St. Ambrose
The saints are remembered most often for their courageous acts of love and devotion to God. These acts, in St. Ambrose’s case are acts of great political and religious peace. The Roman Empire was in immense turmoil and many pagan beliefs were circling when Ambrose became Bishop of Milan, but he managed to keep peace in the empire throughout his life. Those in poverty were Ambrose’s main concern and he was very charitable to the poor and spent his time trying to help them. His religious writings made him one of the four original Doctors of the Church. St. Ambrose was an extremely impactful saint during the time of the Roman Empire and even today he continues to impact the Church with his influential writings and devotion to others.
The early life of St. Ambrose is very much a mystery, he was born in approximately 341 AD, do to when he was born very little is known about his young life. Prior to becoming bishop, Ambrose was the governor of Milan, as well as, a lawyer and he was very popular amongst the people. In 374, a riot broke out outside the cathedral after the death of the previous bishop, Christians and Arians were fighting about who the new bishop should be.
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Ambrose went immediately to the cathedral and attempted to calm the crowds, upon his arrival the crowd began chanting “Ambrose for bishop!”. During this time, many people supported Arian heresy, which argued against the divinity of Christ. Accepting the position of bishop was very life threatening, and for that reason Ambrose did not wish to become bishop. He appealed to the emperor to overturn the decision on the grounds that Ambrose was not baptised, but the emperor refused because he was so happy to have chosen a governor who the people thought was fit to become bishop. Ambrose hid at a senator's house until the senator gave him up after hearing that the emperor was in favor of Ambrose becoming bishop, having nowhere else to go Ambrose accepted the position. Many Arians believed Ambrose was going to side them on decisions regarding the Church since many government officials were also Arians, however, Ambrose surprised everyone and was baptised a Christian. Ambrose, upon becoming bishop, spent much of his time studying the Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church, which of course led to him writing many of his own religious works. The accomplishments of St. Ambrose are both religious and political, he was famous for his peaceful negotiations, and he also wrote several documents which are still used in Church doctrine today. The political accomplishments of Ambrose stem from the turmoil created by the Goths, a Germanic tribe, who invaded the Roman Empire. Once the Goths invaded, Ambrose immediately used all the money he had to pay ransoms for those kidnapped by the Goths, he also had most of the gold vessels owned by the Church melted down and given to the invaders. Another example of Ambrose's peacekeeping skills occurred when a former Roman general named Maximus planned to attack the empire. Ambrose was asked by the emperor to speak to General Maximus and talk him out of the attack, Ambrose was successful. However, when Maximus planned to attack a second time after the death of the emperor Ambrose was unsuccessful at talking him out of it. Luckily, the emperor of the Eastern empire who was also Catholic, Theodosious, came to the West’s aid and stopped Maximus. Later on, Emperor Theodosious became a tyrant and killed many innocent people, after Ambrose heard about this he excommunicated Theodosious from the Church. He was so distraught over being kicked out he locked himself in his palace for days until he went back to Ambrose to beg for forgiveness. Ambrose did grant him forgiveness after Theodosious fell to the floor and prayed to God for mercy. The writings of St. Ambrose are also a great accomplishment s of his. Some of his writings include: De fide ad Gratianum Augustum which covered the topic of faith and was written to Gratian Augustus, the emperor of the Roman Empire from 375 to 383; De Spiritu Sancto was written about the Holy Spirit; De mysteriis talked about the mysteries; Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam a commentary on the Gospel of Luke. These are only four of the numerous writings St. Ambrose had created to help others learn about the Church and what it teaches. Many of Ambrose’s teachings are still very prevalent in the Church’s teachings today. The impact left by St.
Ambrose can still be felt around the world today. His skills at maintaining peace in the Roman Empire are truly remarkable and could have aided in the empire lasting as long as it did. His teachings also struck a chord with many people of his time and today, even the Arian heretics of his time were affected by his writings. The greatest impact left by Ambrose has to do with his immense love and care for those in poverty. Ambrose considered the poor to be a part of society as a whole, not as outsiders. Giving to the poor was not considered an act of generosity but was a repayment of resources that God had originally given to all people, but the rich had stolen. In fact, as soon as St. Ambrose became bishop of Milan he gave all of his personal property to the
poor. Although the Roman Empire experienced most of the great deeds that St. Ambrose is most known for his lasting effect on the Church will always come from his writings. However, his devotion to the poor and maintaining peace are something to be overlooked either. He managed to keep peace not only between between affairs of state but also in religious affairs. The life and accomplishments of St. Ambrose is something that all people can look up to and admire, he was a devoted Catholic and demonstrated exactly what it meant to be a follower of God. The devotion and peaceful acts of St. Ambrose are what make him an impactful saint worthy of the title of Doctor of the Church.
... of saint because he had the strongest desire to do good for others. He exemplified great virtue and because of this a community was able to move forward.
Stephen Ambrose was born in 1936 and grew up in Whitewater, Wisconsin, a small town where his father was the M.D. At the University of Wisconsin, he started as a pre-med, but inspired by a great professor he changed his major to History. After getting his M.A. degree at Louisiana State University, he returned to the University of Wisconsin to complete a Ph.D. Ambrose began teaching at the University of New Orleans. He started as a Civil War historian but changed to political history after President Eisenhower asked him to become his biographer. Since then, Ambrose has written more than twenty books.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
Furthermore, the renewal and rejuvenation of the Catholic Church makes Pope John a major reformer of the 20th century and a significantly large influencer during his time. He made universal and worldwide impacts to religious adherents by reforming and revitalizing the Christian traditions through achieving ressourcement, aggiornamento. In addition, his passion for unity amongst Christian faiths and interfaith dialogue, world peace and economic justice also furthered his impact not only within the Catholic Church but also in other Christian denominations. Moreover, in the short time of Pope John’s authority and power within the Catholic Church, the contributions and achievements he made had a substantially large impact to the Christian traditions as he brought the Catholic Church into the modern era,
Through the close study of two of the aspects shown in the diagram, their contributions allow Christianity to be considered a living religious tradition. The significant contributions of Pope John XXIII, during both his papal and Pre-papal life have had everlasting effects on not only Catholicism, but Christianity as a whole and lead to the sense of Christianity being a living religious tradition. His works include two Papal encyclicals, Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris, along with his work being Apostolic Delegate of Greece and Turkey. Moreover, The significant practice of Baptism has further contributed to Christian being considered a living religious tradition as it accounts for the premise of most Christian beliefs to be initiated, especially in terms of salvation and affirming the beliefs in the trinity and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
"Constantine the Great." The Catholic Encyclopedie, Volume IV. 2003. New Advent. 7 Dec 2006 .
I invite you to consider the life of an interesting human being with me in this paper. Let us investigate together the man known as Irenaeus of Lyons. We will endeavor to gain an overall verbal portrait of the man who is considered the most significant ecclesiastical witness before Eusebius and the leading theologian in the second century A. D. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church both consider Irenaeus to be one of their “holy saints“. The name Irenaeus means a “‘man of peace,’ and the early Christian historian Eusebius honored Irenaeus as a peacemaker in keeping with his name.”
St. Boniface, originally named Winfrith, was an extremely studious man, a converted monk, priest, missionary and finally martyr. Born in 672, near Exeter, England, St. Boniface at an early age developed a desire to follow the path of God and live a monastic life. Through non-stop prayer and religious practices, he tuned his mind and body to reach beyond the obstacles and enticements of everyday life at his young adult age. He was a major influence on society during his life and affected the lives and history of Germany permanently. Often called the “Apostle of Germany”, St. Boniface was a strong believer in the principles of the Church and truly wanted to open any pagan believers minds to the knowledgeable and rewarding path of the Christian life.
Ambrose tells that the “Church “should be viewed as one’s home. If peace is in one’s home therefore, we want Peace in the Church also (Wogaman 48). He emphasizes this by, “where there is rich and poor, slave and freeman, Greek and Syrian, patrician and plebeian, we are all in Christ” (Wogaman 48). Ambrose goes into detail to explain, riches will be left here on earth, one should only take “Faith with you and allow righteous to be your companion with your faith”. ( Wogaman 49). He further explains that the poor is not really the poor, because the Lord hears their cries. He tells that faith is far precious than “Silver and Gold”, having these riches could lead to pollution of one’s faith (Wogaman 49). Ambrose gives the scripture Philippian 2:9, “I am rich enough in the name of Jesus. He probes on how if one desires to be “rich, you must become poor, and then you will be rich in all things, if you are poor in spirit. Not property, but in spirit, makes one rich” ( Wogaman 49). The “Lord is one’s portion” explains Ambrose (Wogaman 50). Ambrose uses his writing to empower the Priest to really seek and Trust God and not in material things. Things are only temporal; one has to know Jesus for who
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
Another saint who played a major influence on the church was St. Augistine. St. Augistine held the idea that Christianity gave ones life meaning and purpose. He believed that “Christians are not born but made. ” St. Augistine was the author of a very influential book in the history of the church. This book was “The City of God.” This book told the history of the church and proved it to be a historically valid one. He believed that there was no use to civilization, and as faith increases civilization should decrease. The “City of the World” is the opposite of the “City of God”, and brings temptation and must be resisted. This reference to civilization was aimed towards Rome.
Constantine the Great, first Christian Emperor, originator of Constantinople, creator of the Byzantine Empire, military conqueror, and honored saint, has been labeled by many the most instrumental emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine played a crucial role in the development of Europe during the Middle Ages, and founded Christianity as the formal religion of the Roman Empire. His dynamic yet effective predominance laid the infrastructure of European development. From his humble beginnings, to his command of the Roman Empire, to his final days, Constantine’s impact on world history and Christianity has left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was described by Eusebius as “such an emperor as all history records not.” Ware compared him to, “a watershed in the history of the Church.” Additionally, Meyendorff states, “No single human being in history has contributed to the conversion of so many to the Christian faith.” Norwich declared that “No ruler in all of history has ever more fully merited his title of ‘the Great’…Constantine has serious claim to be considered the most influential man in all of history.” Some of Constantine’s notable acts in the history of Christianity was his calling of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, his institution of freedom for Christianity with the Edict of Milan, and the relocation of the capital of empire from Rome to Constantinople.
In our daily lives, we all want to live like saints and don’t really want to pay attention to or learn about the bad people. Emperor Diocletian was not one of the people in history that did great things, and surely learning about his wrongdoings might make us think about his decisions and avoid the evil choices in our own lives. This essay will cover a short portion of his life, the challenges he faced, and how he affected the Catholic Church. Although this article won’t cover every details about Diocletian’s life, it will mainly focus on the period during his reign as emperor that made him what sort of a man he is.
Saint Francis of Assisi was a uniquely spiritual man who gave up a life of wealth and position to lead a life of poverty in accordance and service to God. Embracing a life according to the Gospels, Francis went on to establish a Monastic Order, known as the Franciscans. In the midst of the political climate within the religious community of Italy, Francis emerged a champion for the poor and sick, with humility and no regard for himself. Francis exhibited his love for God through his love and admiration for all of God's creation including nature. The principles of Saint Francis are as relevant today as they were in thirteenth century Italy; service and love to all of God’s creation.
Finally, the friars were to wander around the neighbouring towns to preach and aid the needy.... ... middle of paper ... ... The Roman Catholic Church’s reputation for wealth and power furnished them with the ability to have a major impact over feudal society.