The Presbyters Project

Discussion:

Here, Ambrose's addressee is Simplicianus, most probably the same whom Augustine mentions in the Confessions 8.2 as the pater in accipienda gratia tunc episcopi Ambrosii ([1886]). In his letters to Simplicianus, Ambrose always expresses the filial affection, which suggests seniority of Simplicianus. He succeeded Ambrose in the see of Milan in AD 397, being already very advanced in age. No source calls Simplicianus explicitly a presbyter, and that he was one is inferred from the indirect evidence. The present letter is not dated, but it is clearly a continuation of Letter 7 [1859] in which, in chapter 3, Ambrose makes reference to his work De Iacob et vita beata written in 386, so the letter must have been composed afterwards.

Place of event:

Region

Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia

City

Milan

About the source:

Author: Ambrose of Milan
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Milan (Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Ambrose was a bishop of Milan from 374 until his death in 397. We have a collection of his letters organized in three parts. The first one consists of 77 letters organized in ten books most probably by Ambrose himself. He published his letters at some point after the death of Theodosius in 395. From this collection, Book 4 is missing, as are some letters of Books 2 and 4. The second part is the group of letters that survived outside the collection (extra collectionem), and the third is a group of letters concerning the council of Aquileia in 381 (together with the acts of this council). For a detailed discussion on the letters and further reading see Liebeschuetz 2010: 27–48 and Nauroy 2016: 146–160.

Edition:

O. Faller ed., Epistulae et acta, epistularum libri I-VI, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Lationorum 82/1, Wien 1968

Translation:

Saint Ambrose, Letters, trans. M. M. Beyenka, Washington D.C. 1954

Bibliography:

J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, Ambrose of Milan: political letters and speeches, Liverpool 2010.

G. Nauroy, "The Letter Collection of Ambrose of Milan", [in:] Late Antique Letter Collections: A Critical Introduction and Reference Guide, ed. C. Sogno, B.K. Storin, E.J. Watts, Oakland, CA 2016, 146–160.

G. Nauroy, "Édition et organisation du recueil des lettres d’Ambroise de Milan: une architecture cachée ou altérée?", in: La correspondance d'Ambroise de Milan, textes réunis et préparés par A. Canellis, Saint-Étienne 2012, 19-61.

Categories:

Writing activity - Correspondence

PR842.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR842.

Education - Theological interest

PR842.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1860, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1860