expositions of Scripture. He was the author of a method of singing known as the "Ambrosian Chant." "His Letters," says Villemain, "evince a man who, amidst the turbulence and instability of the empire, never had a foible nor stain on his character, whose magnanimity was adequate to all trials, and who in a more auspicious period would have placed himself by his writings in the rank of the first orators and the most noble geniuses." See Paulwus, "Vita Ambrosii ;" Godefroi Hermant, "Vie de Saint-Ambroise," 1678; J. P. Silbert, " Leben des heiligen Am brosius," 1841 ; Bakonius, "Annales;" "Saint-Ambroise; sa Vie el extraits de ses Merits," Lille, 1852 ; " Nouvelie Biographie Genera.e ;" "Encyclopaedia Britannica ;" Villemain, "Saint-Ambroise," Paris, 8vo, 1852.

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Ambrose in Wikipedia Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose (c. between 337 and 340 – 4 April 397), was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He is counted as one of the four original doctors of the Church. Life [edit]Political career Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about 337 and 340 and was raised in Trier.[2] His father was Ambrosius Aurelianus,[3] the praetorian prefect of Gaul;[1] 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.[4] 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. After the early death of his father, Ambrose followed his father's career. He was educated in Rome, studying literature, law, and rhetoric.[5] Praetor Anicius Probus first gave him a place in the council and then in about 372 made him consular prefect or "Governor" of Liguria and Emilia, with headquarters at Milan, which was then (beside Rome) the second capital in Italy.[1] Ambrose was the Governor of Aemilia-Liguria in northern Italy until 374 when he became the Bishop of Milan. He was a very popular political figure, and since he was the Governor in the effective capital in the Roman West, he was a recognizable figure in the court of the Emperor Valentinian I. Ambrose never married...

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