The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

Canonised Father of the Church

Ambrose of Milan

Also known as Aurelius Ambrosius

Provincial governor acclaimed bishop by the people of Milan before he was baptised; he shaped Latin theology, brought Greek thought west, and made emperors answer to the Church.

  • Received Orthodox teachingTaught consistently and received throughout the Orthodox Church, though not necessarily formulated in a conciliar definition. This is not a claim that no Father ever wrote differently.
  • Liturgical witnessAttested in the Church's worship — in a hymn, a prayer, a rite or a commemoration. Liturgical language is theological rather than casual, but a hymn is not a canon.
  • Historical consensusBroadly agreed among historians working from the surviving evidence. Consensus can shift when the evidence or the method changes.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

What still needs checking (2)
  • Confirm the commemoration date against an official Orthodox source.
  • Archive On the Duties of the Clergy and On the Holy Spirit.

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Dates
around 339 - 397 — Died on 4 April 397.
Region
Northern Italy
See
Milan
Language of composition
Latin
Commemoration
7 December (Orthodox Church in America and other Orthodox jurisdictions) — Julian-calendar jurisdictions observe the date thirteen days later on the civil calendar.

Life

Ambrose was governor of the province when the see of Milan fell vacant amid conflict between Nicene and Arian parties. He went to keep order at the election and was acclaimed bishop by the crowd. He was not yet baptised; he was baptised, ordained and consecrated within a week.

He learned his theology on the job, reading Greek writers and bringing their thought into Latin. He also had an unusual willingness to confront imperial power: he refused to hand over a basilica for Arian worship, and required the emperor Theodosius to do public penance after the massacre at Thessalonica.

His preaching was one of the things that brought Augustine into the Church, as the Confessions record — partly because Ambrose showed him that the Old Testament could be read in a way that was not absurd.

Works

Generally accepted as authentic

  • Concerning the Mysteries
  • On the Duties of the Clergy — Not archived here.
  • On the Holy Spirit — Draws heavily on Basil. Not archived here.
  • Hymns — Several are securely his and are still sung in the West.

Disputed, spurious or lost

  • The commentary on the Pauline epistles attributed to Ambrose — The work of an unknown author now called Ambrosiaster.

Theological and spiritual contribution

Concerning the Mysteries is the Western counterpart to Cyril of Jerusalem's mystagogical lectures: an explanation to the newly baptised of what has happened to them in baptism, chrismation and the Eucharist. It is an important witness to fourth-century Milanese practice.

Ambrose is also the channel through which a great deal of Greek theology reached the Latin West, and his insistence that the emperor is within the Church and not above it became a permanent part of Western political thought.

  • Augustine of Hippo

    The most influential theologian of the Latin West, honoured as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and read there with a discrimination that the West has not always applied.

    Father or writer

  • Cyril of Jerusalem

    Bishop of Jerusalem whose catechetical lectures to candidates for baptism are the fullest picture we have of how the fourth-century Church taught the faith.

    Father or writer

  • The Mysteries

    Baptism, chrismation, the Eucharist and the Church's other sacramental acts.

    Theme

  • Baptism, chrismation and entry into the Church

    How a person becomes an Orthodox Christian, and what the fourth-century sources show us about it.

    Lesson

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Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Ambrose: Select Works and Letters Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) Concerning the Mysteries translated edition of primary texts Archived in full. Source record
  2. Tier C The Confessions and Letters of St. Augustine Philip Schaff (ed.) Augustine, Confessions, Books V-VI translated edition of primary texts On Ambrose's preaching and influence. Source record

Tiers are explained in the methodology. No page on this site has been reviewed or approved by any bishop, priest, synod or seminary.