Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 1909
Bishop Ambrose of Milan (Italy) in a letter to Orontianus, presbyter in Milan, replies on his questions concerning Ambrose`s "Hexaemeron". Ambrose of Milan, Letter 31 (Maur. 44), written in Milan, AD 386/396.
XXXI (Maur. 44)
 
Ambrosius Orontiano.
 
1. Divisionem egregie advertisti propheticam, vel potius divinam; non enim sua Moyses, sed infusa et revelata sibi scripsit, ea praecipue quae sunt de constitutione mundi. Quae divisio operatorem adque opera distinxit. Nam cum aliud inpassibile esset, aliud passionis receptabile, quod erat impassibile, ad deum operatorem rettulit, quod autem passibile, sine anima, sine motu proprio, motum et animam et figuram a creatore accipiens suo, deputavit huic mundo. Quem factum non oportuit sine gubernatore et quodam patre indefensum relinqui. Et ideo invisibilem deum visibilis huius mundi rectorem esse et quasi tutorem apertissime describit. Quod ergo invisibile, sempiternum, quod autem videtur, temporale.
 
In what follows, Ambrose continues his theological and exegetical commentary.
 
19. [...] Vale fili et nos dilige, quia nos te diligimus.
 
(ed. Faller 1968: 195-207)
XXXI (Maur. 44)
 
Ambrose to Orontianus.
  
1. You have noted remarkably well the distinction drawn by the Prophet, or, rather, by God, for Moses did not write by his own power; he wrote by inspiration and revelation, particularly in what concerns the creation of the world. This distinction sets apart worker and works. Since the one was incapable of suffering and the other susceptible of suffering, he attributed that which is incapable of suffering to God the worker, and to the world that which is susceptible of suffering, having no life or motion of its own, receiving from its Creator motion, life, and form. The world, once it was made, was not to be left unguarded, without a pilot and father. Hence, he relates very clearly that the unseen God is the guide and protector of this visible world. The invisible, then, is everlasting; the visible is temporal.
 
In what follows, Ambrose continues his theological and exegetical commentary.
 
20. [...] Farewell, son, and love us, because we love you.
 
(trans. Beyenka 1954: 254-272; in the translation Letter 50)

Discussion:

The present letter is a continuation of Letter 29. For the dating see [1908].
For the ecclesiastical status of Orontianus see discussion in [1874].

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:
 L. Gosserez, "La date de l’Exameron d’après les lettres d’Ambroise de Milan”, [in :] La correspondance d’Ambroise de Milan, ed. A. Canellis, Saint-Étienne 2012, 307–325.
J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, Ambrose of Milan: political letters and speeches, Liverpool 2010.
J.-P. Mazières, "Les lettres d’Ambroise de Milan à Irenaeus.”, Pallas. Revue d’études antiques 26 (1973), 103–114.
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.
J.-R. Palanque, "Deux correspondants de saint Ambroise: Orontien et Irénée”, Revue des Études Latines 11 (1933), 153–163.
A. Paredi, S. Ambrogio e la sua età, Milano 1960.

Categories:

Writing activity - Correspondence
Reverenced by
Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
Education - Theological interest
Devotion - Reading the Bible and devotional literature
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1909, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1909