Letters of 'St. Ambrose'

St. Ambrose of Milan. St. Ambrose (ca. A.D. 339-397) was born to a Roman noble family, becoming a provincial governor by the age of thirty. He was elected bishop of Milan after successfully calming clashes between Milan's Nicene and Arian communities. As bishop, he was a staunch defender of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism. He was also remembered for his stand against imperial authority on two occasions. He refused to hand over for the use of the local Arian population the basilicas demanded by Valentinian II and his mother Justina (A.D. 385-6). Later, he refused to commune Theodosius I until he repented for the massacre of 7000 civilians in Thessalonica after an imperial official had been killed there. His statement that "the Emperor is within the Church, not above it" was cited well into the Middle Ages. His many writings reflected his busy pastoral life, and a spirited intellect. They were among the first patristic writings to be printed in the sixteenth century.