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St.
Ambrose
Feast Day: December 7
God gave many talents to Ambrose.
He used them to keep the Church true to the Bible. In 340 AD, Ambrose
was born in Germany. His father served there as an important Roman soldier.
When he grew up, Ambrose became a lawyer. Then—in 374—he became
the bishop of Milan, Italy.
At that time, a group of Christians called Arians were saying that Jesus
was not equal to God. But Ambrose believed that God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit are equal. So Ambrose began to speak out
against Arianism.
For many years, Ambrose fought this false belief. But God also called
him to do other things for the Church. For example, Ambrose wrote hymns
in a new way. These songs influenced other Christian songwriters.
Ambrose also spoke out against anyone who did not follow the Gospels.
Once the emperor put 7,000 people to death because one person killed a
Roman governor. Ambrose made the emperor do public penance for his sin.
Ambrose led an active life and died at age 57 in 397. As a bishop of the
early Church he worked to protect its beliefs. By the time Ambrose died,
Arianism—which denied the Trinity—had died in the Roman Empire.
This Christian belief has come down to us because of people like Ambrose.
Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
Grade 4, chapter 17
