People - Ancient Rome: Ambrose Born Aurelius Ambrosius, he was a bishop of Milan.
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.
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...