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Apostolic & Patristic · Saint
St Ambrose of Milan
Bishop of Milan
Church FatherDoctor of the ChurchConfessor
c. 340 – 397
374
Ordained
374
Consecrated Bishop
Milan
Diocese
Italy
Country
The Life
St Ambrose was the Roman governor of Aemilia-Liguria who, while still only a catechumen, was acclaimed Bishop of Milan by popular demand in 374 and baptized, ordained, and consecrated within a week. He became one of the four great Latin Doctors.
A fearless pastor, he defended orthodoxy against Arianism, resisted imperial encroachment on the Church, and brought the Emperor Theodosius to public penance. His preaching led to the conversion of St Augustine, whom he baptized in 387.
Notable Actions
- Compelled Emperor Theodosius I to do public penance after the massacre at Thessalonica (390)
- Baptized St Augustine of Hippo at Milan in 387
- Resisted the Arian Empress Justina's demand for the basilicas (385-386)
- Presided over the Council of Aquileia (381)
- Wrote 'De Officiis' and pioneered Latin hymnody (the Ambrosian hymns)
I have not so lived among you that I am ashamed to live, nor do I fear to die, for we have a good Lord.
Paulinus, Life of St AmbrosePortrait: Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons