" When in Rome.." St. Ambrose of Milan

[Confessional Lutheran]

" When in Rome, live in the Roman style, when you are elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere." This quote is attributed to St. Ambrose of Milan ( 339-397), celebrated as a doctor of the Church, whose commemoration is today, 07 December ( the date he was ordained as a bishop). He was a very popular fellow, born to a Christian family of aristocratic Roman origins. In fact, when he was sent to the city of Milan in the province of Aemilia- Liguria as a governor, he was very quickly selected to be the bishop of the place, after the Arian bishop died. Ambrose was an exceptional fellow in that he was equally popular with Orthodox and Arian Christians alike. His loyalties, as his subsequent actions proved, however, were firmly on the side of the Orthodox. He was an accomplished theologian and philosopher and he used his powers as bishop to further such innovations as congregational singing in churches, which was a feature Dr. Martin Luther incorporated in his own Reformation centuries later.

St. Ambrose used his powers as bishop to further correct teaching and he even rebuked emperors who acted in a non- Christian manner. Ambrose was certainly an assertive man who wasn't afraid to face down Arians or pagans. He zealously rebuked the Emperor Theodosius when he punished a fellow- bishop for burning a Jewish synagogue. In the struggle between Church and Empire for social and political dominance, Ambrose served as a stalwart supporter of the Church. His logic was so irrefutable that he is said to have converted St. Augustine of Hippo to the Faith during his ministry. In fact, he was quite a prolific writer and promoted a sort of neo- Platonism that was to have quite an influence on the thought of the medieval Christian Church over the years. Greatly popular and beloved of his flock, his sermons were very favorably regarded. When he died in 397, he left a lasting legacy and his efforts on behalf of the early Church are still recognized and appreciated today.

Sources include Saint Ambrose of Milan: Father of the Church (thoughtco.com), Ambrose of Milan | Christian History | Christianity Today and Saint Ambrose | Biography, Writings, Patron Saint, & Facts | Britannica

 

[JRT]

Any bishop who would burn a synagogue for whatever reason thoroughly deserved to be rebuked. Why would Ambrose do this?

 

[Confessional Lutheran]

Any bishop who would burn a synagogue for whatever reason thoroughly deserved to be rebuked. Why would Ambrose do this?

Probably out of his zeal for the Christian faith. At that time, when the church was gaining influence, I suppose that Ambrose would see any kind of religious " competition"* as a threat, be it Jewish, pagan, or Arian. His zealotry and his sense of diplomacy made him very popular among those people he had a positive impact on. This was also a fourth century churchman who started out as a politician.

* I put " competition" in quotation marks because I'm pretty sure that by the fourth century, the Jewish religious establishment wasn't overly keen on gaining new converts. Looking back 1800 years later, it's easy to see a lot of Ambrose's actions as misguided. Rebuking an Emperor for punishing a bishop for having a synagogue incinerated, writing a letter to counter the pleas of Roman pagans for tolerance and refusing to allow an Arian congregation the use of a church for worship may reflect Ambrose's zeal for orthodox Christianity, but it also speaks of a high- handed mind who tolerates no deviation from his own beliefs. I was raised with a more of a live and let live outlook, but I was raised in the late twentieth century in an urban environment where diversity is celebrated and not regarded as a threat.