7
December 374 A.D. Milanese Rioters
Demanded Ambrose as Pastor
Let us say you belong to a big church in an
important city like Chicago or London. Your pastor has just died. He taught a
heretical doctrine--that Jesus wasn't really divine. Would your church riot
over who to have as its next leader? Would it choose as its compromise
candidate a lawyer who had never even been baptized?
That is just what happened in
Milan, Italy, in 374. The bishop of Milan had supported the Arian heresy, which
denied Christ was fully God. When he died, the Milanese rioted. Some wanted an
Arian bishop. Others wanted an orthodox teacher.
Ambrose was a 35 year old lawyer
in town, the son of a nobleman, and so skilled in oratory that the governor of
Northern Italy had designated him as his successor. This intelligent young man
pushed his way through the seething crowd and pleaded with them to maintain the
peace. His arguments must have been persuasive: Someone shouted, "Ambrose
for bishop!" and soon everyone had picked up the chant.
Ambrose protested. This was the
furthest thing from his mind. Why, he hadn't even been baptized! But his
protests were of no use. The people wanted him. When Emperor Valentinian
approved the selection of Ambrose and threatened severe penalties against
anyone who helped hide the lawyer, Ambrose gave in and was baptized.
Eight days later, on this day, December 7, 374,Ambrose was consecrated bishop
of Milan. He took his new responsibilities seriously. He gave all his
possessions to the poor and boned up on theology. With his legal skills and Greek learning, he defended the church and
its people.
The oratorical skills of the
lawyer did not desert him when he took the pulpit. He spoke ad lib, not writing
out his sermons. These were so good that the great Augustine of Hippo was won
to Christ through listening to him. Ambrose was a defender of orthodoxy against
Arianism. He kept up a frequent correspondence with Basil the Great, a famed
bishop of the Middle East. Because of Ambrose's writings, he is classed with
Jerome, Augustine and Gregory the Great as one of the four Latin church
fathers.
Bold where the church was
concerned, Ambrose even barred Emperor Theodosius from entering the sanctuary
until the ruler publicly repented of a massacre he had perpetrated in
Thessalonica. One stipulation he placed on the emperor was that he must allow
thirty days to elapse between ordering any death sentence and carrying it out,
so that he would have time to cool down and change his mind if necessary.
He counseled gentleness rather
than harshness with those who had betrayed the faith under torture.
"Therefore the Lord Jesus had compassion upon us in order to call us to
Himself, not frighten us away. He came in meekness, He came in humility, and so
He said: 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
refresh you.' So, then, the Lord Jesus refreshes, and does not shut out nor
east off, and fitly chose such disciples as should be interpreters of the
Lord's will, as should gather together and not drive away the people of
God."
Ambrose died on Good Friday in
397. As he lay dying he extended his arms like Christ on the cross. Christ
appeared to him in his last agony. His death made such an impression on the
public that five bishops could hardly cope with all the people who requested to
be baptized the next day.
Bibliography:
1. "Ambrose, Saint, of Milan." New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1954.
2. "Ambrose, St." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.
Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
3. Baring-Gould, S. Lives of the Saints. Edinburgh: John
Grant, 1914.
4. Bell, Mrs. Arthur. Saints in Christian Art. London: George
Bell, 1901 - 1904. Source of the image.
5. Butler, Alban. Lives of the Saints. Westminster,
Maryland: Christian Classics, 1981, 1956.
6. Durant, Will. The Age of Faith; A history of Medieval
civilization--Christian, Islamic and Judaic--from Constantine to Dante: AD 325
- 1300. The Story of Civilization, Part IV. New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1950.
7. Loughlin, James F. "St. Ambrose." The Catholic Encyclopedia.
New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
8. Wand, J. W. C. The Latin Doctors. London: Faith Press;
New York: Morehouse-Gorham, 1948.
9. Various encyclopedia and internet articles.
Last updated May,
2007.
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