Ambrose: Church and Society in the Late Roman World [Paperback]

An account, and assessment, of the career of St Ambrose (339-397), from 374 bishop of Milan and one of the four Doctors of the Christian Church (with Sts. Jerome, Augustine and Gregory the Great). A key figure in the transition of the later Roman Empire into its medieval successor, Western Christendom, Ambrose was deeply involved in the political, social and religious issues of his day: struggles between church and state (especially with Emperor Theodosius), the fight against heresy, but he also had a deep influence on Church thought such as the role and status of women. John Moorhead considers all these dimensions in a book that will be of compelling interest to historians of the Church and the late classical world and classical studies.An account, and assessment, of the career of St Ambrose (339-397), from 374 bishop of Milan and one of the four Doctors of the Christian Church (with Sts. Jerome, Augustine and Gregory the Great). A key figure in the transition of the later Roman Empire into its medieval successor, Western Christendom, Ambrose was deeply involved in the political, social and religious issues of his day: struggles between church and state (especially with Emperor Theodosius), the fight against heresy, but he also had a deep influence on Church thought such as the role and status of women. John Moorhead considers all these dimensions in a book that will be of compelling interest to historians of the Church and the late classical world and classical studies.Editor's Preface and Acknowledgements viii Abbreviations x Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 Beginnings 15 A new bishop 15 Ambrose 19 Taking office 22 Background and experience 25 The office of bishop 30 Death of a brother 36 CHAPTER 2 Women 40 The two sexes 41 The wife 43 The virgin 51 The senses 54 The body 56 Sweetness tempting men 59 Masculinity 60 Women pleasing themselves 62 Virginity and society 63 Women in private and public 68 CHAPTER 3 The Bible 71 Ambrose's writing on the Bible 72 Ambrose's approalCƒ