Ambrose

Saint Ambrose
Archbishop of Milan
Early mosaic of Ambrose that might be an actual portrait.
See	Mediolanum, Diocese of Milan
Appointed	374 AD
Term ended	April 4, 397
Predecessor	Auxentius
Successor	Simplician
Orders
Consecration	December 7, 374
Personal details
Born	c. 340 AD Augusta Treverorum, Gallia Belgica, Roman Empire (modern Trier, Germany)
Died	April 4, 397 Mediolanum, Italia annonaria, Roman Empire (modern Milan, Italy)
Sainthood
Feast day	December 7
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodoxy Anglican Communion Lutheran Church
Title as Saint	Confessor and Doctor of the Church
Attributes	Beehive, a child, whip, bones
Patronage	Bee keepers; bees; bishops; candle makers; domestic animals; French Commissariat; geese; learning; livestock; Milan; police officers; students; wax refiners
Shrines	Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio

Aurelius Ambrosius (Italian: Sant'Ambrogio [ˌsantamˈbrɔːdʒo]), better known in English as Saint Ambrose (/ˈæmbroʊz/; c. 340 – 4 April 397), was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was consular prefect of Liguria and Emilia, headquartered in Milan, before being made bishop of Milan by popular acclamation in 374. Ambrose was a staunch opponent of Arianism, and has been accused of fostering persecutions of Arians, Jews, and pagans.

Traditionally, Ambrose is credited with promoting "antiphonal chant", a style of chanting in which one side of the choir responds alternately to the other, as well as with composing Veni redemptor gentium, an Advent hymn.

Ambrose was one of the four original doctors of the Church, and is the patron saint of Milan. He is notable for his influence on St. Augustine.

Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family about 340 AD and was raised in Trier, Belgic Gaul (present-day Germany). His father is sometimes identified with Aurelius Ambrosius, a praetorian prefect of Gaul; but some scholars identify his father as an official named Uranius who received an imperial constitution dated 3 February 339 AD (addressed in a brief extract from one of the three emperors ruling in 339, Constantinus, Constantius, or Constans, in the Theodosian Code, book XI.5).