Resultados25 letters/passages
ambrose_milan · c. 393 · score 0.02
And David too, when he held the kingdom and heard that innocent Abner had been killed by Joab, his army commander, said: "I am guiltless, and my kingdom is guiltless from this day forward of the blood of Abner, son of Ner," and he fasted in grief. 11. I have written this not to humiliate you, but so that the examples o …
ambrose_milan · c. 379 · score 0.02
To the most blessed Emperor and most merciful prince Theodosius — Ambrose and the other bishops of Italy. We knew your holy mind was devoted to Almighty God in pure and sincere faith. But you have added fresh kindnesses: you have restored Catholics to their churches, most august Emperor. If only you had restored the Ca …
ambrose_milan · c. 385 · score 0.02
Ambrose, Bishop, to the Emperor Theodosius. I explain my absence from Milan when your Clemency arrived after your great victory. I was not avoiding you — though I understand how it might appear. The truth is simpler: I was unwell, and the roads were difficult. But I also wished to write first what I might not say easil …
ambrose_milan · c. 381 · score 0.02
To the most blessed Emperor and most merciful prince Theodosius — Ambrose and the other bishops of Italy. The report of your faith, spread throughout the whole world, has stirred deep affection in our hearts. Because we desired this glory too for your reign — that you might be seen to have restored unity to both the We …
ambrose_milan · c. 394 · score 0.02
Ambrose, Bishop, to the Emperor Theodosius. You supposed, most blessed Emperor — as I gathered from your letter — that I had gone far from Milan because I believed God had abandoned your cause. But I am neither so imprudent nor so forgetful of your virtues and your merits as to have doubted that heaven's help would att …
ambrose_milan · c. 393 · score 0.02
Yet I would rather have died than not wait two or three days for your arrival. But it was not possible for me to do so. 6. What was done in the city of Thessalonica [the massacre of approximately 7,000 people in the hippodrome in retaliation for the murder of the Gothic military commander Butheric] has no parallel in r …
ambrose_milan · c. 393 · score 0.01
I dare not offer the sacrifice [the Eucharist] if you intend to be present. Is what is not permitted after shedding the blood of one innocent person, permitted after shedding the blood of many? I do not think so. 14. Finally, I am writing with my own hand what only you may read. As I hope that the Lord will deliver me …
ambrose_milan · c. 396 · score 0.01
Ambrose, Bishop, to the Emperor Theodosius. Although I have recently written to your Clemency twice already, I still feel that I have not done enough — given how deeply indebted I am for your many kindnesses, most blessed and august Emperor. Every opportunity to express my duty must be seized, not least because I would …
ambrose_milan · c. 385 · score 0.01
Ambrose to the Emperor Theodosius. Your Clemency has done what I asked: you have shown mercy to the defeated supporters of Eugenius. For this, all Italy gives thanks — and more importantly, God gives thanks, for mercy is the virtue most like himself. I have heard that you spared even those who fought against you willin …
ambrose_milan · c. 385 · score 0.01
To the most merciful Emperor Theodosius — from the Council assembled at Aquileia. Most gracious Emperor, we write to you about Antioch [the great see in Syria, one of the five patriarchal centers of early Christianity], where the divisions among Catholics themselves cause us the deepest grief. It is not heresy that div …
ambrose_milan · c. 389 · score 0.01
Ambrose, Bishop, to the most merciful prince and most blessed Emperor Theodosius. I am always burdened with cares, most blessed Emperor, but I have never been in such distress as now — because I see that I must guard against anything that could be charged to me as sacrilege. I beg you: hear me patiently. If I am unwort …
ambrose_milan · c. 388 · score 0.01
Ambrose, Bishop, to the most merciful prince and most blessed Emperor Theodosius. I am constantly burdened with cares, most blessed Emperor, but I have never been in such distress as now. I see that I must take every precaution against anything that might be charged to me as approaching sacrilege. I beg you: hear me wi …
ambrose_milan · c. 392 · score 0.01
Ambrose, Bishop, to the Emperor Theodosius. My silence was broken by the words of your Clemency. Until now, in the face of such sorrow, I had resolved to do nothing better, if I could manage it, than hide myself away. Since I could not withdraw from the world or resign my bishopric, I hid within silence. I grieve — I c …
ambrose_milan · c. 393 · score 0.01
Addressed to the Emperor Theodosius [Theodosius I, 379-395] after the massacre at Thessalonica [in 390 AD, Theodosius ordered a retaliatory massacre in the city's hippodrome after a popular riot killed his military commander; approximately 7,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered]. Ambrose states his reasons for …
ambrose_milan · c. 390 · score 0.01
I grieve over it not because it happened under your rule, but because you are the sort of man who should never have allowed it. When I heard the first reports, I groaned. Many bishops were present at the time, and they groaned with me. Your guilt is not diminished by the fact that others prompted you to it. It is incre …
ambrose_milan · c. 389 · score 0.01
Either way, the church loses. Is that your intention? I am not saying that the synagogue should have been burned. I am saying that the remedy you have chosen is worse than the offense. Punish the rioters, if you must — but do not compel a bishop to rebuild with his own money a place where Christ is blasphemed. That is …
ambrose_milan · c. 390 · score 0.01
Ambrose, Bishop, to the most august Emperor Theodosius. The memory of our long friendship is sweet to me, and I gratefully recall the many kindnesses you have shown to those on whose behalf I interceded. You may be confident, then, that it is no ungrateful spirit that has made me avoid your arrival — an arrival that wa …
ambrose_milan · c. 385 · score 0.01
Ambrose to the Emperor Theodosius. I thank you, most merciful Emperor, for your willingness to reconsider the matter of Callinicum. The modification you have made shows your good will, but I must confess it does not go far enough. You have removed the requirement that the bishop personally rebuild the synagogue, but yo …
ambrose_milan · c. 393 · score 0.01
3. What, then, could I do? Should I not hear? But I could not close my ears with the wax of ancient fables. Should I speak what I heard? But I was forced to guard my words against the very thing I feared from your commands — that some act of bloodshed would be carried out. Should I keep silent? But then my conscience w …
ambrose_milan · c. 392 · score 0.01
Shall I think him truly dead to me? No — he is more dead to me than to anyone, because I had more reason than anyone to rejoice in his transformation. I was giving thanks to God daily for the change in him. I was giving thanks to your Clemency for having formed him in the disciplines of your own faith and piety. And no …
ambrose_milan · c. 393 · score 0.01
And again, David, after he had commanded the people to be numbered, was stricken in heart and said to the Lord: "I have sinned greatly because I commanded this. And now, O Lord, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly." And the prophet Nathan was sent again to him, offering him the choic …
ambrose_milan · c. 385 · score 0.01
Ambrose, Bishop, to the Emperor Theodosius — written in my own hand, for your eyes alone. I write this privately because the matter requires delicacy, and I have no desire to humiliate you in public. But I must be honest with you, and honesty in this case is painful. At Thessalonica, by your order, thousands were kille …
ambrose_milan · c. 393 · score 0.01
For the one is a sign of humility, the other of contempt. For the Word of God Himself tells us that He prefers obedience to His commandments over the offering of sacrifice. God proclaims this, Moses declares it to the people, Paul preaches it to the Gentiles. Do what you understand to be most beneficial for the present …
ambrose_milan · c. 388 · score 0.01
Punish the rioters if justice demands it — but do not compel a Christian bishop to build a synagogue. That is not justice. That is a triumph of those who deny Christ over those who confess him. If you will not hear me as a counselor, hear me at least as an intercessor. I would rather owe you gratitude for mercy than be …
ambrose_milan · c. 385 · score 0.01
Ambrose to the Emperor Theodosius. You know, most merciful Emperor, that I spoke to you recently about the matter of Callinicum. I see that my letter has not yet produced its full effect, and so I must press the point further — not from obstinacy but from pastoral duty. When I stood before you at the altar and you were …