Ambroise of Milan

See also: Ambroise

Holy Ambroise (340 - 397), bishop of Milan of 374 with 397 is one of the Latin Pères of the Church. It is known as a writer and a poet, quasi founder of the hymnodie Latin Christian woman and reader of Cicéron and of the Greek Fathers, of which it takes again the allegorical methods of interpretation. It is also one of the protagonists of the debates against the arianism. It is near him that Saint Augustin converts with the Christianisme. He is celebrated the December 7th.

Life

Ambroise would have been born with Trier in 340. He is the son of Ambrosius, Préfet of Rome and will become also Roman senior official in the imperial administration of the oldest son of Constantin.

According to the life of the saint by his Paulin secretary, it would have been put in its cradle in the room of the court. It slept there, when a swarm of bees occurred suddenly and covered with such kind its figure and its mouth which it seemed to enter its mouth and to leave there. The bees took then their flight and rose in the air with such a height that human eye was not able to distinguish them. His/her father was struck of this fact and was said: “If this small child saw, it will be something of large. ”

Arrived at adolescence, by seeing his/her mother, and his/her sister, who had devoted to God her virginity, to embrace the hand of the priest S, it offered by being played her line to her sister by it ensuring that she was to do as much of it. But she refused it to him as with a child and to somebody who knows only he says. After having learned the beautiful letters in Rome, he pled with glare of the causes in front of the court, and was sent by the emperor Valentinien Ier to take the government of the provinces of the Ligurie and the Emilie.

In Rome it receives an education which enables him to become lawyer. Then the prefect of the court of Illyricum, auprès of which he worked starting from 370, entrusts to him the administration of the province of Ligurie-Emilie, whose seat is in Milan.

In 374 it intervenes for this reason to restore the order at the time of the election of the successor of the bishop of tendency arienne, Auxence. Whereas he is not baptized yet, the two parties choose it like bishop. Its Hagiographe tells the episode as follows:

“It came to Milan whereas the episcopal see was vacant; the people were assembled to choose a bishop: but a great sedition rose between the Arien S and the catholics on the choice of the candidate; Ambroise came there to alleviate sedition, when suddenly was made hear the voice of a child who exclaimed: “Ambroise bishop. ” Then unanimously, all agreed to acclaim Ambroise bishop. When he had seen that, in order to divert the assembly of this choice which she had made of him, he left the church, went up on his court and, against its habit, he condemned to torments those which were marked. By seeing it thus acting, the people shouted nevertheless: “That your sin falls down on us. ” Then it was upset and returned at his place. He wanted to make profession of philosopher: but so that it did not succeed one made it revoke. It made enter at his place publicly of the loose women, so that while seeing them the people reconsidered his election; but considering that it did not come at its ends, and that the people always shouted: “That your sin falls down on us,” it conceived the thought to escape in the middle of the night. And at the time when he believed himself on the edge of Tessin, he was in the morning with a door of Milan, called the door of Rome. When it had been met, it was police custody by the people. One addressed a report/ratio to the very lenient Valentinien emperor, who learned with the greatest joy that one chose to fulfill the functions of priesthood those which it had sent to be judges. ”
Drawn from the life of the saint, by Paulin, his secretary.

Saint Ambroise occupied the episcopal see of Milan of 374 with 397. Skilfully and with force, it defends the rights of the Church vis-a-vis the Empereur, whose Milan is then the capital.

Works

Saint Ambroise composed of the anthems (8 stanzas of 4 short worms), introducing in Occident the liturgical song and giving him an “official” form. One continues to sing the anthems ambrosiennes in the Liturgie of the hours, and to compose of the Latin anthems according to his model.

One said of Ambroise who it was more one catechist that a theologist. It should be stressed that he was a large expert of the Greek patristic literature, of which he made use in his works.

It produced doctrinal writings, among which:

  • the Of officiis ministrorum , in 3 books, works of Christian ethics (allusion to the Of officiis of Cicéron), which will have a great influence;
  • Of sacramentis , work in four books, of the pre and post-baptismal catecheses on the Sacrament S of the Baptism, the Confirmation and the Eucharistie; the 4th book contains a Anaphore;
  • a treaty Of the mysteries ( Of mysteriis ): post-baptismal catecheses on the baptism;
  • a treaty Of the faith (i.e. on the Trinity; composed for Gratien in 376 and 379);
  • a treaty Of the Saint Spirit (in 381; inspired of that of Didyme the Blind man, dedicated to Gratien);
  • two books On penitence (towards 384), against Novatiens;
  • a Apology for David , where it tries to alleviate the scandal caused by the adultery of David and Bethsabée

One also preserved of Ambroise saint of the letters and the funeral orations (of Théodose Ier the Large one, of Valentinien II), as well as sermons on the Psalms and of the sermons on virginity .

See too

Barley beer saint Ambroise. beer of guard high fermentation to the honey of the small rock

Related articles

Biography

  • Paulin of Milan, Life of Ambroise .

  • H. Savon, Ambroise of Milan (340-397) , Desclée, Paris, 1997.

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