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{{Short description|Christian bishop and theologian (c. 339 – 397)}}
{{redirect |St. Ambrose|the university|St. Ambrose University|other uses|Ambrose (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = bishop
| honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
| name = Ambrose of Milan
| title = [[Bishop of Milan]]
| image = AmbroseOfMilan (cropped).jpg
| caption = Detail from possibly contemporary [[mosaic]] ({{c.|380}}–500) of Ambrose in the [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint Ambrose, in the Sacello di San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro |publisher=[[Artstor]] |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.16005573 |access-date=8 January 2021 }}</ref>
| church = 
| diocese = [[Archdiocese of Milan|Mediolanum]] (Milan)
| see = Mediolanum
| term_start = 374 AD
| term_end = 4 April 397
| predecessor = [[Auxentius of Milan|Auxentius]]
| successor = [[Simplician]]
<!---------- Orders ---------->
| ordination = 
| ordained_by = 
| consecration = 7 December 374
| consecrated_by = 
| rank = <!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name = Aurelius Ambrosius
| birth_date = {{c.|lk=no|339}}
| baptised = <!-- will not display if birth_date is entered -->
| birth_place = [[Augusta Treverorum]], [[Gallia Belgica]], [[Roman Empire]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|397|4|4|340}}
| death_place = [[Mediolanum]], [[Roman Italy|Italia]], Western Roman Empire 
| buried = Crypt of the [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]]
| religion = Christian
| module = {{Infobox theologian
| embed=yes
| notable_works      = {{ublist|''De officiis ministrorum'' (377–391)|{{ill|v=ib|Exameron|it|lt=''Exameron''}} (386–390)|''De obitu Theodosii'' (395)}}
| era                = [[Patristic Age]]
| tradition_movement = [[Trinitarianism]]
| main_interests     = [[Christian ethics]] and [[mariology]]
| notable_ideas      = Anti-paganism, [[mother of the Church]]{{sfn|Sharkey|Weinandy|2009|p=208}}
}}
<!---------- Sainthood ---------->
| feast_day = 7 December
| venerated = {{ublist|[[Catholic Church]]|[[Eastern Orthodox Churches]]|[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]|[[Anglican Communion]]}}
| saint_title = [[Doctor of the Church]]
| beatified_date = 
| beatified_place = 
| beatified_by = 
| canonized_date = 
| canonized_place = 
| canonized_by = 
| attributes = 
| patronage = Milan and [[beekeeper]]s{{sfn|Brown|2021}}
{{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|''Other patronage''}}
|Bakers of honeybread, bees, bishops, candlemakers, [[Chandler (occupation)|chandlers]], domestic animals, the French [[Commissariat]], geese, [[gingerbread]] makers, learning, schoolchildren, [[stone mason]]s, students, wax melters and [[Bologna]]{{sfn|Guiley|2001|p=16}}
}}
| shrine = [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]]
}}

'''Ambrose of Milan''' ({{langx|la|Aurelius Ambrosius}}; {{circa|339}}{{snd}}4 April 397), canonized as '''Saint Ambrose''',{{efn|{{langx|it|Sant'Ambrogio}} {{IPA|it|ˌsantamˈbrɔːdʒo|}}; {{langx|lmo|Sant Ambroeus}} {{IPA|lmo|ˌsãːt ãˈbrøːs|}}.}} was a theologian and statesman who served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan|Bishop of Milan]] from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting [[Nicene Christianity]] against [[Arianism]] and [[paganism]].{{sfn|McKinnon|2001}} He left a substantial collection of writings, of which the best known include the ethical commentary ''De officiis ministrorum'' (377–391), and the [[exegetical]] {{ill|Exameron|it|lt=''Exameron''}} (386–390). His preaching, his actions and his literary works, in addition to his innovative musical hymnography, made him one of the most influential [[ecclesiastical]] figures of the 4th century.

Ambrose was serving as the [[Roman governor]] of [[Emilia (region)|Aemilia]]-[[Liguria (Roman province)|Liguria]] in Milan when he was unexpectedly made Bishop of Milan in 374 by popular acclamation. As bishop, he took a firm position against Arianism and attempted to mediate the conflict between the emperors [[Theodosius I]] and [[Magnus Maximus]]. Tradition credits Ambrose with developing an [[antiphon]]al chant, known as [[Ambrosian chant]], and for composing the "[[Te Deum]]" hymn, though modern scholars now reject both of these attributions. Ambrose's authorship on at least four hymns, including the well-known "[[Veni redemptor gentium]]", is secure; they form the core of the [[Ambrosian hymns]], which includes others that are sometimes attributed to him. He also had a notable influence on [[Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430), whom he helped convert to Christianity.

[[Western Christianity]] identified Ambrose, along with [[Augustine]], [[Jerome]] and pope [[Gregory the Great]], as one of the four Great Latin [[Church Fathers]],<ref>{{cite book|author=William Dool KILLEN|title=The Old Catholic: Or the History, Doctrine, Worship, and Polity of the Christians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bQuV3kJWKAsC&dq=four+great+fathers++Augustine++Jerome++Gregory&pg=PA90|year=1871|publisher=T T Clark Edinburgh|isbn=978-0-85323-479-1|page=90}}</ref> declared [[Doctor of the Church|Doctors of the Church]] in 1298.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bardenhewer |first1=Otto |author1-link=Otto Bardenhewer |translator-last=Shahan |translator-first=Thomas J. |translator-link=Thomas Joseph Shahan |title=Patrology: The Lives and Works of the Fathers of the Church |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOgGAQAAIAAJ |date=1908 |publisher=B. Herder |location=[[St. Louis, Missouri]] |page=3|isbn=978-1-4699-8884-9 }}</ref> He is considered a [[saint]] by the [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Anglican Communion]], and various [[Lutheran]] denominations, and venerated as the [[patron saint]] of Milan and [[beekeeper]]s.

== Background and career ==
{{See also|Christianization of the Roman Empire as diffusion of innovation}}
<gallery>
Image:Sant'Ambrogio (Pacher).jpg|Painting by Michael Pacher
Image:AmbroseStatue.png|Engraving of a statue of Ambrose
Image:AugustineBaptism.jpg|Fresco of Ambrose baptizing [[Saint Augustine]], by [[Benozzo Gozzoli]]
</gallery>

Legends about Ambrose had spread through [[Roman Empire|the empire]] long before his biography was written, making it difficult for modern historians to understand his true character and fairly place his behaviour within the context of antiquity. Most agree he was the personification of his era.{{sfn|Smith|2021|p=5}}{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=ix}} This would make Ambrose a genuinely spiritual man who spoke up and defended his faith against opponents, an aristocrat who retained many of the attitudes and practices of a [[Roman governor]], and also an ascetic who served the poor.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|pp=ix-x, 1-2}}

=== Early life ===
[[File:Altare di s. ambrogio, 824-859 ca., retro di vuolvino, storie di sant'ambrogio 06 miracolo delle api.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Relief]] by [[Vuolvino]] depicting Ambrose as a child while bees swarm his crib. His father is on the right of the image while the sky has three clouds "sending forth flames".{{sfn|Paredi|1964|pp=442–443}} The relief is from the [[Altar of Sant'Ambrogio]] in the [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]].]]

Ambrose was born into a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Christians|Christian]] family, of [[Greeks|Greek]] descent,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramsey |first=Boniface |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DM9tPXQTRBEC&pg=PA18 |title=Ambrose |date=1997 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-11841-5 |series=Early Church Fathers |pages=18 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boucheron |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NLdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 |title=Trace and Aura: The Recurring Lives of St. Ambrose of Milan |date=2022 |publisher=Other Press, LLC |isbn=978-1-63542-007-4 |pages=37 |language=en}}</ref> in the year 339.{{sfn|Cvetković |2019|p=44}} Ambrose himself wrote that he was 53 years old in his letter number 49, which has been dated to 392. He began life in Augusta Treverorum (modern [[Trier]]) the capital of the Roman province of [[Gallia Belgica]] in what was then northeastern [[Gaul]] and is now in the [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] in Germany.{{sfn|Loughlin|1907}} Scholars disagree on who exactly his father was. His father is sometimes identified with Aurelius Ambrosius,{{sfn|Greenslade|1956|p=175}}{{efn|"S. Paulinus in ''Vit. Ambr. 3'' has the following: ''posito in administratione prefecture Galliarum patre eius Ambrosio natus est Ambrosius''. From this, practically all of Ambrose's biographers have concluded that Ambrose's father was a praetorian prefect in Gaul. This is the only evidence we have, however, that there ever was an Ambrose as prefect in Gaul."{{sfn|Paredi|1964|p=380}}}} a [[Praetorian prefecture of Gaul|praetorian prefect of Gaul]];{{Sfn | Attwater | John | 1993}} but some scholars identify his father as an official named Uranius who received an [[Constitution (Roman law)|imperial constitution]] dated 3 February 339 (addressed in a brief extract from one of the three emperors ruling in 339, [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], [[Constantius II]], or [[Constans]], in the ''[[Codex Theodosianus]]'', book XI.5).{{sfn|Barnes|2011|pp=45–46}}{{sfn|Cvetković |2019|p= 44–46}} What does seem certain is that Ambrose was born in Trier and his father was either the praetorian prefect or part of his administration.{{sfn|Cvetković |2019|p= 46}}

A legend about Ambrose as an infant recounts that a swarm of [[bee]]s settled on his face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van der Nat |first1=P. G. |last2=Hamman |first2=Adalberto |date=March 1971 |title=Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Latina. Supplementum, Volumen IV |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1583516 |journal=Vigiliae Christianae |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=76 |doi=10.2307/1583516 |jstor=1583516 |issn=0042-6032|url-access=subscription }}</ref> His father is said to have considered this a [[Christian symbolism|sign]] of his future eloquence and honeyed tongue. Bees and [[beehive]]s often appear in the [[saint symbolism|saint's symbology]].{{sfn|Thornton|1879|p=15}}

Ambrose's mother was a woman of intellect and piety.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=798}} It was probable that she was a member of the Roman family ''Aurelii Symmachi'',{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=50}} which would make Ambrose a cousin of the orator [[Quintus Aurelius Symmachus]].{{sfn|Cvetković |2019|p=55–57}} The family had produced one martyr (the virgin [[Soteris]]) in its history.{{sfn|Cvetković |2019|p=52}} Ambrose was the youngest of three children. His siblings were [[Satyrus of Milan|Satyrus]], the subject of Ambrose's ''De excessu fratris Satyri'',<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90298 | title = Santi Beati | place = Italy | language = it}}</ref> and [[Saint Marcellina|Marcellina]], who made a [[Consecrated virgin|profession of virginity]] sometime between 352 and 355; [[Pope Liberius]] himself conferred the veil upon her.{{sfn|Mediolanensis|2005|p=6}} Both Ambrose's siblings also became venerated as saints.

Sometime early in the life of Ambrose, his father died. At an unknown later date, his mother left Trier with her three children, and the family moved to Rome.{{sfn|Cvetković |2019|p=49}}<ref>{{CE1913 |inline=1 |last=Loughlin |first=James Francis |wstitle=St. Ambrose |volume=1 |ref=none}}</ref> There Ambrose studied [[literature]], [[law]], and [[rhetoric]].{{sfn|Cvetković |2019|p= 52}} He then followed in his father's footsteps and entered public service. [[Praetorian prefecture of Italy|Praetorian Prefect]] [[Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus]] first gave him a place as a judicial councillor,<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = McSherry
 |first1               = James
 |title                = Outreach and Renewal: A First-millennium Legacy for the Third-millennium Church
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=pGDQ_OKdtDgC
 |series               = Cistercian studies series, 236
 |year = 2011
 |location             = Collegeville, Minnesota
 |publisher            = Liturgical Press
 |publication-date     = 2011
 |page                 = 19
 |isbn                 = 9780879072360
 |quote                = An accomplished orator and legal advocate, Ambrose was appointed to the Judicial Council by Probus, Praetorian Prefect of Italy. 
}} 
</ref> and then in about 372 made him [[Roman governor|governor]] of the [[Roman province|province]] of [[Liguria (Roman province)|Liguria]] and [[Aemilia (Roman province)|Emilia]], with headquarters in Milan.{{Sfn | Attwater | John | 1993 | p=37}}{{sfn|Sparavigna|2016|p=2}}{{failed verification |date=July 2024 |reason=Neither Liguria, Aemilia, or Ambrose' governorship, let alone in 372, are mentioned on p 2}}

=== Bishop of Milan ===
In 374 [[Auxentius of Milan|the bishop of Milan, Auxentius]], an Arian, died, and the Arians challenged the [[Apostolic succession|succession]]. Ambrose went to the church where the election was to take place to prevent an uproar which seemed probable in this crisis. His address was interrupted by a call, "Ambrose, bishop!", which was taken up by the whole assembly.{{Sfn | Butler | 1991 | p = 407}}

Ambrose, though known to be [[Nicene Christian]] in belief, was considered acceptable to Arians due to the charity he had shown concerning their beliefs. At first, he energetically refused the office of bishop, for which he felt he was in no way prepared: Ambrose was a relatively new Christian who was not yet baptized nor formally trained in [[Christian theology|theology]].{{Sfn | Attwater | John | 1993}} Ambrose fled to a colleague's home, seeking to hide. Upon receiving a letter from the Emperor [[Gratianus|Gratian]] praising the appropriateness of Rome appointing individuals worthy of holy positions, Ambrose's host gave him up. Within a week, he was baptized, ordained and duly consecrated as the new bishop of [[Milan]]. This was the first time in the West that a member of the upper class of high officials had accepted the office of bishop.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=57}}

As bishop, he immediately adopted an ascetic lifestyle, apportioned his money to the poor, donating all of his land, making only provision for his sister [[Saint Marcellina|Marcellina]]. While Bishop of Milan, Ambrose carefully cultivated practices that respected local customs and that reflected his spiritual beliefs. He understood the link between a religious leader's life and their ability to model morality for congregants. In his work ''De Officiis'' (377–391), he asked, "How can you consider a man to be better than you when it comes to giving advice if you see that he is worse than you when it comes to morality?"<ref>(De Officiis 2.12.62)</ref> His humble and upright ways raised his standing among his people even further; it was his popularity with the people that gave him considerable political leverage throughout his career. Upon the unexpected appointment of Ambrose to the episcopate, his brother Satyrus resigned a [[prefecture]] in order to move to Milan, where he took over managing the diocese's temporal affairs.{{sfn|Loughlin|1907}}

=== Arianism ===
[[Arius]] (died 336) was a Christian priest who around the year 300 asserted that [[God the Father]] must have created [[God the Son|the Son]], indicating that the Son was a lesser being who was not eternal and of a different "essence" from God the Father. This [[Christology]], though contrary to tradition, quickly spread through Egypt, Libya and other Roman provinces.{{sfn|Kaye|1853|p=33}} Bishops engaged in the dispute, and the people divided into parties, sometimes demonstrating in the streets in support of one side or the other.{{sfn|Kaye|1853|p=5}}

Arianism appealed to many high-level leaders and clergy in both the [[Western Roman Empire|Western]] and [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern]] empires. Although the western Emperor [[Gratian]] ({{reign | 367 | 383}}) supported orthodoxy, his younger half brother [[Valentinian II]], who became his colleague in the empire in 375, adhered to the Arian creed.{{Sfn | Butler | 1991 | p = 408}} Ambrose sought to refute Arian propositions theologically, but Ambrose did not sway the young prince's position.{{Sfn | Butler | 1991 | p = 408}} In the East, Emperor [[Theodosius I]] ({{reign | 379 | 395|show=none}}) likewise professed the Nicene creed; but there were many adherents of Arianism throughout his dominions,{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=798}} especially among the higher clergy.
[[File:Unknown artist St Ambrose of Milan capella palatina palazzo dei normann a palermo palermo sicily italy circa 1140.jpg|thumb|Mosaic of Saint Ambrose from the [[Cappella Palatina]] in [[Palermo]], Italy (1140).]]
In this state of religious ferment, two leaders of the Arians, bishops [[Palladius of Ratiaria]] and Secundianus of [[Singidunum]], confident of numbers, prevailed upon Gratian to call a general council from all parts of the empire. This request appeared so equitable that Gratian complied without hesitation. However, Ambrose feared the consequences and prevailed upon the emperor to have the matter determined by a council of the Western bishops. Accordingly, a [[Council of Aquileia, 381|synod]] composed of thirty-two bishops was held at [[Aquileia]] in the year 381. Ambrose was elected president and Palladius, being called upon to defend his opinions, declined. A vote was then taken and Palladius and his associate Secundianus were deposed from their episcopal offices.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=798}}

Ambrose struggled with Arianism for over half of his term in the episcopate.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|pp=6–7|ps=: "By Ambrose's day [Arianism] was in slow decline but far from having breathed its last: Ambrose's struggles with it occupied his energies for more than half of his term as bishop."}} Ecclesiastical unity was important to the church, but it was no less important to the state, and as a Roman, Ambrose felt strongly about that.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=37}} Conflict over heresies loomed large in an age of religious ferment comparable to the Reformation of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Ramsey|2002|p=6}}: "[...] the history of the early Church [...] was [...] a golden age of religious ferment and controversy such as - it could well be argued - would not be seen again until the Reformation, more than a millennium later.</ref> Orthodox Christianity was determining how to define itself as it faced multiple challenges on both a theological and a practical level,{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|pp=7–8|ps=: "In the face of all these rivals orthodox Christianity was not an impassive object. In reacting to them it defined itself and assumed more and more of the contours that we recognize today."}} and Ambrose exercised crucial influence at a crucial time.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=5|ps=: "The task that lay before the Christian leadership was [...] to replace one form of the sacred with another. The fourth century was above all the moment when this replacement was being orchestrated, and the role that Ambrose played in the process was crucial.}}

=== Imperial relations ===
Ambrose had good relations and varying levels of influence with the [[Roman emperor]]s [[Gratian]], [[Valentinian II]] and [[Theodosius I]], but exactly how much influence, what kind of influence, and in what ways, when, has been debated in the scholarship of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=79}}{{sfn|Nicholson|2018|p=xv}}{{sfn|Salzman|Sághy|Testa|2016|p=2}}

====Gratian====
It has long been convention to see Gratian and Ambrose as having a personal friendship, putting Ambrose in the dominant role of spiritual guide, but modern scholars now find this view hard to support from the sources.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=79–80}} The ancient Christian historian [[Sozomen]] ({{circa|400|450}}) is the only ancient source that shows Ambrose and Gratian together in any personal interaction. In that interaction, Sozomen relates that, in the last year of Gratian's reign, Ambrose intruded on Gratian's private hunting party in order to appeal on behalf of a pagan senator sentenced to die. After years of acquaintance, according to professor Neil B. McLynn, this indicates that Ambrose could not take for granted that Gratian would see him, so instead, Ambrose had to resort to such manoeuvrings to make his appeal.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=80}}

Gratian was personally devout long before meeting Ambrose.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=79–80, 87}} Modern scholarship indicates Gratian's religious policies do not evidence capitulation to Ambrose more than they evidence Gratian's own views.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=80}} Gratian's devotion did lead Ambrose to write a large number of books and letters of theology and spiritual commentary dedicated to the emperor. The sheer volume of these writings and the effusive praise they contain has led many historians to conclude that Gratian was dominated by Ambrose, and it was that dominance that produced Gratian's anti-pagan actions.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=80}} McLynn asserts that effusive praises were common in everyone's correspondence with the crown. He adds that Gratian's actions were determined by the constraints of the system as much as "by his own initiatives or Ambrose's influence".{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=80}}

McLynn asserts that the largest influence on Gratian's policy was the profound change in political circumstances produced by the [[Battle of Adrianople]] in 378.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=80,90;105}} Gratian had become involved in fighting the Goths the previous year and had been on his way to the Balkans when his uncle and the "cream of the eastern army" were destroyed at Adrianople. Gratian withdrew to [[Sirmium]] and set up his court there.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=90}} Several rival groups, including the Arians, sought to secure benefits from the government at Sirmium.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=90}} In an Arian attempt to undermine Ambrose, whom Gratian had not yet met, Gratian was "warned" that Ambrose's faith was suspect. Gratian took steps to investigate by writing to Ambrose and asking him to explain his faith.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=98}}

Ambrose and Gratian first met, after this, in 379 during a visit to Milan. The bishop made a good impression on Gratian and his court, which was pervasively Christian and aristocratic – much like Ambrose himself.{{Efn|Two laws were recorded from this time. One of these cancelled the "law of toleration" Gratian had previously issued at Sirmium. This toleration allowed freedom of worship to all with the exception of the heretical [[Manichaeism|Manichaeans]], [[Photinians]] and [[Eunomians]].{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=91}} The law cancelling this has been presented in previous scholarship as proof of Ambrose's influence over Gratian, but the law's target was [[Donatism]] which had failed to be listed in the exceptions. There is no evidence to support Ambrose as having had anything to do with this restatement since sanctions against Donatism had existed since Constantine.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=100-102}} }} The emperor returned to Milan in 380 to find that Ambrose had complied with his request for a statement of his faith – in two volumes – known as ''De Fide'': a statement of orthodoxy and of Ambrose' political theology, as well as a polemic against the Arian heresy – intended for public discussion.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=103-105}} The emperor had not asked to be instructed by Ambrose, and in ''De Fide'' Ambrose states this clearly. Nor was he asked to refute the Arians. He was asked to justify his own position, but in the end, he did all three.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=98-99}}

It seems that by 382 Ambrose had replaced [[Ausonius]] to become a major influence in Gratian's court. Ambrose had not yet become the "conscience" of kings he would in the later 380s, but he did speak out against reinstating the [[Altar of Victory]].{{sfn|Trout|1999|p=50}} In 382, Gratian was the first to divert public financial subsidies that had previously supported Rome's cults. Before that year, contributions in support of the ancient customs had continued unchallenged by the state.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=68}}

====Valentinian II====
The childless Gratian had treated his younger brother Valentinian II like a son.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=104}} Ambrose, on the other hand, had incurred the lasting enmity of Valentinian II's mother, the Empress [[Justina (empress)|Justina]], in the winter of 379 by helping to appoint a Nicene bishop in Sirmium. Not long after this, Valentinian II, his mother, and the court left Sirmium; Sirmium had come under Theodosius' control, so they went to Milan which was ruled by Gratian.{{sfn|Liebeschuetz|Hill|Mediolanensis|2005|p=129}}

In 383 Gratian was assassinated at [[Lyon]], in Gaul (France) by [[Magnus Maximus]]. Valentinian II was twelve years old, and the assassination left his mother, Justina, in a position of something akin to a regent.{{sfn|Liebeschuetz|Hill|Mediolanensis|2005|pp=129-130}} In 385 (or 386) the emperor Valentinian II and his mother Justina, along with a considerable number of [[clergy]], the [[laity]], and the military, professed Arianism.{{Sfn | Butler | 1991 | p = 408}} Conflict between Ambrose and Justina soon followed.
[[File:Athonite Fresco Icon of Saint Ambrose of Milan.jpg|thumb|Fresco of Saint Ambrose from [[Mount Athos]].]]
The Arians demanded that Valentinian II allocate to them two churches in [[Milan]]: one in the city (the [[Basilica]] of the Apostles), the other in the suburbs (St Victor's).{{Sfn | Butler | 1991 | p = 408}} Ambrose refused to surrender the churches. He answered by saying that "What belongs to God, is outside the emperor's power." In this, Ambrose called on an ancient Roman principle: a temple set apart to a god became the [[property]] of that god. Ambrose now applied this ancient legal principle to the Christian churches, seeing the bishop, as a divine representative, as guardian of his god's property.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|pp=79-80}}

Subsequently, while Ambrose was performing the [[Liturgy of the Hours]] in the basilica, the prefect of the city came to persuade him to give it up to the Arians. Ambrose again refused. Certain deans (officers of the court) were sent to take possession of the basilica by hanging upon it imperial escutcheons.{{sfn|Butler|1991|p= 408}}{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}} Instead, soldiers from the ranks the emperor had placed around the basilica began pouring into the church, assuring Ambrose of their fidelity. The escutcheons outside the church were removed, and legend says the children tore them to shreds.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|pp=79-80}}

Ambrose refused to surrender the basilica, and sent sharp answers back to his emperor: "If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death, I will not resist; but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succour me; I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it. The tumult of the people I will not encourage: but God alone can appease it."{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}} By Thursday, the emperor gave in, bitterly responding: "Soon, if Ambrose gives the orders, you will be sending me to him in chains."{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p= 80}}

In 386, Justina and Valentinian II received the Arian bishop [[Auxentius of Durostorum|Auxentius the younger]], and Ambrose was again ordered to hand over a church in Milan for Arian usage. Ambrose and his congregation barricaded themselves inside the church, and again the imperial order was rescinded.{{sfn|CAH|1998|page = 106}} There was an attempted kidnapping, and another attempt to arrest him and to force him to leave the city.{{sfn|Liebeschuetz|Hill|Mediolanensis|2005|p=130}} Several accusations were made, but unlike in the case of [[John Chrysostom]], no formal charges were brought. The emperor certainly had the power to do so, and probably did not solely because of Ambrose's popularity with the people and what they might do.{{sfn|Liebeschuetz|Hill|Mediolanensis|2005|p=131}}

When [[Magnus Maximus]] usurped power in [[Gaul]] (383) and was considering a descent upon Italy, Valentinian II sent Ambrose to dissuade him, and the embassy was successful (384).{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}} A second, later embassy was unsuccessful. Magnus Maximus entered [[Italy]] (386–387) and [[Milan]] was taken. Justina and her son fled, but Ambrose remained and had the plate of the church melted for the relief of the poor.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}}

Magnus Maximus's entry into Italy and the emperor's flight to the east left his coemperor Theodosius little choice but to reply in force. After defeating the usurper at Aquileia in 388, Theodosius returned with the restored emperor to Milan, where he likely met Ambrose for the first time. As Valentinian II was only seventeen years old, Theodosius remained in Italy for a time to ensure the western half of the empire was stable. He appointed his trusted [[Franks|Frankish]] general, [[Arbogast (magister militum)|Arbogast]], as ''magister militum''. Tensions between Arbogast and Valentinian II quickly escalated until Valentinian II was found hanged in his bedchamber by apparent [[History of suicide|suicide]]. Because the young emperor had recently been in a public confrontation with Arbogast, contemporary sources and [[Valentinian II#Death|historians]] have been unable to definitively determine whether Valentinian II's death was suicide or murder.

Ambrose performed the funeral for Valentinian II and his eulogy is the only contemporary Western source for Valentinian II's death. The eulogy makes reference to the heavy yoke of duties the emperor carried and the ignorance of youth, in which God might find forgiveness for sins.<ref>''De obitu Valentiniani consolatio''</ref> While never directly touching on the possibility of suicide, such themes may have been intended to comfort his Christian audience, for whom suicide was a sin.

====Theodosius====
{{See also|Massacre of Thessalonica}}
While Ambrose was writing ''De Fide'', Theodosius published his own statement of faith in 381 in an edict establishing Nicene Christianity as the only legitimate version of the Christian faith. There is unanimity amongst scholars that this represents the emperor's own beliefs.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=106-110}} The aftermath of the death (378) of [[Valens]] (Emperor in the East from 364 to 378) had left many questions for the church unresolved, and Theodosius' edict can be seen as an effort to begin addressing those questions.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=108}} Theodosius' natural generosity was tempered by his pressing need to establish himself and to publicly assert his personal piety.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=109}}

On 28 February 380, Theodosius issued the [[Edict of Thessalonica]], a decree addressed to the city of [[Constantinople]], determining that only Christians who did not support Arian views were [[Catholicity|catholic]] and could have their places of worship officially recognized as "churches".{{sfn|Errington|2006|p=217}}{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=37}}{{efn|Recent scholarship has tended to reject former views that the edict was a key step in establishing Christianity as the official religion of the empire since it was aimed exclusively at Constantinople and seems to have gone largely unnoticed by contemporaries outside the capital.{{sfn|Errington|1997|pp=410–415}}{{sfn|Hebblewhite|p=82}} Nonetheless, the edict is the first known secular Roman law to positively assert a religious orthodoxy.{{sfn|Errington|2006|p=217}}}} The Edict opposed [[Arianism]], and attempted to establish unity in Christianity and to suppress heresy.{{sfn|Sáry|2019|p=73}} German ancient historian {{ill|Karl Leo Noethlichs|de}} writes that the Edict of Thessalonica was neither anti-pagan nor [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]]; it did not declare Christianity to be the official religion of the empire; and it gave no advantage to Christians over other faiths.{{sfn|Sáry|2019|pp=72–74; fn. 32, 33, 34; 77}}

Liebeschuetz and Hill indicate that it was not until after 388, during Theodosius' stay in Milan following the defeat of Maximus in 388, that Theodosius and Ambrose first met.{{sfn|Liebeschuetz|Hill|Mediolanensis|2005|p=17}} 
[[File:Anthonis van Dyck 005.jpg|thumb|''[[Saint Ambrose barring Theodosius from Milan Cathedral]]'' a "pious fiction"{{sfn|Chesnut|1981|p=245-252}} painted in 1619 by [[Anthony van Dyck]]. [[National Gallery, London]]]]
After the [[Massacre of Thessalonica]] in 390, Theodosius made an act of public penance at Ambrose's behest.{{sfn|Herrin|1987|p=64}} Ambrose was away from court during the events at Thessalonica, but after being informed of them, he wrote Theodosius a letter.{{sfn|Liebeschuetz|Hill|Mediolanensis|2005|pp=262}} In that still-existing letter, Ambrose presses for a semi-public demonstration of penitence from the emperor, telling him that, as his bishop, he will not give Theodosius communion until it is done. [[Wolf Liebeschuetz]] says "Theodosius duly complied and came to church without his imperial robes, until Christmas, when Ambrose openly admitted him to communion".{{sfn|Liebeschuetz|Hill|Mediolanensis|2005|pp=262-263}}

Formerly, some scholars credited Ambrose with having an undue influence over Emperor Theodosius I, from this period forward, prompting him toward major anti-pagan legislation beginning in February of 391.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=331}}{{sfn|Errington|1997|p=425}}{{sfn|Curran|1998|pp=78-110}} However, this interpretation has been heavily disputed since the late-twentieth century. McLynn argues that Theodosius's anti-pagan legislation was too limited in scope for it to be of interest to the bishop.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|pp=330–333}}{{sfn|Hebblewhite|2020a|p=intro}} The fabled encounter at the door of the cathedral in Milan, with Ambrose as the mitred prelate braced, blocking Theodosius from entering, which has sometimes been seen as evidence of Ambrose' dominance over Theodosius, has been debunked by modern historians as "a pious fiction".{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=291}}{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=63, 64}} There was no encounter at the church door.{{sfn|Brown|1992|p=111}}{{sfn|Moorhead|2014|p=3, 13}}{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=60, 63, 131}}{{sfn|MacMullen|1984|p=100}} The story is a product of the imagination of [[Theodoret]], a historian of the fifth century who wrote of the events of 390 "using his own ideology to fill the gaps in the historical record".{{sfn|Washburn|2006|p=215}}

The twenty-first-century view is that Ambrose was "not a power behind the throne".{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=291}} The two men did not meet each other frequently, and documents that reveal the relationship between the two are less about personal friendship than they are about negotiations between two formidable leaders of the powerful institutions they represent: the Roman State and the Italian Church.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|pp=291–292;330–333}} Cameron says there is no evidence that Ambrose was a significant influence on the emperor.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=63–64}}

For centuries after his death, Theodosius was regarded as a champion of Christian orthodoxy who decisively stamped out paganism. This view was recorded by Theodoret, who is recognized as an unreliable historian, in the century following their deaths.{{sfn|Errington|1997|p=409}} Theodosius's predecessors [[Constantine I|Constantine]] ({{reign | 306 | 337}}), [[Constantius II|Constantius]] ({{reign | 337 | 361|show=none}}), and [[Valens]] had all been [[semi-Arian]]s. Therefore, it fell to the orthodox Theodosius to receive from Christian literary tradition most of the credit for the final triumph of Christianity.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|p=74 (and note 177)}} Modern scholars see this as an interpretation of history by orthodox Christian writers more than as a representation of actual history.{{sfn|Nicholson|2018|pp=1482, 1484}}{{sfn|Errington|2006|pp=248–249}}{{sfn|Cameron|2011|p=74}}{{sfn|Hebblewhite|loc=chapter 8}} The view of a pious Theodosius submitting meekly to the authority of the church, represented by Ambrose, is part of the myth that evolved within a generation of their deaths.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|p=292}}

===Later years and death===
[[File:Sant'Ambrogio Cript in Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan.jpg|thumb|240px|Embossed silver urn with the body of Ambrose (with white vestments) in the crypt of Sant'Ambrose, with the skeletons of Gervase and Protase|alt=]]
In April 393 [[Arbogast (magister militum)|Arbogast]] (''magister militum'' of the West) and his puppet Emperor [[Eugenius]] marched into Italy to consolidate their position against [[Theodosius I]] and his son, [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]], now appointed Augustus to govern the western portion of the empire. Arbogast and Eugenius courted Ambrose's support by very obliging letters; but before they arrived at Milan, he had retired to Bologna, where he assisted at the [[Translation (relic)|translation of the relics]] of [[Saints Vitalis and Agricola]]. From there he went to Florence, where he remained until Eugenius withdrew from Milan to meet Theodosius in the [[Battle of the Frigidus]] in early September 394.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.bartleby.com/210/12/071.html |title= Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Confessor, Doctor of the Church. December 7. Rev. Alban Butler. 1866. Volume XII: December. The Lives of the Saints |website=www.bartleby.com |access-date=10 June 2019}}</ref>

Soon after acquiring the undisputed possession of the [[Roman Empire]], Theodosius died at Milan in 395, and Ambrose gave the eulogy.{{sfn|Norwich|1989|p=116}} Two years later (4 April 397) Ambrose also died. He was succeeded as bishop of Milan by [[Simplician]].{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}} Ambrose's body may still be viewed in the [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio|church of Saint Ambrogio]] in Milan, where it has been continuously venerated&nbsp;– along with the bodies identified in his time as being those of [[Gervasius and Protasius|Saints Gervase and Protase]].

==Feast day==
Ambrose is [[General Roman Calendar|remembered]] in the calendar of the [[Roman Rite]] of the [[Catholic Church]] on 7 December, and is also honoured in the [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Church of England]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]] on 7 December.<ref>{{Cite web |title= The Calendar |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar |access-date= 27 March 2021 |website= The Church of England |language=en}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=17 December 2019 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref> [[Pope Paul VI]], who had also served as bishop in Milan, closed the [[Second Vatican Council]] on 7 December 1965, noting that Ambrose's feast was celebrated that day.<ref>Pope Paul VI, [https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1965/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19651207_epilogo-concilio.html Address of Pope Paul VI during the last General Meeting of the Second Vatican Council], published on 7 December 1965, accessed on 14 October 2025</ref>

== Character ==
In 1994, Neil B. McLynn wrote a complex study of Ambrose that focused on his politics and was intended to "demonstrate that Ambrose viewed community as a means to acquire personal political power". Subsequent studies of how Ambrose handled his episcopal responsibilities, his Nicene theology and his dealings with the Arians in his episcopate, his pastoral care, his commitment to community, and his personal asceticism, have mitigated this view.{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=3-4}}{{sfn|Mediolanensis|2005|pp=4-5}} 
[[File:Museo del Duomo - Milan - St Ambrose of Milan - Unknown Lombard author (early 17 century).jpg|thumb|200px|Statue of Saint Ambrose with a scourge in Museo del Duomo, Milan. Unknown Lombard author, early 17th century.]]
All of Ambrose's writings are works of advocacy for Nicene Christianity, and even his political views and actions were closely related to his religion.{{sfn|Mediolanensis|2005|p=5}} He was rarely, if ever, concerned about simply recording what had happened; he did not write to reveal his inner thoughts and struggles; he wrote to advocate for his God.{{sfn|Mediolanensis|2005|p=4}} Boniface Ramsey writes that it is difficult "not to posit a deep spirituality in a man" who wrote on the mystical meanings of the ''Song of Songs'' and wrote many extraordinary hymns.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|pp=ix-x}} Despite an abiding spirituality, Ambrose had a generally straightforward manner, and a practical rather than a speculative tendency in his thinking.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=1}} ''De Officiis'' is a utilitarian guide for his clergy in their daily ministry in the Milanese church rather than "an intellectual ''tour de force''".{{sfn|Davidson|1995|p=315}}

Christian faith in the third century developed the monastic lifestyle which subsequently spread into the rest of Roman society in a general practice of virginity, voluntary poverty and self-denial for religious reasons. This lifestyle was embraced by many new converts, including Ambrose, even though they did not become actual monks.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=9}}

The bishops of this era had heavy administrative responsibilities, and Ambrose was also sometimes occupied with imperial affairs, but he still fulfilled his primary responsibility to care for the well-being of his flock. He preached and celebrated the Eucharist multiple times a week, sometimes daily, and dealt directly with the needs of the poor, as well as widows and orphans, "virgins" (nuns), and his own clergy. He replied to letters personally, practised hospitality, and made himself available to the people.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|pp=5-6}} 
[[File:Saint Ambrose in His Study 1.jpg|thumb|''Saint Ambrose in His Study'', {{circa|lk=no|1500}}. Spanish, Palencia. Wood with traces of polychromy. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York City.]]
Ambrose had the ability to maintain good relationships with all kinds of people.{{sfn|Smith|2021|p=2}} Local church practices varied quite a bit from place to place at this time, and as the bishop, Ambrose could have required that everyone adapt to his way of doing things. It was his place to keep the churches as united as possible in both ritual and belief.{{sfn|Mediolanensis|2005|p=6}} Instead, he respected local customs, adapting himself to whatever practices prevailed, instructing his mother to do the same.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=6}} As bishop, Ambrose undertook many different labours in an effort to unite people and "provide some stability during a period of religious, political, military, and social upheavals and transformations".{{sfn|Smith|2021|p=1}}

Brown says Ambrose "had the makings of a faction fighter".{{sfn|Brown|2012|p=124}} While he got along well with most people, Ambrose was not averse to conflict and even opposed emperors with a fearlessness born of self-confidence and a clear conscience and not from any belief he would not suffer for his decisions.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=2}} Having begun his life as a Roman aristocrat and a governor, it is clear that Ambrose retained the attitudes and practices of Roman governance even after becoming a bishop.{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=6-7}}

His acts and writings show he was quite clear about the limits of imperial power over the church's internal affairs including doctrine, moral teaching, and governance. He wrote to Valentinian: "In matters of faith bishops are the judges of Christian emperors, not emperors of bishops." (''Epistle'' 21.4). He also famously said to an Arian bishop chosen by the emperor, "The emperor is in the church, not over the church." (''Sermon Against Auxentius'', 36).{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=80}}{{sfn|Kempf|1980|p=88}} Ambrose's acts and writings "created a sort of model which was to remain valid in the Latin West for the relations of the Church and the Christian State. Both powers stood in a basically positive relationship to each other, but the innermost sphere of the Church's life--faith, the moral order, ecclesiastical discipline--remained withdrawn from the State's influence."{{sfn|Kempf|1980|p=88}}

Ambrose was also well aware of the limits of his power. At the height of his career as a venerable, respected and well-loved bishop in 396, imperial agents marched into his church, pushing past him and his clergy who had crowded the altar to protect a political suspect from arrest, and dragged the man from the church in front of Ambrose who could do nothing to stop them.{{sfn|Brown|2012|p=146}} "When it came to the central functions of the Roman state, even the vivid Ambrose was a lightweight".{{sfn|Brown|2012|p=146}}

=== Attitude towards Jews ===
Ambrose is recorded on occasions as taking a hostile attitude towards Jews,{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=23}} for example in 388, when the Emperor [[Theodosius I]] was informed that a crowd of Christians had retaliated against the local Jewish community by destroying the [[synagogue]] at Callinicum on the [[Euphrates]].{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=27}} The synagogue most probably existed within the fortified town to serve the soldiers stationed there, and Theodosius ordered that the offenders be punished and that the synagogue be rebuilt at the expense of the bishop.{{sfn|Lee|2013|p=41}} Ambrose wrote to the emperor arguing against this, basing his argument on two assertions: first, if the bishop obeyed the order, it would be a betrayal of his faith,{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=28}} and second, if the bishop instead refused to obey the order, he would become a martyr and create a scandal embarrassing the emperor.{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=28}} Ambrose, referring to a prior incident where [[Magnus Maximus]] issued an edict censuring Christians in Rome for burning down a Jewish synagogue, warned Theodosius that the people, in turn, exclaimed "the emperor has become a Jew", implying that Theodosius would receive the same lack of support from the people.{{sfn|Nirenberg|2013|pp=117–118}} Theodosius rescinded the order concerning the bishop.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2010|p=300}}{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=28}}

That was not enough for Ambrose, however, and when Theodosius next visited Milan Ambrose confronted him directly in an effort to get him to drop the entire case. McLynn argues that Ambrose failed to win the emperor's sympathy and was mostly excluded from his counsels thereafter.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|pp= 308–9}}{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=29}} The Callinicum affair was not an isolated incident. Generally speaking, however, while McLynn says it makes Ambrose look like a bully and a bigot to modern eyes, scholars also agree that Ambrose's attitudes toward the Jews cannot be fairly summarized in one sentence, as not all of Ambrose's attitudes toward Jews were negative.{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=29}}

For example, Ambrose makes extensive and appreciative use of the works of a Jew, [[Philo of Alexandria]], in his own writings, treating Philo as one of the "faithful interpreters of the Scriptures".{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=23, 49}} Philo was an educated man of some standing and a prolific writer during the era of [[Second Temple Judaism]]. Forty–three of his treatises have been preserved, and these by Christians, rather than Jews.{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=23}} Philo became foundational in forming the Christian literary view on the six days of creation through Basil's ''[[Hexaemeron]]''. [[Eusebius]], the [[Cappadocian Fathers]], and [[Didymus the Blind]] appropriated material from Philo as well, but none did so more than Ambrose. As a result of these extensive references, Philo was accepted into the Christian tradition as an honorary Church Father. "In fact, one Byzantine catena even refers to him as 'Bishop Philo'. This high regard for Philo even led to a number of legends of his conversion to Christianity, although this assertion stands on very dubious evidence".{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=26}} Ambrose also used [[Josephus]], Maccabees, and other Jewish sources for his writings. He praises some individual Jews.{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=30}} Ambrose tended to write negatively of all non-Nicenes as if they were all in one category. This served a rhetorical purpose in his writing and should be considered accordingly.{{sfn|Elliott|2019|p=31}}

=== Attitude towards pagans ===
{{Main|Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire}}
[[File:Head of Aphrodite (National Archaeological Museum of Athens, 1-31-2023).jpg|thumb|316x316px|Head of the Greek goddess [[Aphrodite]] with a cross carved into its forehead. Ambrose was an influential proponent for the outlawing and destruction of paganism within the Roman Empire.]]
Modern scholarship indicates that paganism was a lesser concern than heresy for Christians in the fourth and fifth centuries, including Ambrose, but it was still a concern.{{sfn|Salzman|1993|p=375}} Writings of this period were commonly hostile and often contemptuous toward paganism which Christianity saw as already defeated in Heaven.{{sfn|Hagendahl|1967|pp=601-630}} The great Christian writers of the third to fifth centuries attempted to discredit the continuation of these "defeated practices" by searching pagan writings, "particularly those of Varro, for everything that could be regarded by Christian standards as repulsive and irreligious."<ref name="John North">{{cite web |last1=North |first1=John |title=The Religious History of the Roman Empire |url=https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-114 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |year=2017 |access-date=19 June 2021 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.114|isbn=978-0-19-934037-8 }}</ref> Ambrose' work reflects this triumphalism.{{efn|These Christian sources have had great influence on perceptions of this period by creating an impression of overt and continuous conflict that has been assumed on an empire-wide scale, while archaeological evidence indicates that, apart from the use of violent rhetoric, the decline of paganism away from the imperial court was relatively non-confrontational.{{sfn|Bayliss|pp=65, 68}}{{sfn|Salzman|Sághy|Testa|2016|p=7}}{{sfn|Cameron|1991|pp=121-124}}{{sfnm|Trombley|2001|1loc=Vol I|1pp=166-168|Trombley|2001|2loc=Vol II|2pp=335-336}}}}

Throughout his time in the episcopate, Ambrose was active in his opposition to any state sponsorship of pagan cults.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=68}} When Gratian ordered the [[Altar of Victory]] to be removed, it roused the aristocracy of Rome to send a delegation to the emperor to appeal against the decision, but [[Pope Damasus I]] induced Christian senators to petition against it, and Ambrose blocked the delegates from obtaining an audience with the emperor.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=69}}{{sfn|Sheridan|1966|p=187}}<ref>Ambrose Epistles 17-18; Symmachus Relationes 1-3.</ref> Under Valentinian II, an effort was made to restore the Altar of Victory to its ancient station in the hall of the [[Roman Senate]] and to again provide support for the seven [[Vestal Virgin]]s. The pagan party was led by the refined senator [[Quintus Aurelius Symmachus]], who used all his prodigious skill and artistry to create a marvellous document full of the ''maiestas populi Romani''.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=76}} Hans Lietzmann writes that "Pagans and Christians alike were stirred by the solemn earnestness of an admonition which called all men of goodwill to the aid of a glorious history, to render all worthy honour to a world that was fading away".{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|pp=76, 77}}

Then Ambrose wrote to Valentinian asserting that the emperor was a soldier of God – not simply a personal believer, but one bound by his position to serve the faith; under no circumstances could he agree to something that would promote the worship of idols.{{efn|Romans claimed to be the most religious of peoples.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cicero |first1=Marcus Tullius |title=The nature of the gods; and, On divination |date=1997 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Amherst, N.Y. |isbn=978-1-57392-180-0}} 2.8</ref> Their unique success in war, conquest, and the formation of an empire, was attributed to the empire maintaining good relations with the gods through proper reverence and worship practices.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sherk |first1=Robert K. |title=Rome and the Greek East to the Death of Augustus |date=1984 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-511-55268-7}} doc. 8, 9–10.</ref> This did not change once the empire's official religion became Christianity.}} Ambrose held up the example of Valentinian's brother, Gratian, reminding Valentinian that the commandment of God must take precedence.{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|p=77}} The bishop's intervention led to the failure of Symmachus' appeal.{{sfn|Salzman|2006|p=362}}{{sfn|Lietzmann|1951|pp=77-78}}

In 389, Ambrose stepped in against a pagan senatorial delegation who wished to see the emperor [[Theodosius I]]. Although Theodosius refused their requests, he was irritated at the bishop's presumption and refused to see him for several days.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=63–64}} Later, Ambrose wrote a letter to the emperor [[Eugenius]] complaining that some gifts the latter had bestowed on pagan senators could be used for funding pagan cults.{{sfn|McLynn|1994|pp=344–346}}{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=74–80}}

== Theology ==
{{Catholic philosophy|expanded=Philosophers|expanded2=Ancient}}
Ambrose joins [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], [[Jerome]], and [[Gregory the Great]] as one of the [[Latin Church|Latin]] [[Doctor of the Church|Doctors of the Church]]. Theologians compare him with [[Hilary of Poitiers|Hilary]], who they claim fell short of Ambrose's administrative excellence but demonstrated greater [[Catholic theology|theological]] ability. He succeeded as a theologian despite his juridical training and his comparatively late handling of [[biblical]] and [[Catholic theology|doctrinal]] subjects.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}}

Ambrose's intense episcopal consciousness furthered the growing [[Catholic theology|doctrine]] of the Church and its [[sacerdotal]] ministry including teaching, leading services, administering sacraments, and giving pastoral advice. He found a proper balance between offering sacraments as mysterious ways of encountering God and sacramentalism, the emphasis on ritual for ritual's sake,  prevalent elsewhere.<ref>(Ford and Wilhite, 2024)</ref> He engaged the prevalent [[asceticism]] of the day, continuing the [[Stoicism|Stoic]] and [[Cicero]]nian training of his youth, which enabled him to promulgate a lofty standard of Christian [[ethics]]. Thus we have the ''De officiis ministrorum'', ''De viduis'', ''De virginitate'' and ''De paenitentia''.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}}

Ambrose displayed a kind of liturgical flexibility that kept in mind that liturgy was a tool to serve people in worshiping God, and ought not to become a rigid entity that is invariable from place to place. His advice to Augustine of Hippo on this point was to follow local liturgical custom. "When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the church where you are."<ref>{{Citation | author= Augustine of Hippo | title = Epistle to Januarius | at = II, section 18}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | author= Augustine of Hippo | title = Epistle to Casualanus | at = XXXVI, section 32}}</ref> Thus Ambrose refused to be drawn into a false conflict over which particular local church had the "right" liturgical form where there was no substantial problem. His advice has remained in the English language as the saying, "[[When in Rome, do as the Romans do]]."

=== Eschatology ===
Some scholars argue that Ambrose was a [[Christian universalism|Christian universalist]].<ref name="hanson">{{Cite book |first=JW |last=Hanson |title=Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years |chapter-url=https://www.tentmaker.org/books/Prevailing.html#244 |chapter=18. Additional Authorities |place=Boston and Chicago |publisher=Universalist Publishing House |year=1899 |access-date= 8 December 2012}}</ref> It has been noted that Ambrose's theology was significantly influenced by that of [[Origen]] and [[Didymus the Blind]], two other early Christian universalists.<ref name="hanson" /> One quotation cited in favour of this belief is:

{{blockquote|Our Savior has appointed two kinds of resurrection in the Apocalypse. 'Blessed is he that hath part in the first resurrection,' for such come to grace without the judgment. As for those who do not come to the first, but are reserved unto the second resurrection, these shall be disciplined until their appointed times, between the first and the second resurrection.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/churchfathersquotes.htm | title = The Church Fathers on Universalism | publisher = Tentmaker | access-date = 5 December 2007}}</ref>}}

One could interpret this passage as being another example of the Christian belief in a [[general resurrection]] (that both those in Heaven and in Hell undergo a bodily resurrection), or an allusion to [[purgatory]] (that some destined for Heaven must first undergo a phase of purification). Some other works by Ambrose could potentially be seen as teaching the mainstream view of salvation. For example:

{{blockquote|The Jews feared to believe in manhood taken up into God, ''and therefore have lost the grace of redemption'', because they reject that on which salvation depends.<ref>{{Citation | last = Ambrose | url = http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/34043.htm | contribution = Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book III | title = The Catholic Encyclopedia | year = 1907 | place = New York | publisher = Robert Appleton Co | access-date = 24 February 2009}} from New Advent.</ref>}}

This could be interpreted as something which is not [[eschatological]] but rather [[rhetorical]] or conditional on the state of repentance. The passage most often cited in support of Ambrose supposed belief in [[apokatastasis]] is his commentary on [[1 Corinthians 15]], it reads:

{{blockquote|A unity of power puts aside all idea of a degrading subjection. His giving up of power, and His victory as conqueror won over death, have not lessened His power. Obedience works out subjection. Christ has taken obedience upon Himself, obedience even to taking on Him our flesh, the cross even to gaining our salvation. Thus where the work lies, there too is the Author of the work. When therefore, all things have become subject to Christ, through Christ's obedience, so that all bend their knees in His name, then He Himself will be all in all. For now, since all do not believe, all do not seem to be in subjection. But when all have believed and done the will of God, then Christ will be all and in all. And when Christ is all and in all, then will God be all and in all; for the Father abides ever in the Son. How, then, is He shown to be weak, Who redeemed the weak?<ref>{{cite web |title=Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book V |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/34045.htm |website=newadvent.org}}</ref>}}

Other scholars interpret Ambrose's soteriology to be in agreement with [[Jerome|Jerome of Stridon]] and the anonymous individuals whom Augustine criticized in his treatise "on faith and works", who argued that while the unbelievers would experience eternal judgement, all Christians who have believed in Jesus will be reunited to God at some point, even if they have [[sinned]] and [[fallen away]].{{sfn|Augustine|Lombardo|1988|pp=64, 65|ps=. "Augustine, however, does not mention any names, and there is no evidence either here or in any other place that he is referring to these passages from the works of Jerome. Nevertheless, both Jerome and Ambrose seemed to have shared in the not uncommon error of their time, namely, that all Christians would sooner or later be reunited to God, an error which Augustine refutes here and in a number of other places"}}{{sfn|Kelly|2000|p=484|loc={{zwnj}}{{zwnj}}|ps=. "Jerome develops the same distinction, stating that, while the Devil and the impious who have denied God will be tortured without remission, those who have trusted in Christ, even if they have sinned and fallen away, will eventually be saved. Much the same teaching appears in Ambrose, developed in greater detail."}}

=== Giving to the poor ===
In ''De Officiis'', the most influential of his surviving works, and one of the most important texts of patristic literature, he reveals his views connecting justice and generosity by asserting these practices are of mutual benefit to the participants.{{sfn|Davidson|1995|p=312}}{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=205-210}}{{sfn|Davidson|1995|p=313}} Ambrose draws heavily on Cicero and the biblical book of Genesis for this concept of mutual inter-dependence in society. In the bishop's view, it is concern for one another's interests that binds society together.{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=210-212}} Ambrose asserts that avarice leads to a breakdown in this mutuality, therefore avarice leads to a breakdown in society itself. In the late 380s, the bishop took the lead in opposing the greed of the elite landowners in Milan by starting a series of pointed sermons directed at his wealthy constituents on the need for the rich to care for the poor.{{sfn|Brown|2012|p=147}}

Some scholars have suggested Ambrose's endeavours to lead his people as both a Roman and a Christian caused him to strive for what a modern context would describe as a type of [[communism]] or [[socialism]].{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=3-4}} He was not just interested in the church but was also interested in the condition of contemporary Italian society.{{sfn|Wojcieszak|2014|pp=177–187}} Ambrose considered the poor not a distinct group of outsiders, but a part of a united people to be stood with in solidarity. Giving to the poor was not to be considered an act of generosity towards the fringes of society but a repayment of resources that God had originally bestowed on everyone equally and that the rich had usurped.{{sfn|Brown|2012|p=133}} He defines justice as providing for the poor whom he describes as our "brothers and sisters" because they "share our common humanity".{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=214, 216}}

[[Pope Leo XIV]] notes that both Ambrose and Augustine, his adopted protégé, teach that "What you give to the poor is not your property, but theirs".<ref>Pope Leo XIV,   [https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html Dilexi te], paragraph 43, published on 4 October 2025, accessed on 7 November 2025</ref> 

===Mariology===
The theological treatises of Ambrose of Milan would come to influence Popes [[Pope Damasus I|Damasus]], [[Siricius]] and [[Leo XIII]]. Central to Ambrose is the [[virginity]] of Mary and her role as [[Mother of God]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2009/2009127_1306.shtml| title = "St. Ambrose", Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125901/http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2009/2009127_1306.shtml|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>
* The virgin birth is worthy of God. Which human birth would have been more worthy of God, than the one in which the Immaculate Son of God maintained the purity of his immaculate origin while becoming human?<ref>Ambrose of Milan [[CSEL]] 64, 139</ref>
* We confess that Christ the Lord was born from a virgin, and therefore we reject the natural order of things. Because she conceived not from a man but from the Holy Spirit.<ref>Ambrose of Milan, De Mysteriis, 59, pp. 16, 410</ref>
* Christ is not divided but one. If we adore him as the Son of God, we do not deny his birth from the virgin. ... But nobody shall extend this to Mary. Mary was the temple of God but not God in the temple. Therefore, only the one who was in the temple can be worshipped.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf210.iv.ii.iv.xi.html?highlight=mary,was,the,temple,of,god,but,not,in#highlight|title=NPNF2-10. Ambrose: Selected Works and Letters – Christian Classics Ethereal Library|website=www.ccel.org|access-date=10 June 2019}}</ref>
* Yes, truly blessed for having surpassed the priest (Zechariah). While the priest denied, the Virgin rectified the error. No wonder that the Lord, wishing to rescue the world, began his work with Mary. Thus she, through whom salvation was being prepared for all people, would be the first to receive the promised fruit of salvation.<ref>Ambrose of Milan, Expositio in Lucam 2, 17; PL 15, 1640</ref>

Ambrose viewed [[celibacy]] as superior to marriage and saw [[Roman Catholic Mariology|Mary]] as the model of virginity.<ref>''De virginibus'' (On Virgins); ''De virginitate''</ref>

=== Augustine ===
Ambrose studied theology with [[Simplician]], a [[presbyter]] of Rome.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=798}} Using his excellent knowledge of Greek, which was then rare in the West, Ambrose studied the Old Testament and Greek authors like [[Philo]], [[Origen]], [[Athanasius]], and [[Basil of Caesarea]], with whom he was also exchanging letters.<ref>{{Citation | editor-last = Schaff | url = http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf208.ix.cxcviii.html | title = Letter of Basil to Ambrose | publisher = Christian Classics Ethereal library | access-date = 8 December 2012}}</ref> Ambrose became a famous rhetorician whom [[Augustine]] came to hear speak. Augustine wrote in his ''[[Confessions (Augustine)|Confessions]]'' that Faustus, the Manichean rhetorician, was a more impressive speaker, but the content of Ambrose's sermons began to affect Augustine's faith. Augustine sought guidance from Ambrose and again records in his ''Confessions'' that Ambrose was too busy to answer his questions. In a passage of Augustine's ''Confessions'' in which Augustine wonders why he could not share his burden with Ambrose, he comments: "Ambrose himself I esteemed a happy man, as the world counted happiness, because great personages held him in honour. Only his celibacy appeared to me a painful burden."<ref name="AugustineOnAmbrose">Augustine. ''Confessions'' Book Six, Chapter Three.</ref> Simplician regularly met with Augustine, however, and Augustine writes of Simplician's "fatherly affection" for him. It was Simplician who introduced Augustine to Christian Neoplatonism.{{sfn| Gafford II|2015|pp=20-21}} It is commonly understood in the Christian tradition that Ambrose baptized Augustine.

In this same passage of [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine's]] ''[[Confessions (Augustine)|Confessions]]'' is an anecdote which bears on the history of reading:
{{blockquote |When [Ambrose] read, his eyes scanned the page and his heart sought out the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still. Anyone could approach him freely and guests were not commonly announced, so that often, when we came to visit him, we found him reading like this in silence, for he never read aloud.<ref name="AugustineOnAmbrose" />}}

This is a celebrated passage in modern scholarly discussion. The practice of reading to oneself without vocalizing the text was less common in antiquity than it has since become. In a culture that set a high value on oratory and public performances of all kinds, in which the production of books was very labour-intensive, the majority of the population was illiterate, and where those with the leisure to enjoy literary works also had slaves to read for them, written texts were more likely to be seen as scripts for recitation than as vehicles of silent reflection. However, there is also evidence that [[silent reading]] did occur in antiquity and that it was not generally regarded as unusual.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/jul/29/featuresreviews.guardianreview27 | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=Read my lips | first=James | last=Fenton | date=28 July 2006}}</ref>{{sfn|Gavrilov|1997|p=56–73, esp. 70–71}}{{sfn|Burnyeat|1997|pp=74-76}}

== Music ==
[[File:Mosaic of Saint Ambrose.png|thumb|right|Mosaic of Ambrose in [[Westminster Cathedral]], [[London]]]]
{{further|Ambrosian Hymnography}}
Ambrose's writings extend past literature and into music, where he was an important innovator in early Christian [[hymnography]].{{sfn|McKinnon|2001|loc=§ para. 4}} His contributions include the "successful invention of Christian Latin hymnody",{{sfn|Cunningham|1955|p=509}} while the hymnologist [[Guido Maria Dreves]] designated him to be "The Father of church hymnody".{{sfn|Dunkle|2016|p=1}} He was not the first to write Latin hymns; the Bishop [[Hilary of Poitiers]] had done so a few decades before.{{sfn|McKinnon|2001|loc=§ para. 4}} However, the hymns of Hilary are thought to have been largely inaccessible because of their complexity and length.{{sfn|McKinnon|2001|loc=§ para. 4}}{{sfn|Boynton|2001|loc="1. History of the repertory"}} Only fragments of hymns from Hilary's ''Liber hymnorum'' exist, making those of Ambrose the earliest extant complete Latin hymns.{{sfn|Boynton|2001|loc="1. History of the repertory"}} The assembling of Ambrose's surviving ''oeuvre'' remains controversial;{{sfn|McKinnon|2001|loc=§ para. 4}}{{sfn|Dunkle|2016|p=11}} the almost immediate popularity of his style quickly prompted imitations, some which may even date from his lifetime.{{sfn|Dunkle|2016|pp=3–4}} There are four hymns for which Ambrose's authorship is universally accepted, as they are attributed to him by Augustine:{{sfn|McKinnon|2001|loc=§ para. 4}}

* "Aeterne rerum conditor"
* "Deus creator omnium"
* "Iam surgit hora tertia"
* "[[Veni redemptor gentium]]" (also known as "Intende qui regis Israel")

Each of these hymns has eight four-line [[stanza]]s and is written in strict iambic tetrameter (that is 4&nbsp;×&nbsp;2 syllables, each iamb being two syllables). Marked by dignified simplicity, they served as a fruitful model for later times.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}} Scholars such as the theologian Brian P. Dunkle have argued for the authenticity of as many as thirteen other hymns,{{sfn|Dunkle|2016|p=11}} while the musicologist [[James McKinnon]] contends that further attributions could include "perhaps some ten others".{{sfn|McKinnon|2001|loc=§ para. 4}} Ambrose is traditionally credited but not actually known to have composed any of the repertory of [[Ambrosian chant]] also known simply as "antiphonal [[chant]]", a method of chanting where one side of the choir alternately responds to the other. Although Ambrosian chant was named in his honour, no Ambrosian-chant melodies can be attributed to Ambrose.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ambrosian chant {{!}} Origins, History & Notation {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Ambrosian-chant |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> With Augustine, Ambrose was traditionally credited with composing the hymn "[[Te Deum]]". Since the hymnologist [[Guido Maria Dreves]] in 1893, however, scholars have dismissed this attribution.{{sfn|McKinnon|2001|loc=§ para. 2}}

{{Wide image|Sergio de Castro, Verrière de la Création du Monde, 1956-59.jpg|800px|[[Stained glass|Stained-glass]] window by [[Sergio de Castro (artist)|Sergio de Castro]] based on the [[Ambrosian hymns]] about the [[Genesis creation narrative|Creation of the universe]], Church of the Benedictines at Couvrechef – La Folie ([[Caen]]), 1956–59|dir=rtl}}

== Writings ==
[[File:De officiis ministrorum.jpg|thumb|''De officiis ministrorum'' (377–391) in a {{circa|900}} manuscript now kept in the [[Abbey library of Saint Gall]] (Cod. Sang. 97 p. 51).<ref>{{cite web |title=Ambrose, De officiis ministrorum |website=e-codices.unifr.ch |publisher=swissuniversities |url=https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/csg/0097/51/0/ |access-date=8 January 2021 }}</ref> The work is probably Ambrose's best known.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=60}}]]
Source:{{sfn|Paredi|1964|pp=436–440}}{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|pp=55–64}} All works are originally in Latin. Following each is where it may be found in a standard compilation of Ambrose's writings. His first work was probably ''De paradiso'' (377–378).{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=56}} Most have approximate dates, and works such as ''De Helia et ieiunio'' (377–391), ''Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam'' (377–389) and ''De officiis ministrorum'' (377–391) have been given a wide variety of datings by scholars.{{efn|Though both {{harvnb|Paredi|1964|pp=436–440}} and {{harvnb|Ramsey|2002|pp=55–64}} give dates for most of Ambrose's writings, the dates from Ramsey are preferred, as the publication is more recent and the author is dating the works from the perspective of scholarly consensus, whereas in Paredi, the author offers dates based on his own research. Regardless, when Ramsey does not provide dates for a work, those of Paredi are used.}} His best known work is probably ''De officiis ministrorum'' (377–391),{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=60}} while the {{ill|Exameron|it|lt=''Exameron''}} (386–390) and ''De obitu Theodosii'' (395) are among his most noted works.{{sfn|Ramsey|2002|p=56}}{{sfn|Brown|2021}} In matters of [[exegesis]] he is, like Hilary, an [[Alexandrian school|Alexandrian]]. In [[dogma]] he follows [[Basil of Caesarea]] and other Greek authors, but nevertheless gives a distinctly Western cast to the speculations of which he treats. This is particularly manifest in the weightier emphasis which he lays upon human [[sin]] and [[divine grace]], and in the place which he assigns to [[Faith in Christianity|faith]] in the individual Christian life.{{sfn|Grieve|1911|p=799}} There has been debate on the attribution of some writings: for example ''De mysteriis'' is usually attributed to Ambrose, while the related ''De sacramentis'' is written in a different style with some silent disagreements, so there is less consensus over its author.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/stambroseonmyste00ambr/page/n19/mode/2up St. Ambrose "On the mysteries" and the treatise "On the sacraments" by an unknown author], archive.org</ref> This latter work was occasionally identified as being by St. Augustine, though this is erroneous.<ref>Roy J. Deferrari, introduction to ''The Sacraments'', in Ambrose: ''Theological and Dogmatic Works'', ed. by Deferrari, Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, vol. 44. [[doi:10.2307/j.ctt32b2gh.10|JSTOR]].</ref>

===Exegesis===
* {{cite book |date=386–390 |title={{ill|Exameron|it}} |trans-title=The Six Days of Creation |volume=6 books }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.133–288}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.1.3–261}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=42.3–283}})
* {{cite book |date=377–378 |title=De paradiso |trans-title=On Paradise }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.291–332}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.1.265–336}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=42.287–356}})
* {{cite book |date=377–378 |title=De Cain et Abet |trans-title=On Cain and Abel }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.333–80}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.1.339–409}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=42.359–437}})
* {{cite book |date=378–384 |title=De Noe |trans-title=On Noah }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.381–438}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.1.413–97}})
* {{cite book |date=380s |title=De Abraham |trans-title=On Abraham |volume=2 books }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.441–524}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.1.501–638}})
* {{cite book |date=387–391 |title=De Isaac et anima |trans-title=On Isaac and the Soul }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.527–60}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.1.641–700}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=65.9–65.}})
* {{cite book |date=390 |title=De bono mortis |trans-title=On the Good of Death }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.567–96}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.1.707–53}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=65.70–113}})
* {{cite book |date=391–394 |title=De fuga saeculi |trans-title=On Flight from the World }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.597–624}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.163–207}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=65.281–323}}) 
* {{cite book |date=386–388 |title=De Iacob et vita beata |trans-title=On Iacob and the Happy Life }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.627–70}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.3–70}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=65.119–84}})
* {{cite book |date=387–388 |title=De Joseph |trans-title=On Joseph }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.673–704}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.73–122}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=65.187–237}})
* {{cite book |date=391 |title=De patriarchis |trans-title=On the Patriarchs }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.707–28}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.125–60}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=65.243–75}})
* {{cite book |date=377–391 |title=De Helia et ieiunio |trans-title=On Elijah and Fasting }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.731–64}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.411–65}})
* {{cite book |date=389 |title=De Nabuthae |trans-title=On Naboth }} ({{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.469}})
* {{cite book |date=376–390 |title=De Tobia |trans-title=On Tobias }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.797–832}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.519–573}})
* {{cite book |date=383–394 |title=De interpellatione Iob et David |trans-title=The Prayer of Job and David |volume=4 books }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.835–90}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.211–96}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=65.329–420}}) 
* {{cite book |date=387 |title=Apologia prophetae David |trans-title=A Defense of the Prophet David }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.891–926}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.2.299–355}})
* {{cite book |date= |title=Enarrationes in xii psalmos davidicos |trans-title=Explanations of Twelve Psalms of David }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=14.963–1238}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=64}})
* {{cite book |date=386–390 |title=Expositio in Psalmum cxviii |trans-title=A Commentary on Psalm 118 }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=15.1197–1526}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=62}})
* {{cite book |date= |title=Expositio Esaiae prophetae |trans-title=A Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah }} ({{harvnb|CCSL|loc=14.405–8}}) 
* {{cite book |date=377–389 |title=Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam |trans-title=A Commentary on the Gospel according to Luke |volume=10 books }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=15.1527–1850}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=32.4}}; {{harvnb|CCSL|loc=14.1–400}})

===Moral and ascetical commentary===
* {{cite book |date=377–391 |title=De officiis ministrorum |trans-title=On the Duties of Ministers }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.25–194}})
* {{cite book |date=377 |title=De virginibus |trans-title=On Virgins }}
* {{cite book |date=377 |title=De viduis |trans-title=On Widows }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.247–76}})
* {{cite book |date=378 |title=De virginitate |trans-title=On Virginity }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.279–316}})
* {{cite book |date=391–392 |title=De institutione virginis |trans-title=An Instruction for a Virgin }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.319–43}})
* {{cite book |date=393–395 |title=Exhortatio virginitatis |trans-title=In Praise of Virginity }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.351–80}})

===Dogmatic writings===
* {{cite book |date=378–380 |title=De fide |trans-title=On the Faith |volume=5 books}} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.549–726}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=78}})
* {{cite book |date=381 |title=De Spiritu Sancto |trans-title=On the Holy Spirit }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.731–850}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=79.15–222}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=44.35–214}})
* {{cite book |date=381–382 |title=De incarnationis dominicae sacramento |trans-title=On the Sacrament of the Lord's Incarnation }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.853–84}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=79.223–81}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=44.219–62}}) 
* {{cite book |date=<!--Unable to be dated--> |title=Explanatio symboli ad initiandos |trans-title=An Explanation of the Creed for Those about to be Baptised }} {{harvnb|PL|loc=17.1193–96}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=73.1–12}})
* {{cite book |date=390 |title=De sacramentis |trans-title=On the Sacraments |volume=6 books }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.435–82}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=73.13–116}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=44.269–328}})
* {{cite book |date= |title=De mysteriis |trans-title=On the Mysteries }}
* {{cite book |date=384–394 |title=De paenitentia |trans-title=On Repentance }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.485–546}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=73.117–206}})
* {{cite book |date= |title=Expositio fidei |trans-title=An Explanation of the Faith }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.847–50}})
* {{cite book |date= |title=De sacramento regenerationis sive de philosophia |trans-title=On the Sacrament of Regeneration, or On Philosophy }} (fragmented; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=11.131}})

===Sermons===
* {{cite book |date=375–378 |title=De excessu fratris |trans-title=On the Death of his Brother }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.1345–1414}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=73.207–325}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=22.161–259}})
* {{cite book |date= |title=De obitu Valentiniani |trans-title=On the Death of Valentinian }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.1417–44}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=73.327–67}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=22.265–99}}) 
* {{cite book |date=25 February 395 |title=De obitu Theodosii |trans-title=On the Death of Theodosius }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.1447–88}}; {{harvnb|CSEL|loc=73.369–401}}; {{harvnb|FC|loc=22.307–332}})
* {{cite book |date=386 |title=Contra Auxentium de basilicis tradendis |trans-title=Against Auxentius on Handing over the Basilicas }} ({{harvnb|PL|loc=16.1049–53}})

===Others===
* 91 letters

==Editions==
[[File:Divi Ambrosii Episcopi Mediolanensis Omnia Opera.tif|thumb|''Divi Ambrosii Episcopi Mediolanensis Omnia Opera'', a 1527 edition of Ambrose's writings compiled and edited by [[Erasmus]]]]

The history of the editions of St. Ambrose's works spans several centuries. [[Erasmus]] published them in four volumes in Basel in 1527. A significant Roman edition, the result of many years of labor, appeared in 1580 in five volumes, initiated by [[Sixtus V]] when he was still the monk Felice Peretti. This edition includes a biography of St. Ambrose by [[Baronius]], originally written to be part of his ''[[Annales Ecclesiastici]]''. The notable [[Congregation of St. Maur|Maurist]] edition, edited by [[Jacques Du Frische]] and [[Denis-Nicolas Le Nourry]], was published in Paris between 1686 and 1690 in two folio volumes and was later reprinted in Venice in 1748–51 and 1781–82. The most recent edition, by [[Paolo Angelo Ballerini]], was published in Milan in 1878 in six folio volumes.

=== Standard editions ===
* {{cite book |editor-last=Migne |editor-first=Jacques Paul |editor-link=Jacques Du Frische |year=1845 |title=[[Patrologia Latina]] |location=Paris |language=la |volume=14–17 |ref={{sfnRef|PL}}}} Based on the Maurist edition published in Paris by [[Jacques Du Frische]] and [[Denis-Nicolas Le Nourry]].
* {{cite book |year=1866 |title=[[Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum]] |publisher=[[Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna]] |location=Vienna |language=la |volume=11, 32, 62, 64, 73, 78–79 |author-mask=2 |ref={{sfnRef|CSEL}} }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Ballerini |editor-first=P. A. |editor-link=Paolo Angelo Ballerini |year=1875–1883 |title=Opera omnia |location=Milan |language=la |author-mask=2 |ref={{sfnRef|B}}}} Based on the Maurist edition published in Paris by [[Jacques Du Frische]] and [[Denis-Nicolas Le Nourry]].
* {{cite book |editor=[[Catholic University of America]] |year=1947 |title=Fathers of the Church |publisher=[[Catholic University of America Press]] |location=Washington DC. |language=en |oclc=8110481 |volume=22, 42, 44, 65 |author-mask=2 |ref={{sfnRef|FC}} }}
* {{cite book |year=1953 |title=Corpus Christianorum |publisher=[[Brepols]] |location=Turnhout |oclc=1565173 |volume=14 |author-mask=2 |ref={{sfnRef|CCSL}} }}

===Latin===
* ''Hexameron, De paradiso, De Cain, De Noe, De Abraham, De Isaac, De bono mortis''&nbsp;– ed. [[C. Schenkl]] 1896, Vol. 32/1 ([https://archive.org/details/sanctiambrosiio01petsgoog In Latin])
* ''De Iacob, De Ioseph, De patriarchis, De fuga saeculi, De interpellatione Iob et David, De apologia prophetae David, De Helia, De Nabuthae, De Tobia''&nbsp;– ed. C. Schenkl 1897, Vol. 32/2
* ''Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam'' – ed. C. Schenkl 1902, Vol. 32/4
* ''Expositio de psalmo CXVIII'' – ed. [[M. Petschenig]] 1913, Vol. 62; editio altera supplementis aucta – cur. [[M. Zelzer]] 1999
* ''Explanatio super psalmos XII'' – ed. M. Petschenig 1919, Vol. 64; editio altera supplementis aucta – cur. M. Zelzer 1999
* ''Explanatio symboli, De sacramentis, De mysteriis, De paenitentia, De excessu fratris Satyri, De obitu Valentiniani, De obitu Theodosii'' – ed. [[Otto Faller]] 1955, Vol. 73
* ''De fide ad Gratianum Augustum'' – ed. [[Otto Faller]] 1962, Vol. 78
* ''De spiritu sancto, De incarnationis dominicae sacramento'' – ed. [[Otto Faller]] 1964, Vol. 79
* ''Epistulae et acta&nbsp;– ed.'' [[Otto Faller]] (Vol. 82/1: lib. 1–6, 1968); [[Otto Faller]], [[M. Zelzer]] (Vol. 82/2: lib. 7–9, 1982); [[M. Zelzer]] (Vol. 82/3: lib. 10, epp. extra collectionem. gesta concilii Aquileiensis, 1990); Indices et addenda&nbsp;– comp. M. Zelzer, 1996, Vol. 82/4

===English===
* H. Wace and P. Schaff, eds, ''A Select Library of Nicene and Post–Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church'', 2nd ser., Vol. X [Contains translations of ''De Officiis'' (under the title ''De Officiis Ministrorum''), ''De Spiritu Sancto'' (''On the Holy Spirit''), ''De excessu fratris Satyri'' (''On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus''), ''Exposition of the Christian Faith'', ''De mysteriis'' (''Concerning Mysteries''), ''De paenitentia'' (''Concerning Repentance''), ''De virginibus'' (''Concerning Virgins''), ''De viduis'' (''Concerning Widows''), and a selection of letters]
* ''St. Ambrose "On the mysteries" and the treatise on the sacraments by an unknown author'', translated by T Thompson, (London: SPCK, 1919) [translations of ''De sacramentis'' and ''De mysteriis''; rev edn published 1950]
* ''S. Ambrosii ''De Nabuthae'': a commentary'', translated by Martin McGuire, (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America, 1927) [translation of ''On Naboth'']
* ''S. Ambrosii ''De Helia et ieiunio'': a commentary'', with an introduction and translation, Sister Mary Joseph Aloysius Buck, (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America, 1929) [translation of ''On Elijah and Fasting'']
* ''S. Ambrosii ''De Tobia'': a commentary'', with an introduction and translation, Lois Miles Zucker, (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America, 1933) [translation of ''On Tobit'']
* ''Funeral orations'', translated by LP McCauley et al., Fathers of the Church vol 22, (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1953) [by Gregory of Nazianzus and Ambrose],
* ''Letters'', translated by Mary Melchior Beyenka, Fathers of the Church, vol 26, (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America, 1954) [Translation of letters 1–91]
* ''Saint Ambrose on the sacraments'', edited by Henry Chadwick, Studies in Eucharistic faith and practice 5, (London: AR Mowbray, 1960)
* ''Hexameron, Paradise, and Cain and Abel'', translated by John J Savage, Fathers of the Church, vol 42, (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1961) [contains translations of ''Hexameron, De paradise'', and ''De Cain et Abel'']
* ''Saint Ambrose: theological and dogmatic works'', translated by Roy J. Deferrari, Fathers of the church vol 44, (Washington: Catholic University of American Press, 1963) [Contains translations of ''The mysteries'', (''De mysteriis'') ''The holy spirit'', (''De Spiritu Sancto''), ''The sacrament of the incarnation of Our Lord'', (''De incarnationis Dominicae sacramento''), and ''The sacraments'']
* ''Seven exegetical works'', translated by Michael McHugh, Fathers of the Church, vol 65, (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1972) [Contains translations of ''Isaac, or the soul'', (''De Isaac vel anima''), ''Death as a good'', (''De bono mortis''), ''Jacob and the happy life'', (''De Iacob et vita beata''), ''Joseph'', (''De Ioseph''), ''The patriarchs'', (''De patriarchis''), ''Flight from the world'', (''De fuga saeculi''), ''The prayer of Job and David'', (''De interpellatione Iob et David'').]
* ''Homilies of Saint Ambrose on Psalm 118'', translated by Íde Ní Riain, (Dublin: Halcyon Press, 1998) [translation of part of ''Explanatio psalmorum'']
* ''Ambrosian hymns'', translated by Charles Kraszewski, (Lehman, PA: Libella Veritatis, 1999)
* ''Commentary of Saint Ambrose on twelve psalms'', translated by Íde M. Ní Riain, (Dublin: Halcyon Press, 2000) [translations of ''Explanatio psalmorum'' on Psalms 1, 35–40, 43, 45, 47–49]
* ''On Abraham'', translated by Theodosia Tomkinson, (Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 2000) [translation of ''De Abraham'']
* ''De officiis'', edited with an introduction, translation, and commentary by Ivor J Davidson, 2 vols, (Oxford: OUP, 2001) [contains both Latin and English text]
* ''Commentary of Saint Ambrose on the Gospel according to Saint Luke'', translated by Íde M. Ní Riain, (Dublin: Halcyon, 2001) [translation of ''Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam'']
* ''Ambrose of Milan: political letters and speeches'', translated with an introduction and notes by JHWG Liebschuetz, (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2005) [contains Book Ten of Ambrose's Letters, including the oration on the death of Theodosius I; Letters outside the Collection (''Epistulae extra collectionem''); Letter 30 to Magnus Maximus; The oration on the death of Valentinian II (''De obitu Valentiniani'').]

Several of Ambrose's works have recently been published in the bilingual Latin-German ''[[Fontes Christiani]]'' series (currently edited by [[Brepols]]).

== See also ==
{{Portal|Saints}}
* [[Ambrosian hymnography]]
* [[Ambrosian Liturgy and Rite]]
* [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio|Saint Ambrose Basilica]], [[Milan]]
* [[Church Fathers]]
* [[St. Ambrose Cathedral, Linares]]
* [[Saint Ambrose University]], [[Davenport, Iowa]]
* [[Ambrose University College]], [[Calgary, Alberta]]
* [[Henry Becher]], early English translator of St. Ambrose
{{Clear}}

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
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{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Byfield |first=Ted |title=Darkness Descends: A.D. 350 to 565, the Fall of the Western Roman Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZA4wyCSfUAC&pg=PA92 |year=2003 |publisher=Christian History Project |isbn=978-0-9689873-3-9}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Deferrari |editor-first=Roy J.|title=The Fathers of the Church |volume= 26, 42, 44, 65 |location=New York|publisher=Fathers of the Church|year=1954–1972}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dudden |first=F. Homes|title=The Life and Times of St. Ambrose|location=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1935}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ford |first1=Coleman M. |last2=Wilhite |first2=Shawn J. |title=Ancient Wisdom for the Care of Souls |date=2024 |publisher=Crossway |location=Wheaton, Illinois |isbn=978-1-4335-7549-5 |pages=57–71}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gilliard|first=Frank D. |title=Senatorial Bishops in the Fourth Century|journal=Harvard Theological Review|volume=77|issue=2 |year=1984|pages=153–175 |doi=10.1017/s0017816000014279 |s2cid=162747415 }}
* {{Cite book |last=King |first=N. Q. |title=The Emperor Theodosius and the Establishment of Christianity |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Westminster Press |year=1960}}
* {{Cite book |author=Paulinus |year=1952 |title=Life of St. Ambrose by Paulinus |translator=John A. Lacy |location=New York |publisher=Fathers of the Church}}
* {{Cite web |title=Ambrose |url=http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-ambrose-of-milan/ |department=Patron Saints Index |date=January 2009 |publisher=SPQN |access-date=8 December 2012}}
* {{Cite book |last= von Campenhausen |first=Hans |year=1964 |title=Men Who Shaped the Western Church |translator-last=Hoffman |translator-first=Manfred |location=New York |publisher=Harper and Row}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=25543| name=Ambrose}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=("Brother Ambrose" OR "Saint Ambrose" OR "Bishop of Milan" OR "Aurelius Ambrosius" OR "Ambrosius, Aurelius" )}}
* {{Librivox author |id=4342}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060925044132/http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-10/TOC.htm Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Works of Ambrose of Milan]
* [http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/amb_hy00.html Hymni Ambrosii (Latin)]
* [https://earlychurch.org.uk/ambrose.php EarlyChurch.org.uk] Extensive bibliography
* [http://www.intratext.com/Catalogo/Autori/AUT12.HTM Ambrose's works]: text, concordances and frequency list
* [https://www.fourthcentury.com/letters-of-ambrose/ Letters of Ambrose] - All extant letters of Ambrose with summaries and English translations from ''Fourth-Century Christianity.''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070428013944/http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/AuthorBioPage.php?recordID=0011 Ambrose] at ''The Online Library of Liberty''
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/20_40_0339-0397-_Ambrosius_Mediolanensis,_Sanctus.html Opera Omnia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000823105539/http://www.mun.ca/Ansaxdat/ambrose/ ''Ambrose in Anglo-Saxon England, with Pseudo-Ambrose and Ambrosiaster''], Contributions to Sources of Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture, by Dabney Anderson Bankert, Jessica Wegmann, and Charles D. Wright.
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/ambrose.html "Saint Ambrose"] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian Iconography] website
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/ambrose.htm "Of St. Ambrose"] from the Caxton translation of the Golden Legend
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.V.26.html Augustine's account of the penitence of Theodosius]
* {{IMSLP|id=Ambrose}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{succession box
| title  = [[Archbishop of Milan]]
| before = [[Auxentius of Milan|Auxentius]]
| after  = [[Simplician]]
| years  = 374–397
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Catholic virtue ethics}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Bishops and Archbishops of Milan}}
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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aurelii|Ambrosius]]
[[Category:340s births]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:397 deaths]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian theologians]]
[[Category:4th-century Gallo-Roman people]]
[[Category:4th-century Italian bishops]]
[[Category:4th-century philosophers]]
[[Category:4th-century Roman poets]]
[[Category:4th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]
[[Category:Bees in religion]]
[[Category:Bishops of Milan]]
[[Category:Burials at the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]]
[[Category:Catholic Mariology]]
[[Category:Catholic philosophers]]
[[Category:Christian ethicists]]
[[Category:Christian hymnwriters]]
[[Category:Church Fathers]]
[[Category:Doctors of the Church]]
[[Category:Gallo-Roman saints]]
[[Category:Hymnographers]]
[[Category:Italian male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Italian Roman Catholic writers]]
[[Category:Letter writers in Latin]]
[[Category:Opponents of Arianism]]
[[Category:People from Trier]]