The paper studies in which way Bishop Ambrose - a high-ranking imperial official of senatorial origin - took up the challenge of building a Catholic community in Milan, when that city (once a sleepy provincial town) had become a bustling centre, where economic affairs, social challenges, cultural attractions and religious alternatives were bubbling away for the constant presence of the emperor and his Court. The effectiveness of his example and teaching was revealed after just a decade, when the faithful did not abandon their bishop, who dared to oppose the Court of Justina and Emperor Valentinian II, nor did the citizens of Milan be afraid of the heavy fines that had been threatened to the trade guilds to dissuade them from revolting, but barricaded themselves in the churches surrounded by soldiers, singing their faith. The sacred hymns, which Ambrose had written for them, had transformed those who could hardly call themselves disciples into teachers. Ambrose's Christian community, however, extended beyond the confines of the city. Once governor of the province of Aemilia et Liguria, the new bishop knew the enormous potential of the entire region (the Italia Annonaria). In order for Christianity (still threatened by traditional cults and various heresies) to expand in the area, he multiplied the episcopal seats. And he sent carefully chosen bishops who were inspired by the model of priest he recommended in his sermons and writings. They created a united pressure force in asking Emperor Theodosius to revoke his measures (on bishops of curial origin and on the reconstruction of a synagogue) before attending the solemn sacrifice of the Mass. After the massacre of Thessalonica, in exercising his power of sanction over the emperor, Ambrose transformed the humiliation of a baptised sovereign into the royal virtue of humility. Beyond Annonary Italy, Ambrose intervened wherever there was a need to create or consolidate Christian communities in the Nicene faith, with respect for virginity and consecrated widowhood (in addition to Bologna, Florence, Aquileia and Vercelli, he intervened in matters concerning Sirmium, Thessalonica and Callinicum). Ambrose was in fact a Roman senator, the first aristocratic bishop in the West, as a new examination of prosopographical data shows. Like the great Roman senators of the late fourth century AD, Ambrose had the Empire as his home and believed that Roman universalism was an indispensable condition for the consolidation of Catholicism. He was therefore in contact with many peoples beyond the borders, and his fame spread beyond the Roman Empire. This is shown by some passages from Paulinus' Vita Ambrosii, whose historical relevance is demonstrated in this contribution.
Il contributo esamina i modi in cui il vescovo Ambrogio – un elevato funzionario imperiale di origine senatoria – raccolse la sfida di costruire una comunità cattolica a Milano negli anni in cui quella città, un tempo sonnolenta cittadina provinciale, per la presenza costante dell’imperatore e la sua corte, era diventa un centro brulicante, dove fermentavano affari economici, sfide sociali, attrazioni culturali, alternative religiose. L’efficacia del suo esempio e del suo insegnamento si rivelò già dopo un decennio, quando i fedeli non abbandonarono il loro vescovo, che osava opporsi alla Corte di Giustina e dell’imperatore Valentiniano II, né si lasciarono intimorire dalle pesanti multe che erano state minacciate alle corporazioni di mestiere per dissuaderle dal rivoltarsi, ma si asserragliarono nelle chiese circondate dai soldati, cantando la propria fede. Gli Inni sacri, che Ambrogio aveva scritto per loro, avevano trasformato chi a stento poteva dirsi discepolo in maestro. La comunità cristiana di Ambrogio, tuttavia, trascendeva i confini della città. Un tempo governatore della provincia di Aemilia e Liguria, il nuovo vescovo conosceva le enormi potenzialità dell’intera regione (l’Italia Annonaria). Perché il cristianesimo, ancora insidiato dai culti tradizionali e da varie eresie, si espandesse nell’area, moltiplicò i centri episcopali. E vi inviò vescovi scelti con cura, che s’ispiravano al modello di sacerdote che egli raccomandava di realizzare nelle sue prediche e nei suoi scritti. Essi crearono una forza di pressione compatta nel chiedere all’imperatore Teodosio di revocare le sue misure (sui vescovi di origine curiale e sulla ricostruzione di una sinagoga) prima di assistere al solenne sacrificio della messa. Dopo il massacro di Tessalonica, nell’esercitare il suo potere di sanzione sull’imperatore, Ambrogio trasformò l’umiliazione di un sovrano battezzato nella regale virtù dell’umiltà. Aldilà dell’Italia Annonaria, Ambrogio intervenne ovunque ci fosse bisogno di creare o consolidare le comunità cristiane nella fede nicena, nel rispetto della verginità e della vedovanza consacrata (oltreché a Bologna, Firenze, Aquileia, Vercelli, egli intervenne in questioni riguardanti Sirmium, Tessalonica, Callinicum). Ambrogio infatti era un senatore romano, il primo vescovo aristocratico dell’Occidente come i dati prosopografici dimostrano. Come i grandi senatori romani della fine del IV secolo, Ambrogio aveva come sua patria l’Impero ed era convinto che l’universalismo romano fosse una condizione imprescindibile per il consolidamento del cattolicesimo. Egli, dunque, fu in contatto anche con molti popoli oltre i confini ove la sua fama si estese: lo mostrano alcuni passi della Vita Ambrosii di Paolino, di cui il contributo dimostra l’attendibilità storica.
AMBROSE AND THE CREATION OF A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
Lizzi, Rita
2021
Abstract
The paper studies in which way Bishop Ambrose - a high-ranking imperial official of senatorial origin - took up the challenge of building a Catholic community in Milan, when that city (once a sleepy provincial town) had become a bustling centre, where economic affairs, social challenges, cultural attractions and religious alternatives were bubbling away for the constant presence of the emperor and his Court. The effectiveness of his example and teaching was revealed after just a decade, when the faithful did not abandon their bishop, who dared to oppose the Court of Justina and Emperor Valentinian II, nor did the citizens of Milan be afraid of the heavy fines that had been threatened to the trade guilds to dissuade them from revolting, but barricaded themselves in the churches surrounded by soldiers, singing their faith. The sacred hymns, which Ambrose had written for them, had transformed those who could hardly call themselves disciples into teachers. Ambrose's Christian community, however, extended beyond the confines of the city. Once governor of the province of Aemilia et Liguria, the new bishop knew the enormous potential of the entire region (the Italia Annonaria). In order for Christianity (still threatened by traditional cults and various heresies) to expand in the area, he multiplied the episcopal seats. And he sent carefully chosen bishops who were inspired by the model of priest he recommended in his sermons and writings. They created a united pressure force in asking Emperor Theodosius to revoke his measures (on bishops of curial origin and on the reconstruction of a synagogue) before attending the solemn sacrifice of the Mass. After the massacre of Thessalonica, in exercising his power of sanction over the emperor, Ambrose transformed the humiliation of a baptised sovereign into the royal virtue of humility. Beyond Annonary Italy, Ambrose intervened wherever there was a need to create or consolidate Christian communities in the Nicene faith, with respect for virginity and consecrated widowhood (in addition to Bologna, Florence, Aquileia and Vercelli, he intervened in matters concerning Sirmium, Thessalonica and Callinicum). Ambrose was in fact a Roman senator, the first aristocratic bishop in the West, as a new examination of prosopographical data shows. Like the great Roman senators of the late fourth century AD, Ambrose had the Empire as his home and believed that Roman universalism was an indispensable condition for the consolidation of Catholicism. He was therefore in contact with many peoples beyond the borders, and his fame spread beyond the Roman Empire. This is shown by some passages from Paulinus' Vita Ambrosii, whose historical relevance is demonstrated in this contribution.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.