Ambrose was born to an ancient noble family of
the Roman Empire. His father was Prefect of Gallia.
He had a younger brother, Satyrus, and an
older sister,Marcellina, who influenced Ambrose’s
dedication to the virtue of virginity.
Ambrose received a brilliant liberal and legal
education, acquiring a thorough mastery of Greek
language and literature. He also studied law, and
his eloquent speeches attracted the attention of
Emperor Valentinian, who named him consular
governor of Liguria and Æmilia. In 374, Ambrose
became the bishop of Milan and occupied this position
until his death.He became famous as one of
the most illustrious of the Four Doctors of the
Church, which included St. AUGUSTINE, St. JEROME,
and St. Gregory.
From his lifetime to the present day, Ambrose
is known for the exceptional clarity and piety with
which he expressed the Church’s teachings. Most
of his writings are homilies, or commentaries, on
the Old and New Testaments. His education allowed
him to engage in scholarly and spiritual
studies of authors, such as VIRGIL, Origen, CICERO,
St. Basil, and others, which he did primarily to
learn how to teach.
Some scholars divide Ambrose’s surviving texts
into four groups: scripture-commentaries, moral
texts (referred to as ascetico-moral writings), dogmatic
texts (concerning the divinity of Jesus, the
Holy Ghost, and the sacraments), and occasional
texts. His most influential piece, De Officiis ministrorum,
belongs to the moral texts and, as such,
is a treatise of Christian morality. Also belonging
to this group are his “On Virgins,” which he addressed
to his sister.
Of his dogmatic texts, his De Mysteriis (a treatise
on baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist)
is extant, as are many of his occasional texts
(mostly letters, official notes, and reports). From
these and other of Ambrose’s writings, much social,
religious, and cultural information of ancient
Milan and Rome has been preserved.
English Versions of Works by
Saint Ambrose
De Officiis. Edited with an introduction, translation,
and commentary by Ivor J. Davidson. Oxford:Oxford
University Press, 2001.
On Abraham. Translated by Theodosia Tomkinson.
Chrysostomos of Etna: Center for Traditionalist
Orthodox Studies, 2000.
Works about Saint Ambrose
McLynn,Neil B. Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court
in a Christian Capital. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1994.
Theresa, Sister M. Nature-Imagery in the Works of
Saint Ambrose (1931).Whitefish,Mont.: Kessinger
Publishing, 2003.
Vasey, Vincent R. The Social Ideas in the Works of St.
Ambrose: A Study on De Nabuthe. Rome, Italy: Institutum
Patristicum “Augustinianum,” 1982.
Williams. Daniel H. Ambrose of Milan and the End of
the Nicene-Arian Conflicts. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1995.