Ambrose of Milan

Ambrose of Milan (c. 339–397), bishop and statesman, baptised Augustine and stood up to emperors in the name of the church. A gifted preacher and hymn-writer, his Commentary on Luke and Hexaemeron exemplify the allegorical exegesis of the West. A Doctor of the Church.

Ambrose brought the allegorical riches of the Greek Fathers into Latin preaching, and it was his eloquence that helped win Augustine to the faith. His Commentary on Luke and Hexaemeron read the text for its moral and spiritual sense, and his hymns taught the congregation to sing the Scriptures. As bishop he insisted that even emperors stand under the word of God, a principle that shaped the church's relation to power in the West.