Life of St. Ambrose

Life of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, written by his secretary, Deacon Paulinus, is one of the most famous monuments of Latin hagiographic literature of the 5th century, undoubtedly due to the exceptional role that the saint himself played both in the formation of the theology of the Western Church and in building relations between the Church and the state not only in the west, but also in the east of the empire. Already from the “Ecclesiastical History” of Rufinus of Aquileia (403) there is a detailed story about how St. Ambrose excommunicated Emperor Theodosius from the Church for the massacre in Thessalonica, ended up in the chronicle of George the Monk (Amartola), which was very popular in Byzantium, and from there - in the December volume of the Four Menaions (under the 7th day), which was translated into Church Slavonic and received wide circulation in Rus' 1. The Life published here in Russian translation was translated into Greek (Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca 67) 2, probably no later than the 10th century. The work was created in North Africa, apparently ca. 422 The undoubted terminus ante quem is the death of Bishop Zenobius of Florence ca. 429 (see chapter 50). The exact dating depends on the chronology of the praetorian prefect of Italy John (ch. 31), mentioned in the Code of Theodosius. If the date indicated there, July 11, 422, is correct, then the writing of the Life should be dated precisely to this year, but if we accept the proposed correction for 412, then the dating of 411 will be more likely. 3 Peacock was a notary (stenographer) and secretary of St. Ambrose in the last three years of his life (394–397) and was ordained a deacon by him, and a few years later he went to North Africa on the affairs of the land holdings of the Mediolan Church located there. There he took an active part in the fight against the Pelagian heresy and on this basis became close to the blessed one. Augustine, on whose initiative he undertook to describe the life of St. Ambrose (Augustine himself was baptized by St. Ambrose in Milan in 387). It is to the anti-Pelagian activities of Peacock that his only known work besides the Life relates - a short report to Pope Zosima justifying his behavior towards a certain Celestine, whom Peacock accused of Pelagianism. 4 It is clear that writing was not our author’s calling. This is very clearly visible in the style of his writing. What is said in the introduction (chapter 1) regarding the “artless style” is completely true. It is noteworthy, for example, the constant use of the perfect participles positus and constitutus in the meaning of “located” (about persons). It is precisely in such positions, by the way, that the Greek present participles from the verbs είναι (to be), τυγχάνειν (to happen, to be on occasion) and some others are used. This does not mean at all that Peacock’s native language was Greek (it is unlikely that he even spoke it), however, such constructions may go back to a certain specific clerical style that was in use, in particular, in the bilingual imperial office. There is no doubt about the desire for truthfulness stated in the same introduction and in the next chapter. Peacock shows exceptional scrupulousness in citing his sources. Only in rare cases (Chapter 10) does he vaguely refer to “the stories of holy men”; as a rule, he strives to accurately identify the person who told him about this or that incident. The author testifies to many events (at least eight) as an eyewitness. As a model for his narrative, the author calls the Lives of St. Anthony St. Athanasius of Alexandria, St. St. Paul the Hermit Jerome and St. Martin of Tours Sulpicius Severus. Nevertheless, the Life of St. Ambrose is very different from these works - and, first of all, in that the focus here is not on the personal ascetic feat of the saint and his struggle with demonic temptations, but on the saintly service of Ambrose, his efforts to strengthen the position of the Catholic Church not only in confrontation with heretics and pagans, but also in relations with state authorities. In addition to the cases of the riots in the fortress of Callinicus (chap. 22–23), the Thessalonian massacre (chapter 24, set out in much less detail than that of Rufinus), as well as the story of the altar of Victory (chap. 26–27), it is necessary to pay attention to such an important aspect of Ambrose’s activity, which is reflected in quite detailed detail in the work of Paulinus, as the acquisition and transfer (inventio et translatio) of relics St. martyrs Protasius and Gervasius (chap. 14,29,32). The fact is that on February 26, 386, Emperor Theodosius issued an edict in which he specifically forbade anyone from touching the buried bodies of the martyrs 5 . Thus, the next translatio carried out by Ambrose four months later was an obvious demonstration of the independence of the Church from the state. Pavlin does not pretend to be a complete and thorough presentation of the biography of Ambrose - we know about many events and details from other sources - but creates a complete, truthful and caring narrative in which the image of the great teacher of the Church appears extremely vividly and vividly. The translation of the Life of St. published below. Ambrose made according to the publication: Paolino. Vita di Ambrogio/Ed. etrad. A. A. R. Bastiaensen // Vite di santi. Roma, 1975. Vol. 3. R. 54–125. 1. 1. You encourage, venerable Father Augustine, that, just as the blessed men Athanasius the Bishop and Jerome the Presbyter set forth in writing the life of Saints Paul and Anthony, inhabitants of the desert, and also as the servant of God Severus composed in brilliant style the life of Martin, the venerable bishop of the Church of Tours, [so] I also in my writing spoke about the most blessed Ambrose, Bishop Milano Church. 2. But I know that both myself and my speech do not correspond to the merits of such men, who are the walls of the Church 6 and the sources of eloquence. 3. However, since I consider it inappropriate to refuse your command, I, with the help of your prayers and the merits of such a great man, will briefly and concisely describe, albeit in artless language, what I asked from the most experienced people who were near him before me, and especially from his sister the venerable Marcellina, or what I saw myself when I was with him, or what I learned from those who said that they saw him in different regions after his death, or what was written to it was not yet known to him that he had died. So that even if the speech is not to the reader's liking, brevity will nevertheless encourage him to read, and I will not clothe the truth in verbal embellishments, so that while the writer is pursuing pomp and grace, the reader will not miss the knowledge of so many miracles 7: after all, he should pay attention rather to the nobility of deeds and the grace of the Holy Spirit than to verbal ornaments and pomp. 4. For we know that travelers, if they are suddenly attacked by thirst, prefer water flowing in a thin stream than the streams of a deep spring, whose abundance they cannot find during their thirst. And barley bread is usually tasty even for those who are accustomed to consuming a hundred courses at daily feasts. But those who admire the beauty of gardens usually like field herbs. 2. 1. Therefore, I beg you all, in whose hands this book falls, to consider what we say to be true, and let no one think that out of passion for love he has placed [here] anything unreliable, because it is better not to say anything at all than to tell something false, because we know that we will give an answer for every word we say 8 . And I have no doubt that if not everyone knows everything, then different people know different things, and some know what I myself could not hear or see. 2. Therefore, I will begin the story with the day of his birth, so that it becomes clear what the grace of this man was [already] from the cradle. 3. 1. So, Ambrose was born when his father Ambrose held the post of commander of the prefecture of Gaul. 2. When he, a baby, lay in a cradle in the praetorium and slept with his mouth open, a swarm of bees suddenly appeared and filled his face and mouth, so that they often flew in and out of his mouth. 3. A father walking nearby with a mother or daughter forbade the maid, who was entrusted with feeding the baby, to drive them away. For she was concerned that they might harm the child, but the parent watched with fatherly love to see how this miracle would end. 4. After some time, the bees took off and rose into the air to such a height that the human eye could not see them at all. The father, frightened by this incident, said: “If this child survives, something great will come out of him.” 5. For even then the Lord acted in the childhood of his servant to fulfill what was said: Good speech is honeycomb (Proverbs 16:24), because that swarm of bees created for us the honeycomb of his writings, which reveal heavenly gifts and lift the minds of people from earthly to heaven. 4. 1. Then, when he grew up and settled in the city of Rome with his widowed mother and sister, who had already taken a vow of virginity, accompanied by another virgin, whose sister Candida, who had made the same vow, now, already an old woman, lives in Carthage, when he saw that a housewife, sister or mother, was kissing the hands of the priests, he himself, playfully, extended his right hand, saying that they should do the same to him, because, as he claimed, he would be a bishop. 2. For the Spirit of the Lord spoke in him, who trained him for the priesthood: but she dismissed him as a child who did not know what he was saying. 5. 1. But after having studied the liberal sciences, he left City 9 and became a solicitor in the judicial presence of the praetorian prefecture, he conducted judicial affairs so excellently that the most illustrious husband Probus, then the praetorian prefect, elected him to be an adviser. 2. After this he received the insignia of consular to govern the provinces of Liguria and Emilia, and arrived at Mediolan. 6. 1. At the same time when Auxentius, the bishop of Arian evil, died (he took possession of the Church, after the confessor Dionysius of blessed memory was sentenced to exile, 10 since the people had risen in unrest, demanding a bishop, and Ambrose's concern was to calm the rebellion, so that the inhabitants of the city would not bring danger to themselves, he went to the church. And while he was there addressing the crowd, suddenly the voice of a child was heard: “Ambrose for bishop!” 2. At the sound of this voice, the eyes of the entire people turned, proclaiming: “Ambrose for bishop!” - so that those between whom there had previously been the most violent strife, because both the Arians and the Catholics sought to overcome each other in order to install their own bishop, suddenly agreed on this [husband] with amazing and incredible agreement. 7. 1. When this became known, Ambrose, leaving the church, ordered an elevation to be prepared for himself - since he was soon to become a bishop, he ascends higher - and then, contrary to his custom, he orders torture to be applied to some people. While he was doing this, the people nevertheless cried out: “Your sin is upon us!” 2. But these people then exclaimed differently than the Jewish people, for they shed the blood of the Lord with their voices, saying: His blood be on us (Matthew 27:25), and these, knowing that he was a catechumen, confidently promised him the remission of all sins through the grace of baptism. 3. Then he, returning home in confusion, wanted to indulge in philosophy, but he had to become a true philosopher of Christ, who, despising worldly luxury, follows in the footsteps of the fishermen who gathered people to Christ not with verbal embellishments, but with simple speech and the meaning of true faith, sent without a bag and without a staff, 11 but who converted the philosophers themselves. 4. When he was advised not to do this, then he ordered public women to come to him in public only so that, upon seeing them, the people would change their intentions. But the people shouted louder and louder: “Your sin is on us!” 8. 1. He, seeing that his plan could not be realized in any way, prepared to flee and, leaving the city in the middle of the night, although he thought that he was heading to Ticinus, 12 in the morning he found himself at the gates of the city of Mediolan, called Roman. For God, Who prepared a “wall” for His Catholic Church against her enemies and erected a “Tower of David” in front of Damascus, 13 that is, against heretical evil, prevented his flight. 2. When he was found, and the people were guarding him, a report was sent to the then most merciful emperor Valentinian 14, and he accepted with the greatest joy that the judges appointed by him would be claimed for the priesthood. 3. Prefect Probus also rejoiced, because his word was fulfilled on Ambrose: after all, he, conveying instructions when he set off, told him as usual: “Go, act not as a judge, but as a bishop.” 9 . 1. And so, while the report was being considered, he again prepared to flee and hid for some time in the estate of a certain Leontius, a distinguished husband. But when a response was received to the report, the same Leonty issued it, because the vicar was ordered to insist on completing the matter. Wanting to fulfill what was prescribed to him, he issued an edict that everyone, if they want good for themselves and their affairs, should hand over this husband. 2. So, having been extradited and taken to Milan, when he realized that he could no longer resist the will of God for himself, he demanded that only the Catholic bishop baptize him - for he was suspicious of Arian evil-doing. 3. So after his baptism he was brought into all the ecclesiastical offices, and on the eighth day he was consecrated bishop, to the great pleasure and joy of all. 4. And a few years after his initiation, he went to the city of Rome, that is, to his own land, and there he found the above-mentioned holy virgin, to whom he was in the habit of offering his hand [to kiss], in his own house, as he had left her with his sister (and his mother had already died). And when she kissed his right hand, he, smiling, said to her: “Look, as I told you, you kiss the priest’s hand.” 10.1. At the same time, when he, invited across the Tiber to a certain illustrious lady, was performing a sacred rite in the house, a certain bathhouse attendant, who was lying paralyzed on the bed, having learned that the saint of the Lord was there, asked to be carried on a seat in the house where he came by invitation, and touched his clothes while he was praying and laying on his hands. 2. Having kissed the clothes, she immediately, having regained health, began to walk, so that that saying of the Lord to the apostles would be fulfilled: He who believes in Me will do greater things than these (John 14:12). 3. This miracle of healing (Acts 4:22), as amazing as it was, was not hidden, for I learned about it, staying many years later in the same quarter of the City, from the stories of holy men. 11.1. When Ambrose went to Sirmium for the consecration of Bishop Anemia, and there the authority of the then queen Justina and the assembled crowd wanted to push him out of the church, so that an Arian bishop would be consecrated in it not by them, but by heretics, and he stood on the pulpit, not at all concerned about what the woman 15, one of the Arian virgins, more shameless than the others, was up to, having climbed onto the pulpit, she grabbed the saint's robe, wanting to drag him to the women's quarters, so that they could beat him there and push him out of the church. He tells her, as he himself used to tell: “Although I am not worthy of such a priesthood, it is not appropriate for you and your rank to lay hands on any priest, so you should be afraid of God’s judgment, lest something happen to you.” 2. These words were confirmed by the outcome of the matter, because the next day he accompanied her, who had died, to the grave, rewarding her with gratitude for the insult. But this incident instilled considerable fear in the opponents and gave great peace to the Church at the consecration of the bishop. 12.1. So, after the consecration of the Catholic bishop, he returned to Milan and there he suffered innumerable intrigues of the above-mentioned woman Justina, who with honors and gifts incited the people against the holy man. 2. But weak souls were deceived by such promises: after all, she promised the positions of tribunes and various other ranks to those who would tear him out of the Church and take him into exile 3. Although many tried to do this, but through the protection of God they could not complete it. One, more unfortunate than the others, named Euthymius, was inflamed with such fury that he bought himself a house next to the church and placed a cart there to make it easier to take him into exile, grabbing him and putting him on the cart. 4. But his villainy fell on his head (Ps. 7.17), because a year later on the same day when he thought to seize him, he himself from the same house, put in the same cart, was sent into exile, believing that this had turned on him by the righteous judgment of God, so that he would be taken into exile on the same cart that he himself was preparing for the saint. The saint gave him a lot of consolation, providing him with money for expenses or other necessary things. 13.1. But such a recognition of this man did not extinguish either the rage of the woman or the madness of the reckless Arians, but, inflamed with even greater madness, they tried to break into the Porcian Basilica 16; They even sent an armed army to guard the church gates so that no one would dare enter the Catholic Church. 2. But the Lord, who usually grants His Church victories over its opponents, turned the hearts of the soldiers to strengthen it, so that, turning their shields, they did not allow them to leave, but did not in the least hinder the Catholic people from entering the church. But the sent soldiers were not satisfied with this either, and together with the crowd they also proclaimed their adherence to the Catholic faith. 3. At this time, antiphons, hymns and vigils began to be chanted for the first time in the Mediolan Church. This pious chanting is carried out to this day not only in the same church, but in almost all Western regions. 14.1. At that very time, the holy martyrs Protasius and Gervasius revealed themselves to the saint. For they were buried in the basilica where the relics of the martyrs Naborius and Felix are now located. But the holy martyrs Naborius and Felix were given frequent honors, and the names and graves of the martyrs Protasius and Gervasius were unknown, so that their tombs were walked by everyone who wanted to approach the fence that protected the graves of the martyrs Naborius and Felix from damage. 2. But where the bodies of the holy martyrs were raised and placed on stretchers, there, as they say, the illnesses of many people were healed. For example, a blind man named Severus, who still reverently serves in that very basilica, called Ambrosieva, into which the bodies of the martyrs were transferred, as soon as he touched the clothes of the martyrs, he immediately received his sight. 3. Also, people possessed by unclean spirits, having been cured, returned home with great gratitude. And just as much as the faith of the Catholic Church increased thanks to these blessings of the martyrs, Arian evil-belief diminished. 15.1. Finally, from that time on, the persecution, fueled by the rage of Justina, the purpose of which was to expel the saint from the Church, began to subside. However, the multitude of Arians nestled in the palace, together with Justina, ridiculed such a great grace of God, which the Lord Jesus deigned to bestow on the Catholic Church according to the merits of His martyrs. They said that the venerable man Ambrose hired people for money who would lie about being possessed by unclean spirits, and would say that that was why he, like the martyrs, tormented them. 2. But the Arians uttered this through Jewish lips, as equals to the Jews: after all, they spoke about the Lord, that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Luke 11:15), and these spoke about the martyrs or about the Lord's saint, that unclean spirits were cast out not by the grace of God, which acted through them, but, having received money, [people] They lied that they were being tormented. 3. After all, the demons shouted: “We know that you are martyrs,” and the Arians said: “We do not know that these are martyrs.” We read this already in the Gospel, where the demons said to the Lord Jesus: We know You, that You are the Son of God (Mark 1. 24), and the Jews said: We do not know where He comes from (John 9:29). But here it is not the testimony of demons that is accepted, but the confession, so that the Arians or Jews are even more pitiful, because they deny even what the demons admit. 16.1. However, God, Who, as usual, multiplies the grace of His Church, did not tolerate His saints being subjected to reproach from the evil-believers for a long time. So, one of this multitude, suddenly seized by an unclean spirit, began to shout that just as he himself was tormented, so were those who denied the martyrs or did not believe in the unity of the Trinity, which Ambrose taught. 2. They, embarrassed by this voice, although they should have turned and brought repentance worthy of such recognition, killed that man by drowning him in the pool, adding murder to evil; for extreme necessity led them to such an end. 3. And Saint Ambrose, having become even more humble, retained the grace given to him by the Lord and daily grew in faith and love with God and man (Luke 2.52). 17.1. At the same time there was a certain man who belonged to the Arian heresy, an extremely skillful debater, stubborn and not amenable to conversion to the Catholic faith. He, while in church while the bishop was preaching, saw (as he later said) an angel speaking into the ear of the preaching bishop, so that it seemed that the bishop was retelling the words of the angel to the people. Seeing this, he turned and began to defend the faith he was attacking. 18.1. There were also then, in the time of the Emperor Gratiapus, two Cuvicularians 17 [also] belonging to the Arian heresy, who, when the bishop was preaching, proposed a question, promising to come the next day to the Porcian Basilica to hear the answer, and this question was about the Incarnation of the Lord. 2. But the next day these unfortunate people, filled with arrogant pride, did not remember what was promised, despising God in His saint and not thinking about insulting the waiting people, forgetting also about the Lord's saying that whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble must have a millstone hung around his neck and drowned in the depths of the sea (Matthew 18:6), sitting on a cart, They went out of town as if for a walk, while the saint and the people who were in the church were waiting for [them]. 3. But what was the end of such obstinacy, I’m afraid to tell; for they, suddenly falling from the cart, gave up the ghost, and their bodies were buried. 4. Saint Ambrose, since he did not know what had happened and could not detain the people any longer, ascending to the pulpit, began a speech about the very question that was proposed, saying: “I, brothers, want to repay the debt, but I do not find my yesterday’s creditors,” and the rest of what is written in the book entitled “On the Incarnation of the Lord” 18. 19.1. After the assassination of Emperor Gratian 19, he undertook a second: an embassy to Maximus to take his body. Anyone who wants to know with what firmness he conducted these negotiations will be convinced by reading the letter 20 about that embassy, ​​written to Valentinian the Younger 21; It seemed to us inappropriate to insert it, so that the length of the enclosed letter would not tire the reader. 2. He excommunicated Maximus himself from the community of communion, admonishing him to repent of shedding the blood of his master, what is even worse, an innocent one, if he wants to win God over. 3. But he, having refused repentance with a proud spirit, lost not only his future, but also his local salvation, and through some feminine fear he gave up the kingdom that he had seized in an evil way, so that he declared himself not an emperor, but a trustee of the state. 20.1. After the death of Justina, a certain haruspex 22 Innocent by name, but not in deeds 23, when he was tortured by a judge in a case of witchcraft, began to confess something other than what he was interrogated about; for he shouted that he was experiencing great torment from the angel who was protecting Ambrose, because in the time of Justin, in order to incite popular hatred towards the bishop, he, ascending in the middle of the night to the top of the church roof, made sacrifices there. 2. But the more persistently and thoroughly he committed evil deeds, the more the people’s love for the Catholic faith and the Lord’s saint strengthened. 3. He admitted that he also sent demons to kill him; but the demons refused, [saying] that not only could they not approach the bishop, but even the doors of the house where he lived, because that entire building was surrounded by an irresistible fire that burned them even from afar; and that his art, with which he believed he could do something against the saint of the Lord, had so dried up. 4. And the other with a sword reached the very bedroom to kill the saint; but as soon as he raised his hand with his drawn sword, he remained with his raised right hand frozen in the air. Then, after he confessed that he was sent by Justina, the hand that froze when he unrighteously extended it was healed by the confession. 21. 1. At the same time, when the most illustrious husband Probus sent his servant notary 24 to the bishop, who was seriously oppressed by an unclean spirit, as soon as he left the City, the devil left him, fearing to be brought to the holy man. 2. And thus, while the servant was in Milan with the bishop, no devilish dominance appeared in him, but when he left Milan and came close to the City, the same spirit that had possessed him before began to oppress him. 3. When the exorcists asked him why he did not appear in it while he was in Milan, the devil admitted that he was afraid of Ambrose, and therefore retreated for a while and waited in the place where he came out of it until he returned, and when he returned, he again entered the vessel he had left. 22.1. After the death of Maximus 25, when the Emperor Theodosius was in Mediolan and Ambrose was in Aquileia, in the Eastern regions in a certain fortress 26 Christian men burned down the Jewish synagogue and the sacred grove of the Valentinians, because the Jews and Valentinians insulted the Christian monks: after all, the Valentinian heresy honors thirty-two gods. 2. But the committee of the East 27 sent a report to the emperor about such an act, upon receiving which he ordered that the synagogue be rebuilt by the local bishop, and that the monks be punished. 3. But when the contents of this order reached the ears of the venerable husband Ambrose, he sent a letter to the emperor 28 (since he himself could not leave at that time), in which he urged him to withdraw his order and grant him an audience, because if he is not worthy to be heard by the emperor, then he is not worthy for the Lord to hear him [intercession] for the emperor and for him to entrust his prayers or vows to him. He is even ready to suffer death for the sake of such a cause, so that by his pretense he would not expose the emperor, who issued such an unrighteous order against the Church, as a violator of [God’s] law. 23.1. After returning to Milan, when the emperor was in church, Ambrose preached about the same matter to the people. In this sermon, he represented the Lord saying to the emperor: “I of the last made you emperor, I delivered to you the army of your enemy, I provided you with the supplies that he had prepared against you for his army, I gave your enemy into your power, I established your descendants on the throne of the kingdom, I allowed you to triumph without difficulty, and you allow My enemies to triumph over Me?” 2. When he left the pulpit, the emperor said to him: “Today you opposed us, bishop.” And he replied that he spoke not against him, but for him. Then the emperor says: “Indeed, I sternly commanded against the bishop regarding the restoration of the synagogue, but the monks must be punished.” This is what the comites who were present at the time said 29. The bishop told them: “I am now talking with the emperor, but I need to talk with you differently.” 3. And thus he ensured that the issued decrees were withdrawn, and did not want to approach the altar until the emperor had testified that he could serve, relying on his word. The bishop tells him: “So, I serve, relying on your word.” The emperor answers: “Serve, relying on my word.” After repeating this promise, the saint, already confident, performed the Divine Mysteries. 4. And this is written in a letter that he sent to his sister 30, where he inserted a sermon that he preached on the same day about the almond rod that the prophet Jeremiah saw, as described by him 31. 24.1. At the same time, the matter of the city of Thessalonica caused the saint considerable concern when he learned that the city was almost destroyed: after all, the emperor promised him that he would give forgiveness to the citizens of the said city; but the Comites secretly communicated with the emperor, which the saint did not know, and the city was put to the sword until the third hour, and many innocents were killed. 2. When the saint became aware of this act, he forbade the emperor to enter the church and decided that he would be worthy of a church meeting or communion of the Holy Mysteries not before bringing public repentance. To this, the emperor objected to him that David committed both adultery and murder together. But the answer was immediate: “Since you followed the one who sins, follow the one who corrects.” 3. When the all-merciful emperor heard this, he accepted it in his soul so much that he was not afraid of public repentance: and the success from this correction brought him a second victory. 25.1. At the same time, two of the most powerful and wisest men from the Persians came to Mediolan, attracted by the glory of the saint, carrying with them many questions, in order with their help to test the wisdom of this man, with whom they talked through an interpreter from the first hour of the day until the third hour of the night, and left him delighted. 2. And to make sure that they came for no other reason, but in order to thoroughly become acquainted with the man whom they knew by hearsay, the next day, having said goodbye to the emperor, they went to the city of Rome, wanting there to experience the power of the most illustrious man Probus, having learned which, they returned home. 26.1. But when Theodosius retired from Italy and settled in Constantinople, and Valentinian Augustus was in Gaul, Symmachus, then prefect of the City, sent an embassy on behalf of the Senate for the restoration of the altar of Victory and the expenses for the rites. 2. However, when the saint found out about this, he sent a petition to the emperor 32 and demanded that he be sent a copy of the report, to which he, for his part, would give a response. Having received this report, he wrote an excellent essay 33 against which Symmachus, a most eloquent man, never dared to object. 3. But after Valentinian, of the most august memory, ended his life 34 in Vienne (a city in Gaul), power over the empire was taken over by Eugenius, who, when he began to rule, a little later, at the request of the then prefect Flavian and Comite Arbogast, forgetting his faith, allowed [to restore] the altar of Victory and the expenses for the rites, in which Valentinian, of the august memory, while still a youth, refused those who asked. 27.1. When the saint found out about this, he, leaving the city of Mediolan, to which Eugene was in a hurry to arrive, retired to the city of Bononia 35, and from there he headed to Faventia 36. After spending several days there, at the invitation of the Florentines, he left for Tuscany, rather avoiding the sight of his sacrilegious husband than fearing offense from the ruler. 2. After all, he also wrote a letter to him 37, in which he appeals to his conscience, from which I considered it necessary to quote a few of many: “Although the imperial power is great, nevertheless think, emperor, how great God is. He sees human hearts, his inner conscience questions, he knows all [things] before they arise, he knows what is inside your heart. Do you yourself not tolerate being deceived, but want to hide from God? Hasn't something sunk into your soul? If they persuaded so persistently, was it not in your power, Emperor, to resist even more persistently for the sake of honoring the highest, true and living God and to refuse what was a violation of the sacred law? 3. And again: “So, since I am bound by my words both before God and before all people, I realized that I am not allowed to do anything else and it is not appropriate for me to do anything other than take care of myself, because I couldn’t take care of you.” 28. 1. So, in the above-mentioned city of the Florentines, when he was one day staying in the house of one most illustrious man and, more importantly, a Christian, Decentius, that son, named Pansophius, a very small child, suffering from an unclean spirit, was healed by fervent prayer and the laying on of hands by the saint himself. But a few days later the baby, struck by a sudden illness, gave up the ghost. 2. His mother, very pious and full of faith and fear of God, took him from the top of the house, went downstairs and laid him on the saint’s bed in his absence. When the saint, returning (for at that time he was outside the house), found him on the bed, he, taking pity on the mother and seeing her faith, like Elisha 38, himself lay down on top of the baby’s body and through prayer was vouchsafed to return alive to the mother the one whom he found dead. 3. He also wrote an essay for this child, so that he would learn through reading what he could not know in infancy. However, he did not mention this incident in his writings; but for what reasons he refused to mention it is not for us to judge. 29. 1. In the same city he also founded a basilica, in which he placed the relics of the martyrs Vitalius and Agricola, whose bodies he took in the city of Bononia. For the bodies of the martyrs were buried among the bodies of the Jews, and this would not have become known to the Christian people if the holy martyrs had not revealed themselves to the bishop of that church. 2. When they were placed under the altar installed in the same basilica, there was great joy and rejoicing of the entire people and the torment of the demons who recognized the merits of the martyrs. 30. 1. At the same time, the commander Arbogast started a war against his tribe, that is, the Franks, and in battles he scattered a considerable number by force, and made peace with those who remained. But when at a feast the leaders of his tribe asked him if he knew Ambrose, and he replied that he knew this man, and was loved by him, and often had the habit of feasting with him, he heard [in response]: “You win because you are loved by the man who says to the sun: “Stop!” – and it stops” 39. 2. I brought this up so that readers would know what fame the holy man enjoyed even among barbarian tribes. After all, we also learned this from the story of one very pious servant of Arbogast, who was present at that time: because at the time when this was said, he was a cupbearer. 31. 1. So, the saint, having set off from the Tuscan regions, returns to Milan, when Eugene had already left there against Theodosius. There he awaited the arrival of the Christian emperor, confident in the power of God that He would not betray those who believe in Him to unrighteous men and would not leave the rod of the wicked over the lot of the righteous, so that the righteous would not stretch out their hands to iniquity (Ps. 124.3). 2. For then Comite Arbogast and Prefect Flavian, leaving Mediolan, promised, having returned with victory, to build a stable in the basilica of the Church of Milan and to call the clergy into the army. But unfortunate people, unfortunately gullible in relation to their demons, opening their mouths in blasphemy against God, took away their hope of victory. 3. The reason for such irritation was that the Church rejected the gifts of the emperor, who had implicated himself in sacrilege, and he was denied prayerful communication with the Church. But the Lord, Who is in the habit of protecting His Church, sent down a sentence from heaven and granted complete victory to the blessed Emperor Theodosius. 4. So, after the death of Eugene and his henchmen, 40 when Ambrose received the emperor's decrees, he had no greater concern than interceding for those who were facing punishment. 5. First he begged the emperor in writing, sending a deacon, 41 then, after John, then a tribune and notary, who is now a prefect, was sent to guard those who had taken refuge in the church, he himself went to Aquileia to ask for them and easily obtained forgiveness for them, because the Christian emperor himself, having fallen at the feet of the saint, testified that he was saved by his merits and prayers. 32. 1. So, returning from the city of Aquileia, Ambrose was one day ahead of the emperor; and the Emperor Theodosius did not remain in this life for long in all-merciful memory, after his sons were accepted into the Church and entrusted to the saint. He lived after his death for about three years. 2. At this time, he took and transferred to the Basilica of the Apostles, which is at the Roman Gate, the body of the holy martyr Nazarius, buried in a country garden. 3. We saw in the tomb where the body of the martyr lay (when he suffered, we cannot find out to this day), his blood was so fresh, as if it had been shed on the same day. Likewise, his head, cut off by the wicked, was so whole and incorruptible, with hair and beard, that it seemed to us as if it had been washed and placed in the tomb at the very time it was taken out. 4. And what is surprising if the Lord previously promised in the Gospel that not a hair of your head will perish (Luke 21:18)? We were also filled with such a fragrance that it was better than the sweetness of any incense. 33. 1. When the body of the martyr was taken out and placed on a stretcher, we immediately, together with the holy prelate, went to pray to the holy martyr Celsus, who was buried in the same garden. However, we know that he had never prayed in that place before, but it was a sign of the discovery of the body of a martyr if the saint went to pray in a place where he had never been before. 2. However, we learned from the guards of the same place that they were commanded by their parents not to leave there in every generation and their descendants, because great treasures lie there. And indeed, there are great treasures that neither moth nor rust destroy, and thieves do not break through and steal (Matthew 6:20), because their guardian is Christ, and their place is the heavenly abode, for which Christ was life, and death was gain 42. 3. So, when the body of the martyr was transferred to the Basilica of the Apostles, where the day before the relics of the holy apostles had been laid with the greatest general reverence during the bishop’s sermon, one of the people, filled with an unclean spirit, began to shout that Ambrose was tormenting him. 4. And he, turning to him, said: “Shut up, devil: it is not Ambrose that torments you, but the faith of the saints and your envy, because you see how people ascend to the place from which you were cast down; for Ambrose knows no exaltation.” After these words, the one shouting fell silent and prostrated himself on the ground and no longer made a sound that could interrupt [the sermon]. 34. 1. At the same time, when the emperor Honorius was organizing consular games in the city of Mediolanus 43 of his term with the Libyan predators and the people fled there, the committee Stilicho 44, at the instigation of the prefect Eusebius, had the opportunity, by sending soldiers, to pull out of the church a certain Cresconius, who, having resorted to the altar of the Lord, the holy bishop with the clergy present surrounded to protect. 2. But many warriors, whose leaders belonged to the Arian evil faith, prevailed over the few, and, leading Cresconius away, they returned to the amphitheater, rejoicing, leaving the Church with considerable sorrow; for the saint, having prostrated himself before the Lord’s altar, mourned for a long time what he had done. 3. But when the soldiers returned and reported to those who had sent them, the released leopards, quickly jumping up to the place where those triumphant over the Church were sitting, left them with severe wounds. 4. When the committee Stilicho saw this, he deeply repented, so that he apologized to the saint for many days and [released] unharmed the one who was taken away. But since he was guilty of the gravest crimes and could not otherwise be corrected, he sent him into exile, and a little later forgiveness followed. 35. 1. At the same time, when Ambrose was walking into the palace, and we were following him in the performance of our duties, and someone accidentally stumbled, fell and lay face down on the ground, the saint turned to Theodulus, then the notary, who later ruled the Mutinsky 45 Church with the greatest goodness, laughing at the incident, said: “And you, who are standing, beware so as not to fall” 46. At these words, the one who laughed at someone else’s fall immediately became sad about his own. 36. 1. At the same time, a certain Fritigil, queen of the Marcomapians, when she heard from the story of a certain Christian husband, who happened to come to her from the Italian regions, about the glory of Ambrose, she believed in Christ, Whose servant she recognized in him, and, having sent gifts for the Church to Milan, asked through ambassadors that he would inform her with his writings how she should believe. 2. He composed an excellent message for her in the form of a catechumen, in which he also exhorted her to persuade her husband to maintain peace with the Romans. Having received this message, the woman convinced her husband to surrender with his people to the Romans. And when she arrived in Mediolan, she was very sad that she did not find the holy saint to whom she was in a hurry, for he had already passed away from this life. 37. 1. And in the time of Gratian - going back - when Ambrose went to the praetorium of Macedonia, then master of the office, to intercede for someone, and found the doors locked by order of the said husband, and was not able to enter, he said: “And you will come to the church and will not find how to enter, although the doors will not be closed.” Which is exactly what happened: for after the death of Gratian, Macedonius, seeking refuge in the church, could not find the entrance, although the doors were wide open. 38. 1. The venerable bishop himself was distinguished by many abstinence and many vigils and labors, exhausting his body with daily fasting. It was never his custom to have breakfast, except on Saturdays and Sundays, or if there were holidays of the most glorious martyrs. 2. He also [had] zeal in prayer day and night; and he did not turn away from the work of writing books with his own hand, unless his body was affected by some illness. He also had concern for all the Churches (2 Cor. 11:28), and great persistence and constancy in intercession. 3. When performing sacred rites, he was so strong that what he usually performed alone for those being baptized, then, after his death, five bishops could barely cope with. 4. He cared greatly for the poor and captives; after all, even at the time when he was ordained bishop, he contributed all the gold and silver that he could have to the needs of the Church or the poor. 5. Also, he donated [all] the estates that he owned to the Church, while retaining the right of use for his sister, leaving nothing for himself that he would here call his own, so that, like a warrior free from baggage, 47 he would follow the Lord Christ, who, being rich, became poor for our sake, so that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8.9). 39. 1. He rejoiced with those who rejoiced and wept with those who wept, 48 because whenever someone confessed their sins to him in order to gain repentance, he wept in the same way as he caused him to weep; for he saw himself fallen with the fallen. 2. He did not tell anyone about the criminal deeds that were confessed to him, except God, before Whom he interceded, leaving a good example for subsequent priests, so that they would be intercessors before God rather than accusers before people. 3. After all, according to the Apostle 49, one should show love to such a person, because he is an accuser for himself and does not wait for the accuser, but precedes [him] in order to alleviate his crime with confession and so that the adversary does not have anything to blame him for. 4. Therefore Scripture says: The righteous accuses himself at the beginning of his speech (Prov. 18:17). For he intercepts the speech of the adversary and confesses his sins, giving honor to God, before whom all things are naked (Heb. 4. 13) and Who wants the life of a sinner more than his death 50, as if breaking some fangs, ready to seize the prey of an evil slander. 5. For even for the repentant himself, one confession is not enough, unless he corrects what he has done, so that the repentant does not do what he repents of, and also humbles his soul, like Saint David, who, after hearing from the prophet: “Your sin is forgiven,” 51, became more humble in correcting sin, so that he ate ashes like bread, and dissolved his drink with tears (Ps. 101.10). 40. 1. He also cried very bitterly whenever he was informed about the death of any holy bishop, so much so that we happened to console him, not knowing the pious attitude of this man and not understanding why he was crying so much. 2. To this he gave this kind of answer that he was crying not because the one whose death was reported had gone, but because he had preceded [him] or because it was difficult to find a person who would be considered worthy of the highest priesthood. He himself predicted in advance about his death that he would be with us until Easter - which he deserved, begging the Lord to quickly free himself [from here]. 41. 1. For he sighed heavily when he saw how the root of all evil - greed 52 - sprouts, which neither abundance nor lack can diminish, and grows more and more in people, and especially in those who were in power, so that it was extremely difficult for him to intercede with them, because everything was sold for money. This situation brought all kinds of evil to Italy, and from here everything took a turn for the worse. 2. And what can we say about the fact that greed shows its fury in such people who usually pretend to stand up for their children or relatives, to excuse sinful deeds (Ps. 140.4), while it has also captured many celibate priests and Levites, whose inheritance is God 53, so that they also seek the same? And woe to me, the unfortunate one! Because even the end of the world does not prompt us to desire to free ourselves from such a heavy yoke of slavery, which plunges us into the depths of hell, in order to make friends for ourselves with unrighteous wealth, so that they will accept us into eternal settlements (Luke 16.9). 3. But blessed is the one who, at least once converted, breaking the bonds and casting off the yoke of such dominion, takes and breaks his babies against a stone (Ps. 136.9), that is, he breaks all the aspirations of greed against Christ, who, according to the Apostle, is a stone 54, destroying all who are broken against him 55, remaining unharmed, without being accused of doing so, who will break the worst offspring of a wicked womb against him, but innocently, so that he could confidently say: The Lord is my destiny (Ps. 119.57). Because whoever has nothing in this age, his portion truly is Christ, and whoever despises a little will receive much, and moreover will have eternal life. 42. 1. And a few days before he was bedridden, when he was dictating [the interpretation of] the forty-third psalm, I wrote it down and saw that suddenly a fire, like a small shield, covered his head and gradually entered through his mouth, like a resident into his house. After that, his face became like snow, and then his face returned to its appearance. 2. When this happened, I froze, stupefied, and could not write down what he dictated - only after this vision had passed; after all, at that time he was citing the testimony of Divine Scripture, which I remembered very well. For on that very day he finished writing or dictating and could not even complete the same psalm. 3. I immediately told about what I saw to the venerable man Deacon Castu, under whose care I was, and he, filled with God’s grace, explained from the sayings of the Acts of the Apostles that I saw the descent of the Holy Spirit on him 56. 43. 1. In the previous days, the slave of the then committee of Stilicho, suffering from a demon, was already healthy in the Ambrose Basilica, having been presented [there] by his master - for they said that he favored him - and prepared forged judicial letters, so that [because of this] [innocent] people were detained when they went to perform official duties. But when the committee Stilicho established the guilt of his slave, he did not want to punish him. 2. And at the request of the saint, he released the people who had become victims of deception, and inquired from the saint about the slave himself. The holy man ordered to find him when he left the basilica and bring him to him. Having interrogated him and convicted him of committing such a dishonorable act, he said: “He must be handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1 Cor. 5.5) so that he does not dare to do such a thing in the future.” 3. And at that same moment, while the speech was still on the saint’s lips, the unclean spirit grabbed him and began to torture him. Seeing this, we were filled with considerable fear and surprise. We also saw how many in those days were cleansed from unclean spirits by the laying on of the hands of the saint and by his command. 44. 1. At the same time, a certain Nicentius, a former tribune and notary, who was so overcome by illness in his legs that he rarely appeared in public, approached the altar to receive the Sacraments, and when the saint accidentally stepped on his foot, he cried out and heard [from him]: “Go, and from now on you will be healthy.” And at the time when the holy bishop reposed from this world, he testified with tears that her legs no longer hurt. 45. 1. But after these days, having ordained a bishop of the Ticinian Church, he fell into infirmity, and while because of it he was bedridden for many days, the committee Stilicho is rumored to have said that if such a husband left the body, Italy would be in danger of destruction. 2. Therefore, having called to him the most noble men of that city, whom, as he knew, the saint loved, he partly with threats, partly with kind words, convinced them to go to the holy bishop and persuade him to ask the Lord for himself to prolong his life. When he heard this from them, he replied: “I did not live among you so that I would be ashamed to live, and I am not afraid of death, because we have a good Lord.” 46. 1. At the same time, at the far end of the portico where he lay, standing nearby Castus, Polemius, Venerius and Felix, then deacons, were talking among themselves in such a low voice that they could hardly hear each other, about who should be installed as bishop after his death, and they mentioned the name of St. Simplician, he, as if participating in the conversation, although he lay far from them, exclaimed approvingly three times: “An old man, but a good one.” For Simplician was an elderly man. 2. When they heard this voice, they ran away in fear; however, after his death, no one else became his successor in the priesthood than the one whom he declared with a threefold proclamation as a good old man. This Simplician was succeeded by Venerius, whom we mentioned above, and Felix still rules the Church of Bonon; Castus and Polemius, raised by Ambrose, good fruits of the good tree, fulfill the diaconal office in the Milan Church. 47. 1. However, in the same place where he lay (as we learned from the story of Saint Vassian, bishop of the Laudian 57 Church, who heard from himself), when he was praying with the said saint, he saw the Lord Jesus coming to him and smiling at him; and a few days later he was taken from us. 2. But at the same time when he reposed from us to the Lord, from about the eleventh hour of the day until the hour when he gave up the ghost. Ambrose prayed, stretching out his hands in a cross; and we saw his lips move, but did not hear his voice. 3. Honoratus, the saint of the Church of Vercello 58, when he lay down to rest in the upper part of the building, heard a voice calling him three times, saying to him: “Get up, make haste, for he is about to leave.” Having descended, he presented Ambrose with the Holy Body of the Lord; and, having accepted it, he, as soon as he swallowed it, immediately gave up the ghost 59, carrying with him a good supply for the journey, so that, having strengthened his soul with the properties of the food, he would already rejoice in communication with the angels, whose life he lived on earth, and in the community with Elijah, because both Elijah and he were never afraid to speak with kings or any authorities for the fear of God. 48. 1. And from there his body, in the predawn hour when he died, was transferred to a large church, and there it remained that very night when we celebrated the Easter vigil. Many newly baptized children, walking from the font, saw him, some, according to them, sitting on the pulpit on the pulpit, while others pointed their fingers at their parents as he ascended the steps. But they looked, but could not see, because their eyes were not so pure. Many people said that they saw a star above his body. 2. But when it dawned on Sunday and his body, after the Divine Sacraments had been performed, was taken out of the church to be carried to the Basilica of St. Ambrose, in which he rested, the crowd of demons there screamed so loudly that he was tormenting them, that it was impossible to bear their howls. This grace of the saint continues to this day not only in that place, but also in many areas. 3. Crowds of men and women also threw their scarves or belts in order to at least to some extent touch the body of the saint. For the crowd of mourners was innumerable: [people] of every dignity, of both sexes, of almost all ages, not only Christians, but also Jews and pagans; but with greater grace preceded the order of those who were baptized. 49. 1. And on the same day when he died (as is related in the message which his successor, the venerable man Simplicianus, received from the Eastern regions, addressed to Ambrose, as if he were still living with us, and still preserved in Milan), he appeared in the monastery of certain holy men, praying with them and laying hands on them; for the message indicated the day on which it was sent, and on reading it we found that it was the same day on which he died. 50. 1. Also in Tuscany, in the city of Florence, where the holy man Zenobius is now bishop, 60 since Ambrose, in response to the requests of the townspeople, promised to visit them often, he was often seen praying at the altar in the Basilica of Ambrose, which he himself founded there, as we learned from the stories of the holy man himself, Saint Zenobius. 2. Also in the house where Ambrose lived, hiding from Eugene, at a time when Radagasius 61 was besieging the said city, and the people in the city were already completely despairing, he appeared to someone in a vision and promised that salvation would come to them the next day. The story of this raised the spirits of the townspeople: and the next day, after the arrival of the then committee Stilicho, victory was won over the enemies. We learned this from the story of the pious woman Pansofia, the mother of the boy Pansofia. 51. 1. He also appeared at night in a vision to Mascezel, 62 despairing of the salvation of both himself and the army that he led against Gildon, holding a staff in his hand, and when Mascezel fell at the feet of the holy man, the elder, striking the ground three times with the staff on which he leaned (for in this form he appeared to him), said: “Here, here, here,” indicating the place; and made it clear to the husband whom he considered worthy of visiting, so that he would know that in the very place where he saw the holy bishop of the Lord, he would win victory on the third day. And so, confident, he began and completed the battle. 2. We learned this while in Mediolanus, from the words of Mascezel himself; for in the region in which we are now writing this, he told this to many bishops, and since they also talk [about it], we, having learned with greater confidence, decided to add it to our work. 52. 1. Also, when we in Milan received with the greatest reverence the relics of the martyrs Sisinnius, Martyrius and Alexander, who in our time, that is, after the death of Saint Ambrose, won the crown of martyrdom in the region of Anavnia from pagan persecutors, we learned from a certain blind man who came and told (on the same day, touching the stretcher on which the relics of the saints were carried, he gained sight) that in the night In a vision, he saw a ship approaching the shore, in which there were many people in white clothes. And when they descended to earth, he asked one of the crowd to find out who these people were, and he heard that they were Ambrose and his companions. When, having heard this name, he began to pray that his sight would be restored to him, he heard from him: “Go to Mediolan and meet my brothers who will come there,” indicating the day, “and you will gain sight.” 2. And this [blind] man, as he himself claimed, was from the Dalmatian coast, and assured that he had not been in the city before until, on the right path, he met the relics of the saints, still blind; but, touching the stretcher, he began to see. 53. 1. So, after this description, I think it will not seem burdensome if I go a little beyond the scope of our subject in order to show how the Lord’s saying was fulfilled, proclaimed by Him through the mouth of the holy prophets: “I drove out the one who sat against his brother and slandered in secret” (Ps. 100.5); and in another place: Do not like to slander, lest you be uprooted 63 so that if anyone suddenly falls into such a habit, after reading how those who dared to slander the holy man were punished, he himself will also correct himself in other things. 54. 1. So, when a certain Donatus, an African by birth, but a presbyter of the Church of Milan, being at a feast where some pious military men were present, denigrated the memory of the saint, and they turned away and disdained his worthless language, he was suddenly struck by a heavy blow, and strange hands lifted him from the place where he lay, laid him on a stretcher and from there carried him straight to the grave. 2. Also in the city of Carthage, when I came to a feast with the deacon Fortunatus, brother of the venerable bishop Aurelius, together with Vincentius, bishop of Colusitana, and Muran, bishop of Bolitan, and with other bishops and deacons, I then told Bishop Muran, who had slandered the holy man, about the end of the above-mentioned presbyter: which word, spoken about another, he confirmed as a foreshadowing of himself by the fit that soon befell him. 3. For from the same place where he lay, suddenly struck by a strong blow, he was carried by someone else's hands to the bed, and being carried from there to the house where he stayed, he completed his last day. This was the end of the people who slandered Ambrose, who, when they saw him, those present marveled. 55. 1. Therefore I call and conjure every person who reads this book to imitate the life of this man, to praise the grace of God and to reject the language of slanderers, if he would rather have fellowship with Ambrose in the resurrection of life than to suffer punishment along with those slanderers, which no reasonable person will allow. 56. 1. I also pray your beatitude, Father Augustine, to deign to pray for me, the humblest sinner Paulinus, with all the saints who, together with you, call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in truth, so that, since in acquiring grace I am not worthy to have fellowship with such a man, my reward may be to escape punishment by receiving the forgiveness of my sins. Translation from Latin by D. E. Afinogenov See: Afinogenov D.E. On the origin of the legend of St. Arsenia – tutor of the emperors Arcadius and Honorius // Bulletin of Ancient History I, 2004. P. 52. Published test: Παπαδόπουλος – Κεραμεύς Α . A νάε n τα Ί οσλυμιτι n ής οταχυολογίας . St. Petersburg, 1891. T. I. S. 27–88. See Jones A. H. M., Martindale J., Morris J. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Cambridge, 1971. Vol. I.P. 459 (loannes 2). Epistolae Imperatorum Pontificum Aliorum inde ab a. CCCLXVII usque DLIII datae Avellana quae dicitur Collectio / Ed. by O. Gunther. Prague; Vienna; Leipzig, 1895 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum; 35). R. 108–109 Codex Theodosianus, 9. 17.7. Tantarum viriutum. This expression can mean both the numerous miracles performed by St. Ambrose during his life and after death, and the perfection of his virtues. – Approx. ed. Hereinafter “City” (urbs) – Rome. Bishop Dionysius of Milan was exiled after the Council of Milan in 355, when he refused to condemn St. Athanasius of Alexandria. Wed: Song. 4.4; 2 Samuel 8.5–6. Emperor Valentinian I (February 364 – November 375). Empress Justina, widow of Valentinian I, supported the Arian party. Basilica Portiana was located outside the city walls. Currently known as the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore in Milan. – Approx. ed. Cuvicularium - bed servant, a high position at the imperial court. De incarnationis dominicae sacramento. Emperor Gratian (367 – August 383). Son of Emperor Valentinian I, Emperor Valentinian II (b. 371). r became Augustus after his father's death in November 375. Haruspex - in ancient Rome, a fortuneteller using the entrails of sacrificial animals. Lat. Innocentius from innocens – innocent. Magnus Maximus was executed at Aquileia in August 388. Kallinik fortress in Osroene. Comite of the East - an official in charge of the diocese of the East (Isauria, Cilicia, both Palestines, Cyprus, Phypicia, Syria, Osroene, Mesopotamia, Arabia). Comites are officials, both civil and military. Emperor Valentinian II died in 392. In 396, when Emperor Honorius, together with his brother, Emperor Arcadius, were elected consuls (this institution of the ancient Roman state system was nominally preserved). The elections of consuls were accompanied by games (gladiatorial fights, chariot competitions, etc.). Stilicho was appointed by Emperor Theodosius as the guardian of the ten-year-old Emperor Honorius. At dawn of Holy Saturday, April 4, 397 St. Zenobius (Zenobius), bishop of Florence in 398–429, one of the city's patron saints. The invasion of Italy by barbarians led by Radagasius took place in 405, a decisive battle against the barbarians took place in 406 near Ticinus (modern Pavia). In 398, Mascezel led the Roman army sent to Africa to suppress the uprising of Gildon, Comite of Africa, Mascezel's brother.