St. Ambrose
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As Christians, we believe that God the Father saves us through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that each of the three Persons of the Trinity is equal to the others. The Arians challenged this belief. The Church needed people to speak out against Arianism. Ambrose stepped forward!
Ambrose, born in 340 AD, became bishop of Milan, Italy, in 374. He took an active role in keeping the Church true to the teachings of Jesus Christ. For example, he made Emperor Theodosius do public penance for putting 7,000 people to death because one person had killed a Roman governor.
Ambrose said that an emperor was in the Church; he was not above the Church! In this way, Ambrose faced down emperors. He also preached against those who did not accept Jesus as God and wrote hymns to put Christian faith into song.
Ambrose was a man of action in a time when the Church needed someone to act for it. By the time he died in 397, the Church had outlawed Arianism. This heresy, which Ambrose fought so hard, quickly died in the Roman Empire.
Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
Grade 4, chapter 17
Connecting to Faith First®
Junior High, Creed and Prayer, chapters 1 and 22
Junior High, Liturgy and Morality, chapter 22