“..Jesus Christ the
faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on
earth.” Rev. 1:5
If you are at Rome
live in the Roman style; if you are elsewhere live as they live elsewhere. –Ambrose of Milan
Ambrose was born to
a powerful Roman family (strongly Christian) and was destined for a career in
public service. Highly educated and
charismatic, before age 30 he was governing most of Italy’s northern provinces
and was well respected by his superiors and subordinates alike.
When the bishop of
Milan died, Ambrose went to the meeting where a successor was being
selected. He was there to give public
support but before the meeting was over, he was elected as the new bishop by
acclamation. Ambrose felt a bit awkward
about his election since, even though he was a Christian, he had neglected to
go through catechism and baptism. After
several attempts to get out of this commitment failed he finally agreed to
serve as bishop and did so with great zeal.
As a well-educated
man and being very knowledgeable in Greek, Ambrose became famous for being a
dynamic preacher and writer. He wrote
many books on theological doctrines which are still read and considered
important today. One person Ambrose was
to greatly influence was a young skeptic who had recently moved to Milan and
came to hear him preach because he was so eloquent. That person was St. Augustine of Hippo who is
himself a huge theological influence for Roman Catholics and Protestants.
One of Ambrose’s
most remembered quotes is “when in Rome do as the Romans do”. This has been taken to mean that when in Rome
you are free to indulge in the debauchery of the Romans (sort of like “what
happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas”).
The true meaning of the saying has its source believers in his church
who were concerned that the worship services in Rome’s churches were different
from theirs. Ambrose knew that customs
on Sunday morning differ from church to church and that believers should not
question them or correct them, but be good guests and fit in with the
Christians in that locale.
But the biggest
contribution of Ambrose was neither his preaching, writing or wise guidance. It
was his discipline of the Roman Emperor Theodosius. Theodosius I (his name means worshipper of
God) was a strong Christian and was the person who made Christianity the
official religion of the Roman Empire.
One day in a fit of rage over some riots in Thessalonica, Theodosius
ordered the mass execution of nearly 7000 people. Such a thing was as horrible then as it would
be now, but it was something an emperor could pull off especially one as
powerful as Theodosius.
When Ambrose heard
the news he wrote a letter to the Emperor forbidding him to attend worship or
receive communion until he had repented and prostrated himself at the altar out
of sorrows for his grievous sin.
Because Theodosius greatly
respected the authority of Ambrose and knew that he did this out of love and
spiritual concern, he did the unthinkable and repented publicly for this great
sin.
While this was a
one-time event it established a precedent that was to be followed for the next
thousand years. Kings have secular
authority but are still under the authority of God by being under the authority
of the Church. This authority of
accountability over monarchs by the church was to profoundly affect Western
Civilization and because of this Bishop Ambrose of Milan is considered one of
the important shapers of the Christian Church.
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