From Governor To Bishop-A Study Of The Transformation Of Ambrose’s Identity

The research on the identity of Christian bishops in Late Antiquity is an important issue in the development of the Christian Church.This thesis takes Ambrose’s transformation from governor to bishop as the research object,combines political,religious,cultural and other factors in the social development of the Roman Empire in the middle and late 4th century,and probes into the historical process of the profound development of the Christian society in Late Antiquity.The text of this thesis consists of three chapters.The first part of the text discusses the development of Christianity in Milan and northern Italy before Ambrose was elected bishop.The4 th century was a period of remarkable change in the development of Christianity in the Roman Empire.On the one hand,as Constantine recognized Christianity as a legitimate religion and granted a series of privileges to bishops,Christianity broke away from the painful experience of the Great Persecution era and gradually became the main religious ideology of the Roman state.On the other hand,different religious sects emerged within Christianity,which threatened the social stability of the Roman state.Therefore,the emperor himself began to hold Ecumenical councils to interfere with the unity of faith within the church and strengthen its ruling legitimacy and religious authority by controlling Christianity.Christianity in northern Italy developed at a relatively slow level,but for political and military needs,the emperor took the city of Milan,which was in a good location,as a base,so the internal struggles and conflicts of the Christian church in the East spread to the western part of the Empire during Constantius II.From 353 to374,the Nicene sect in Milan was suppressed by Arianism for 20 years,which seriously affected the internal unity of Christianity and the stability of the Roman Empire.The second part of the text takes Ambrose’s election as the bishop of Milan and a series of activities in the early days of his tenure as a starting point to analyze and study a series of opportunities and challenges in the process of Ambrose’s transition from the governor to the bishop.What obstacles did Ambrose face,and how to gradually expand his voice in the ruling class through reasonable use of the advantages of vulnerable groups,sacred identity,doctrine,debate,etc.This includes the first,middle and last three stages,which follow the order in which Ambrose’s letters were published.This period accompanied Ambrose’s entire episcopal career as he became more and more like a true bishop,even coming into direct conflict with the emperor’s court over the church of Milan.The "governor" thinking,which represents the traditional ruling class,has gradually become the core of Ambrose’s thought.The third part of the text examines how Ambrose’s action,practice and political thought conflict and integrate with the emperor,the core role of power society.Ambrose,as a governor-turned-bigwig bishop,reflected the social reality of the rapid growth of Christian power.The bishop became an interest group that shared with the traditional local gentry the remnants of imperial power and local administration.They were often classically trained,had excellent rhetorical and oratory skills,and had a flair for performance.They maintained lasting influence not only in religious doctrine,but also in opposition to the Roman Senate,More dare to clothe himself in sacred clothing and have a fierce dialogue with the emperor about ruling power.Ambrose’s forced confession of Theodosius I is a classic demonstration of this action,and it reached a peak in the fourth century that even later generations cannot match.This marked the further integration of the role of bishop with the power of the Roman state and emperor,and Ambrose reached the double peak of his political philosophy practice and theory.The bishops and emperors of the fourth century could be said to be runners of two tracks with the same finishing line.Although the starting position and the tracks were completely different,they had the same end.Both bishops and emperors were the practitioners of the transformation of the Roman Empire from tradition to revolution in Late Antiquity,seeking their own power end resulted in the transition of the times,and Ambrose’s special career experience made this overall process more impressive.Ambrose carried out a series of political and economic practices during his episcopal tenure,which had a profound impact on the Christian Church and the relationship between church and state.