About the Eucharistic ‘Consecratio’ of Ambrose of Milan in Fourth Century

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-117
Author(s):  
황훈식
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Ambrose Of Milan

Ambrose's Jews: The Creation of Judaism and Heterodox Christianity in Ambrose of Milan's Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam

2011 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 749-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Doerfler
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Ambrose Of Milan ◽  
Anti Jewish ◽  
The Way

In recent years, the writings of Ambrose of Milan have enjoyed a revival of interest in historical and theological circles. The work of scholars like Christoph Markschies, Neil McLynn, Daniel Williams, and Marcia Colish has paved the way for a consideration of Ambrose's exegetical corpus, including his Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam, as well. Readers both ancient and modern have generally remarked upon two of the commentary's features: Its derivative nature, particularly Ambrose's generous borrowings from other third- and fourth-century writers; and its pronounced anti-Jewish tenor. This article explores the latter aspect of Exp. ev. Luc. in light of the consistent rhetorical association of Jews and heretics, particularly so-called Arians, in Ambrose's commentary. Both groups are said to share a number of characteristics that Ambrose contrasts unfavorably with pro-Nicene Christianity. These include Jews' and heretics' “literary luxury” as opposed to pro-Nicene simplicity; their barrenness vis-á-vis pro-Nicene fruitfulness; and finally Jewish and heretical faithlessness in opposition to the Nicene faith that Ambrose constructs as the mark of true Christianity. Through a sustained examination of Ambrose's rhetoric in Exp. ev. Luc., this article seeks to uncover the framework Ambrose sought to create for his fourth-century audience by establishing and exploiting associations between Jews and heretics.

Finding Relics

2018 ◽  
pp. 101-121
Author(s):  
Robert Wiśniewski
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Early History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Church Politics ◽  
Ambrose Of Milan ◽  
To Come

When the cult of relics developed in the mid-fourth century, very few tombs of saints whose remains were to be venerated in the centuries to come had been identified. This chapter presents the early history of the search for and finding of such graves, which started in the last decades of the fourth century. It seeks to explain the reasons which lay behind this process, focusing both on the needs of the congregation and the role of the discovery in church politics. It also analyses the sense of the literary pattern of inventio and tries to find out how much this pattern reflected reality. Finally, it presents a case study: a literary dossier of the discovery of the relics of Gervasius and Protasius by Bishop Ambrose of Milan in 386.

“Since Those Days All Things Have Progressed for the Better”: Tradition, Progress, and Creation in Ambrose of Milan

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 440-459
Author(s):  
Alex Fogleman
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
The World ◽  
Intellectual Milieu ◽  
New Space ◽  
Ambrose Of Milan ◽  
Doctrine Of Creation

AbstractIn Ambrose’s apologetic writing against the Roman prefect Symmachus, he makes a surprising argument for Christianity’s superiority over Roman religious practices, arguing that Christianity is in fact a newer and therefore superior form of religion. The whole world has “progressed” and so must religious practices. In the letters to Symmachus, Ambrose’s arguments are ad hoc and apologetic, not constructive. This article seeks to understand better the intellectual and historical contexts that make Ambrose’s surprising convictions possible by looking at Ambrose’s writings on creation in the context of the pro-Nicene debates. Considering Ambrose’s writing in the Hexameron, I argue that Ambrose’s account of cosmological progress finds an intellectual milieu in pro-Nicene reflection on the implications of Christ’s divine consubstantiality for a doctrine of creation. When Christ is no longer seen as a mediator between God and the world, a new space is opened up to speak of creation’s change and even “progress” without a worry that doing so will jeopardize creation as the divine handiwork. Ambrose’s apologetic strategy, though apparently not directly related to pro-Nicene debates, is illuminated when seen against this backdrop. The result is a better understanding both of Ambrose’s strategies in particular and of the situation of fourth-century apologetics more broadly.

Earth Accuses Earth: Tracing What Jesus Wrote on the Ground

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Knust ◽  
Tommy Wasserman
Keyword(s):  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Christian Art ◽  
Latin West ◽  
East And West ◽  
The Law ◽  
Ambrose Of Milan

The story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53–8:11) has a long, complex history. Well-known in the Latin West, the story was neglected but not forgotten in the East. Incorporated within Late Antique and Early Medieval Gospel manuscripts, depicted in Christian art, East and West, and included within the developing liturgies of Rome and Constantinople, the passage has fascinated interpreters for centuries despite irregularities in its transmission.1 Throughout this long history, one narrative detail has been of particular interest: the content and significance of Jesus— writing. Discussed in sermons, elaborated in manuscripts, and depicted in magnificent illuminations, Jesus— writing has inspired interpreters at least since the fourth century, when Ambrose of Milan first mentioned it. Offering his opinion on the propriety of capital punishment, the bishop turned to the pericope in order to argue that Christians do well to advocate on behalf of the condemned since, by doing so, they imitate the mercy of Christ. Nevertheless, he averred, the imposition of capital punishment remains an option for Christian rulers and judges. After all, God also judges and condemns, as Christ showed when, responding to the men questioning him and accusing the adulteress, he wrote twice on the ground. Demonstrating that “the Jews were condemned by both testaments,” Christ bent over and wrote “with the finger with which he had written the law,” or so the bishop claimed.2 Ambrose offered a further conjecture in a subsequent letter: Jesus wrote “earth, earth, write that these men have been disowned,” a saying he attributes to Jeremiah (compare Jer 22:29),3. As Jeremiah also explains, “Those who have been disowned by their Father are written on the ground,” but the names of Christians are written in heaven.4

Cities in Conflict

2020 ◽  
pp. 397-418
Author(s):  
D. H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Augustine Of Hippo ◽  
Ambrose Of Milan

This chapter focuses on the work of Ambrose of Milan: specifically, it considers his two letters to Valentinian to see what they can tell us about the structure and evolution of Christian apologetic literature in the later fourth century. Both of Ambrose’s petitions are intent on making the bishop’s Against Symmachus the basis of a broader appeal in establishing the legitimacy of Christianity to an audience of uncommitted Christians or pagans. If it is correct to regard the two documents as such, then we are acknowledging the elasticity of Christian apologetic literature—a recognition that has come to typify scholarly assessment of Christian apologetic texts. The chapter also examines the work of Augustine of Hippo Regius, particularly the City of God and his analysis of evil things happening during “Christian times.”

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