Sacerdotium and imperium according to St. Ambrose of Milan. An analysis of the vertical power of the faith and the horizontal power of the secular
Sacerdotium and imperium according to St. Ambrose of Milan. An analysis of the vertical power of the faith and the horizontal power of the secular

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes the correspondence of St. Ambrose with the emperors that ruled during his episcopate, in order to illuminate an episode of extreme importance for the life of the Christian Church: the conflict between the authority of the faith (whose representative St. Ambrose was) and the authority of the secular power, which was beginning to disturb the ecclesiastical ethos reflected in the praxis and doctrine of the Church. We are not trying to give a historical account – others have done it with remarkable competence – but rather to describe the sacerdotal profile of the bishop who fights for the dogmatic and spiritual well-being of his faith community. As evident from his correspondence with the emperors, St. Ambrose both defended the ecclesial community against imperial interventions in Church-related issues (especially when the emperor was Arian) because of the risk of weakening the citadel of the Nicene faith (for example by restoring churches to the Arians), and also reminded the emperors of the high moral standards that correspond to a life in harmony with the Gospel and with the spiritual tradition of the Church (for example in the Callinicum affair, the controversies related to the image of the Church, the massacre of Thessalonica, or the restoration of the moral status of emperor Theodosius via repentance only).Hence, our attention has focused on the interaction between sacerdotium and imperium from the perspective of St. Ambrose's faith rather than his political views. His works are infused with pastoral responsibility for the dogmatic and spiritual welfare of his community. The framework of our analysis is thus the authority of the faith in exorcising the secular power from the tumors of indifference, arrogance and interference in the life of the church in order to dilute the Nicene faith. Thus, we believe it is proper to affirm that St. Ambrose verticalizes the horizontality of the secular power.

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