Today's devotional is written by Kate Souther, our Faith Formation Summer Inern Lead. Kate will share future reflections throughout the summer about important figures in church history, today her reflection focuses on Saint Ambrose.
St. Ambrose, one of the four Great Latin church fathers (joined by Jerome, Augustine, and Pope Gregory the Great), was born in Western Germany in 339 AD. His family moved to Rome when he was a teenager, and he became a Roman politician, like his late father. He was thrust into becoming the Bishop of Milan in 374 by popular vote, despite having no clerical experience.
Around that time, a popular heresy called Arianism was spreading rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. Arianism taught that Jesus was created by God (note that we say ‘begotten’ Son of God in the Nicene Creed) and was therefore lesser than God the Father and not made of the same ‘essence’. This denial of the divinity of Christ was all the rage in the Western Roman Empire in the 4th century, and Ambrose, a Nicene Christian, was dedicated to defending trinitarianism and the true faith.
St. Ambrose had many revolutionary ideas about the relationship of church and state, asceticism, and more, but what stands out to me about his story is his resilience and dedication to his beliefs. In the face of violence, he refused to yield the congregations in Milan to Arianism, famously saying "If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death, I will not resist; but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succor me; I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it.” His story reminds me of that of Martin Luther’s, and his “Here I stand” moment. Ambrosian theology influenced St. Augustine, which later came to inspire many Lutheran ideas – Lutheran two-kingdom theology can actually be traced back to St. Ambrose!
Today, I pray that we may all embody the spirit of St. Ambrose. May we be calm and practical, always keeping our eye on the big picture, but also fearless and steadfast in our beliefs, in the name of an all-powerful and unchanging God. Amen.
St. Ambrose, one of the four Great Latin church fathers (joined by Jerome, Augustine, and Pope Gregory the Great), was born in Western Germany in 339 AD. His family moved to Rome when he was a teenager, and he became a Roman politician, like his late father. He was thrust into becoming the Bishop of Milan in 374 by popular vote, despite having no clerical experience.
Around that time, a popular heresy called Arianism was spreading rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. Arianism taught that Jesus was created by God (note that we say ‘begotten’ Son of God in the Nicene Creed) and was therefore lesser than God the Father and not made of the same ‘essence’. This denial of the divinity of Christ was all the rage in the Western Roman Empire in the 4th century, and Ambrose, a Nicene Christian, was dedicated to defending trinitarianism and the true faith.
St. Ambrose had many revolutionary ideas about the relationship of church and state, asceticism, and more, but what stands out to me about his story is his resilience and dedication to his beliefs. In the face of violence, he refused to yield the congregations in Milan to Arianism, famously saying "If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death, I will not resist; but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succor me; I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it.” His story reminds me of that of Martin Luther’s, and his “Here I stand” moment. Ambrosian theology influenced St. Augustine, which later came to inspire many Lutheran ideas – Lutheran two-kingdom theology can actually be traced back to St. Ambrose!
Today, I pray that we may all embody the spirit of St. Ambrose. May we be calm and practical, always keeping our eye on the big picture, but also fearless and steadfast in our beliefs, in the name of an all-powerful and unchanging God. Amen.
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