Seminar 3. Material Auxiliar

ortodoxia
r e v i s t ~ a p at r i a r h i e i r o m @ n e
Seria a II-a, Anul VII, nr. I, Ianuarie - Martie, 2015

bucure$ti
colegiul de redac%ie
Preedinte: Daniel, Patriarhul Bisericii Ortodoxe Romne
Membri: Pr. prof. dr. Nicolae Achimescu, Iai (Istoria Religiilor); Pr. prof. dr. Emanoil
Bbu, Bucureti (Bizantinologie); Pr. conf. dr. Daniel Benga, Bucureti (Istoria
Bisericeasc Universal); Pr. prof. dr. tefan Buchiu, Bucureti (Teologie Dogmatic);
Pr. prof. dr. Ioan Caraza, Bucureti (Patrologie); Pr. prof. dr. Constantin Coman,
Bucureti (Noul Testament); Pr. prof. dr. Vasile Gordon, Bucureti (Catehetic-
Omiletic); Arhid. prof. dr. Ioan I. Ic jr., Sibiu (Spiritualitate Ortodox); Pr. prof. dr.
Alexandru Moraru, Cluj-Napoca (Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Romne); Pr. prof. dr.
Gheorghe Popa, Iai (Teologie Moral); Pr. prof. dr. Constantin Rus, Arad (Drept
bisericesc); Pr. prof. dr. Nicolae Necula, Bucureti (Teologie Liturgic); Pr. prof. dr.
Petre Semen, Iai (Vechiul Testament).
Colaboratori: ierarhii, cadrele didactice din nvmntul teologic preuniversitar

i universitar, doctorii n teologie, doctoranzii, masteranzii, studenii i preoii.
Redactor ef: Drd. Nicuor Deciu

Redactori: tefan Voronca
trad. lb. englez: Monica Oanc
Tehnoredactare: Constantina Cristea
Editura Institutului Biblic i de Misiune Ortodox

Director: Pr. Mihai Hau, Consilier patriarhal
Tipografia Crilor Bisericeti a Institutului Biblic i de Misiune Ortodox

inspector general tehnic: Diac. Constantin Ursu, Consilier patriarhal
Coperta i concepia grafic a revistei: Doina Dumitrescu
Redacia: Intr. Miron Cristea, nr. 6, cod. 040162, sector 4, Bucureti, Romnia,
Tel. (004) 021. 305.21.04/int. 311
e-mail: redactia@revistaortodoxia.ro, www.revistaortodoxia.ro
Materialele trimise la redacie nu se napoiaz.

Redacia i rezerv dreptul de a opera modificrile necesare att asupra formei, ct
i asupra coninutului materialelor trimise spre publicare i roag s fie respectate
recomandrile postate electronic la urmtoarea adres web: www.revistaortodoxia.ro
la rubrica Condiii de publicare.
cuprins
Editorial
Prezentarea numrului 7
Studii
IPS Nifon, Arhiepiscopul Trgovitei
Dialogul Teologic Ortodox Anglican: realizri i perspective 12
Pr. Vasile Creu

Domnitorul Constantin Brncoveanu, de la prinul aurului
la martirul lui Hristos 24
Pr. Muscalu Cristinel

Sfntul Ioan Boteztorul, tritor i propovduitor al pocinei 42
Pr. tefan Zar

Importana scrierilor Sfntului Ambrozie al Milanului
n activitatea sa pastoral 67
Dr. George Grigori
ntietate i sinodalitate n dialogul teologic oficial dintre Biserica
Ortodox i Biserica Romano-Catolic. Studiu canonic 104
Drd. Nedejde Radu Iustin

Forme ale cinstirii sfinilor n Biserica Ortodox Romn.
Tradiie i actualitate 178
Drd. Tnase Raul-Constantin

nsuirile chipului dumnezeiesc din om n concepia
Sfntului Grigorie al Nyssei 217
Drd. Miruna Iftene
Cstoriile mixte 240
Compoziiile ctigtoare de la Concursul Naional de Muzic

Bisericeasc LUDAI PE DOMNUL! ediia a V-a, 2014,
Seciunea B, Compoziie Muzical 259
3
cuprins
Ortodoxia n dialog
Costion Nicolescu, Iari despre cult i cultur: cultura cultului
i cultul culturii 282
Orthodoxia patristica
Sfntul tefan Savaitul, Omilie despre pocin,
(traducere din limba arab de Dr. Bashar Al-Kishawi i revizuire
de teolog arabist Horia Dobo) 294
Ortodoxia contemporan
Arhimandritul Placide Deseille, Taina Pocinei
(traducere de Pr. Remus Marian) 302
nsemnri despre cri i reviste

Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stniloae, Ortodoxie i romnism,
vol. 8 din Opere complete, Ed. BASILICA, Bucureti, 2014 314
Diac. prof. dr. Vasile M. Demciuc,Trapezunt - fascinaie

i reper spiritual bizantin, Ed. BASILICA, Bucureti, 2014 319
Paul din Alep, Jurnal de cltorie n Moldova i Valahia,
traducere, note i indici de Ioana Feodorov, ediie bilingv,
Ed. Academiei Romne, Bucureti, 2014 324
4
editorial
Editorial
Primul numr din anul 2015 al revistei Ortodoxia a Patriarhiei Romne pro-
pune cititorilor un cuprins cu o tematic variat, structurat pe baza seciunilor
deja clasice ale revistei. Astfel, rubrica Studii este deschis de materialul intitulat
Dialogul Teologic Ortodox Anglican: realizri i perspective i semnat de ctre
IPS Nifon, Arhiepiscopul Trgovitei, n care pe baza unei investigaii istorice se
precizeaz faptul c relaiile dintre ortodoci i anglicani au debutat cu cteva
secole n urm,dei bazele unui dialog serios ntre cele dou confesiuni s-au pus
abia n a doua jumtate a secolului 20, precedat de o perioad de pionierat, dup
anii 1920, cnd emigraia i dezvoltarea colilor teologice cunoate un avnt
important. Biserica Ortodox Romn a dezvoltat la rndul ei o relaie special cu
Biserica Anglican, care a luat forma mai multor ntlniri, ncheiate cu Declaraii
comune i/sau Rezoluii. Articolul face o trecere n revist a acestora, scond n
eviden mai mult contribuia BOR, respectiv punctele discutate n cadrul dialogu-
rilor, precum i problemele ntmpinate, mai cu seam dezacordurile la care s-a
ajuns n chestiuni de Eclesiologie i Dogmatic. Urmtorul material, Domnitorul
Constantin Brncoveanu, de la prinul aurului la martirul lui Hristos, aparine Pr.
Vasile Creu, care ne nfieaz personalitatea domnitorului martir Constantin
Brncoveanu i ne invit la redescoperirea dimensiunii pedagogice i terapeutice
a istoriei naionale. Articolul evideniaz contextul deosebit de complex al epocii
n care principele muntean, dei a fost cel mai bogat proprietar funciar pe care
l-a avut vreodat ara Romneasc i unul dintre cei mai nstrii oameni din
sud-estul Europei de acum trei sute de ani, a avut curajul i demnitatea de a-L
mrturisi jertfelnic pe Dumnezeul cel Viu i Adevrat. n continuare, Pr. Muscalu
Cristinel semneaz materialul Sfntul Ioan Boteztorul, tritor i propovduitor
al pocinei, n care subliniaz faptul c pocina este calea scprii de pcat i a
mpcrii cu Dumnezeu. Cerut nc din Rai, aceasta a fost mereu propovduit n
Sfnta Scriptur. Pn s fie desvrit de ctre Mntuitorul Hristos, nvtura
despre adevrata pocin a fost mai nti propovduit tuturor categoriilor sociale
la plinirea vremii de ctre Sfntul Ioan Boteztorul. Astfel, muli dintre cei care au
crezut vorbelor sale s-au botezat cu botezul pocinei, iar unii dintre ei l-au urmat
ndeaproape pn n ceasul morii. Sfntul Proroc Ioan este evideniat ca o perso-
nalitate marcant chiar prin cuvintele Mntuitorului: Adevrat zic vou: Nu s-a
ridicat ntre cei nscui din femei unul mai mare dect Ioan Boteztorul. Urmtorul
studiu, al Pr. tefan Zar, intitulat Evlavia scriptural a Sfntului Ambrozie al
Mediolanului oglindit n scrierile sale, surprinde faptul c activitatea exegetic i
7
editorial
pastoral-liturgic a Sfntului Ambrozie al Mediolanului poate fi lesne pus alturi
de mrturiile majore ale veacului al IV-lea, din vremea Sfinilor Trei Ierarhi. Alturi
de o scurt introducere n oper, studiul prezint n linii mari lucrarea pastoral a
Sf. Ambrozie, aa cum se reflect ea n scrierile sale. Ceea ce e scos cel mai mult
n eviden e faptul c scrierile sale au fost n general menite zidirii duhovniceti
a credincioilor, nelund forma unor tratate sau studii patristice destinate unei
circulaii restrnse, precum se ntmpl adesea astzi. Materialul urmtor, semnat
de dr. George Grigori poart titlul ntietate i sinodalitate n dialogul teolo-
gic oficial dintre Biserica Ortodox i Biserica Romano-catolic. Studiu canonic.
Studiul, prin prisma analizei dialogului teologic oficial dintre Biserica Ortodox i
Biserica Romano-catolic din ultimii ani, evideniaz necesitatea unei dezbateri
preliminare cu privire la terminologia folosit pentru noiunile de ntietate i de
sinodalitate n Biseric, subliniindu-se responsabilitatea teologilor ortodoci de a
preciza faptul c, atunci cnd se vorbete despre ntietate n Biseric, este corect
folosirea termenului de ntiul/primul ntotdeauna coroborat cu noiunea de sino-
dalitate, cci, potrivit doctrinei canonice i tradiiei ortodoxe, ntietatea exist
doar n sinodalitate (can. 34 Apostolic i 9 Antiohia). Urmtorul studiu, Forme
ale cinstirii sfinilor n Biserica Ortodox Romn. Tradiie i actualitate, aparine
drd. Nedejde Radu Iustin, n cadrul cruia se abordeaz tema cinstirii sfinilor n
Cretinismul romnesc, vzut drept una dintre dovezile de netgduit ale evlaviei
i ale credinei sale. De asemenea articolul subliniaz n chip amnunit pe de-o
parte motivele i semnificaia cinstirii sfinilor romni i modurile cinstirii, care au
mbrcat de-a lungul timpului att de multe forme. n continuare, drd. Tnase Raul-
Constantin semneaz studiul nsuirile chipului dumnezeiesc din om n concepia
Sfntului Grigorie al Nyssei. Articolul pune n lumin faptul c procesul de recep-
tare i aprofundare a literaturii filocalice i patristice a cunoscut un reviriment deo-
sebit prin activitatea unor teologi remarcabili precum Panayotis Nellas, Dumitru
Stniloae, George Florovsky, Vladimir Lossky, Jean Meyendorff. Dinamica aces-
tui fenomen nu trebuie perceput ca o simpl repetiie uniform a nvturilor
Sfinilor Prini, ci ca un efort hermeneutic de extragere din paradigma trecutului
a unor principii utile prezentului. Remprosptarea patristic constituie o ncercare
de epurare a Ortodoxiei de influenele scolastice i de perspectiva romano-cato-
lic, n care teologia nu este relaionat cu viaa Bisericii. n acest context, studiul
de fa i propune s trateze nsuirile chipului dumnezeiesc din om aa cum se
reflect n scrierile Sf. Grigorie al Nyssei. Ultimul studiu al rubricii aparine drd.
Miruna Iftene, i este intitulat Cstoriile mixte. Studiul amintete c problema
cstoriilor mixte a aprut nc de la nceputurile Cretinismului. n acest sens,
canoanele interzic cstoria dintre un cretin i un eterodox, cel din urm avnd
obligaia ca nainte de contractarea cstoriei s treac la dreapta credin. n con-
textul actual al creterii numrului credincioilor ortodoci din diaspora, aceast
8
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problem trebuie abordat cu mult grij i tact pastoral. Despre cstoriile mixte
se va discuta i la Sfntul i Marele Sinod Panortodox ce va avea loc n anul 2016. n
fine, materialul care ncheie rubrica este constituit din Compoziiile ctigtoare
de la Concursul Naional de Muzic Bisericeasc LUDAI PE DOMNUL! ediia a
V-a, 2014, Seciunea B, Compoziie Muzical.
Rubrica Ortodoxia n dialog gzduiete materialul teologului Costion
Nicolescu intitulat Iari despre cult i cultur: cultura cultului i cultul culturii.
Articolul i propune s investigheze dintr-o perspectiv general complexa rela-
ie dintre cultura bisericeasc i cea laic, precum i posibilitile unui dialog rod-
nic ntre reprezentanii acestora, innd cont de exigenele proprii fiecrei pri.
Izbndirea unui asemenea dialog ar putea aduce o bogie n plus att n misiunea
eclesial a clericilor, ct i deopotriv n activitatea cultural a intelectualilor, care
astfel i vor pune n lucrare talantul pe care l-au primit de la Dumnezeu, fie c
acetia contientizeaz sau nu acest fapt.
Rubrica Orthodoxia patristica gzduiete un text inedit n limba romn
aparinnd Sfntului tefan Savaitul i intitulat Omilie despre pocin. Omilia tra-
seaz cu foarte mare atenie i profunzime felul n care trebuie s fie purtarea
adevratului cretin, att la slujbele din biseric, ct i n viaa de zi cu zi, prin paza
poruncilor i prin cinstirea zilei Domnului, ca nu cumva prin clcarea lor s vin
mnia lui Dumnezeu peste popor. Precizm c acest text este tradus din limba
arab de dr. Bashar Al-Kishawi i revizuit de teologul arabist Horia Dobo.
n cadrul rubricii Ortodoxia contemporan prezentm, n traducerea Pr.
Remus Marian, articolul Arhimandritului Placide Deseille, Taina Pocinei, n care
se semnaleaz faptul c relaia dintre Botez i Pocin n Biserica cea una a pri-
mului mileniu, i continund dup Schisma de la 1054 n Biserica Ortodox, a luat
diverse forme, n funcie de moralitatea cretinilor n general, dezvoltarea canoa-
nelor, a monahismului i a altor factori. Autorul ncearc s prezinte aceast evo-
luie n linii mari, punctnd momentele sau perioadele care au schimbat mai mult
sau mai puin semnificativ percepia cretinilor asupra Tainei Pocinei, precum i
chipurile prin care cei czui n pcate pot reintra n comuniune cu Biserica.
Rubrica nsemnri despre cri i reviste nchide acest prim numr pe anul
2015 prin prezentarea unui numr de trei recenzii dup cum urmeaz: mai nti,
Pr. Prof. Dumitru Stniloae, Ortodoxie i romnism, vol. 8 din Opere complete, Ed.
BASILICA, Bucureti, 2014, 303 pp, realizat de Bogdan Cndea. A doua, Diac. prof.
dr. Vasile M. Demciuc,Trapezunt - fascinaie i reper spiritual bizantin, Ed. BASILICA,
Bucureti, 2014, 310 pp, realizat de Bogdan Cndea. i cea de-a treia, Paul din
Alep, Jurnal de cltorie n Moldova i Valahia, traducere, note i indici de Ioana
Feodorov, ediie bilingv, Ed. Academiei Romne, Bucureti, 2014, 617 pp, realizat
de Bogdan Cndea.
Redacia
9
Ortodoxia 1/2015, pp. 67-103
IMPORTANA SCRIERILOR SFNTULUI AMBROZIE

AL MILANULUI N ACTIVITATEA SA PASTORAL
Pr. Dr. tefan Zar
Keywords: Ambrose of Milan, scriptural piety, the Holy Bible, pastoral

activity
Activitatea exegetic i pastoral-liturgic a Sfntului Ambrozie al Mediolanului

poate fi lesne pus alturi de mrturiile majore ale veacului al IV-lea, din vre-
mea Sfinilor Trei Ierarhi. Alturi de o scurt introducere n oper, studiul pre-
zint n linii mari lucrarea pastoral a Sf. Ambrozie, aa cum se reflect ea n
scrierile sale. Ceea ce e scos cel mai mult n eviden e faptul c scrierile sale
au fost n general menite zidirii duhovniceti a credincioilor, nelund forma
unor tratate sau studii patristice destinate unei circulaii restrnse, precum se
ntmpl adesea astzi.
Sfntul Ambrozie al Mediolanului este un martor major al secolului al IV-lea

pentru rolul i locul Sfintei Scripturi n discursul pastoral al unui episcop. ntreaga
activitate literar a Sfntului Ambrozie are ca scop principal zidirea duhovni-
ceasc a credincioilor, rescrierea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu n inimile acestora,
astfel nct aceasta apare, n ansamblul ei, ca un vast comentariu scripturistic.
Pentru a nelege exegeza Sfntului Ambrozie, trebuie s subliniem faptul
c tlcuirea Sfintei Scripturii este, n gndirea Sfntului Ambrozie, nainte de
toate un act liturgic; Cuvntul divin din Sfnta Scriptur are o funcie analog
Sfintei mprtanii: hrnete sufletul omului, preschimbndu-l pe acesta pn
la ndumnezeire.
Dominanta major a personalitii Sfntului Ambrozie (339-397), episcopul
Mediolanului, o constituie activitatea sa pastoral neleas n deplintatea ei:
cuvnt, scriitur i fapt. Sfntul Ambrozie nu doar c se impune ca un aprtor
neclintit al dreptei credine, n faa atacurilor eretice i pgne, att prin cuvn-
tul vorbit, ct i prin cel scris, ci i ca o personalitate cu o profund trire duhov-
niceasc, care a pus n practic tot ceea ce i-a nvat pe credincioii milanezi i,
poate, chiar mai mult. Era recunoscut ca Sfnt Printe, nc din timpul vieii i
nu doar n Apus, ci i personaliti rsritene, precum Ascholius al Tesalonicului
sau Sfntul Vasile cel Mare i artau o preuire deosebit. Sfntul Vasile cel Mare,
ntr-o scrisoare adresat episcopului Mediolanului, cu ocazia trimiterii moatelor
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Sfntului Dionisie din Cezareea Capadociei la Mediolanum, doar la un an de la
alegerea sa ca episcop, i face acestuia un portret spiritual emblematic:
Om cu o cugetare nalt, cu o origine strlucit, cu pricepere n ale obtii,

cu putere n ale graiului, mbrcat cu toate podoabele darurilor lumeti. i
acesta refuznd toate favorurile vieii, pe care le-a socotit pagub, numai ca
s dobndeasc pe Mntuitorul Hristos, a luat arma marii i vestitei corbii a
credinei n Dumnezeu, conducerea Bisericii lui Hristos. Pete dar nainte,
omule al lui Dumnezeu, pentru c Evanghelia lui Hristos nu ai luat-o i nu a-i
nvat-o de la oameni, ci nsui Domnul te-a mutat de la judectorii pmn-
tului pe scaunul apostolilor1.
Intensa activitate pastoral, social i politic a Sfntului Ambrozie al

Mediolanului i gsete expresia cu precdere n scrierile sale. Primele texte
tiprite din scrierile Sfntului Ambrozie au aprut la sfritul secolului al cinci-
sprezecelea. Dintre acestea cele mai importante sunt: ediia de la Veneia
(1485), cea a lui Cribellius din Milan (1490) i a lui JohannAuerbach tiprit la
Basel n 1492 i reimprimat apoi n 15062. Aceste prime texte dovedesc a avea
numeroase greeli. Foarte multe dintre erori au fost nlocuite de ctre ediia
lui Erasmus din 1527, tiprit la Basel n patru volume3. Aceasta a fost urmat
de ctre ediia lui Johannes Costerius (Basel, 1555)4 i de ctre cea a lui Gillot
Campanus (Paris, 1568)5. Apoi urmeaz faimoasa colecie roman, nceput de
Felix Montaltus (Papa Sixt V), n cinci volume, tiprit ntre 1580-1585 (reim-
primat la Paris n 1603)6. Toate aceste ediii au fost nlocuite de ctre clug-
rii maurini, prin ediia lor editat de Jacques du Friche (1641-1693) i Denis-
Nicolas Le Nourry (1647-1724), publicat la Paris, n dou volume in folio, ntre
anii 1686-1690 (retiprit la Veneia ntre anii 1748-1751 i apoi ntre 1781-
1782). Acest text a fost reimprimat cu numeroase adaosuri de ctre abatele
J. P. Migne, n Patrologia Latina, vol. 14-17, publicat mai nti la Paris n anul
1845. O alt ediie, n ase volume, bazat pe cea a benedictinilor Sfntului
Maur, dar nu superioar acesteia, a fost realizat de P. A. Ballerini la Milano,
ntre anii 1857-1883.
1
Sfntul Vasile cel Mare, Epistola 197; PG 32, 709, trad. rom. de Pr. Prof. Dr. Constantin
Corniescu i Pr. Prof. Dr. Teodor Bodogae, n: Sfntul Vasile cel Mare, Scrieri. Partea a treia: Despre
Sfntul Duh. Coresponden (Epistole), col. PSB, vol. 12, Ed. IBMBOR, Bucureti, 1988, p. 396.
2
PL 14, 14D-15B.
3
PL 14, 16A.
4
PL 14, 16B.
5
PL 14, 16C-17A.
6
PL 17, 17A-17D
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studii
Cercettorii de la Institutul Sources Chrtiennes din Paris au publicat
urmtoarele lucrri ale Sfntului Ambrozie, n ediii critice, cu text bilingv7:
Ambroise de Milan, Des sacrements. Des mystres: Explication du symbole,
Introduction, texte, traduction, notes et index par Dom Bernard Botte, col.
Sources Chrtiennes, nr. 25 bis, Les ditions du Cerfs, Paris, 1961; Ambroise de
Milan, Trait sur l`vangile de S. Luc, 2 vol., Introduction, traduction et notes
par Dom Gabriel Tissot, col. Sources Chrtiennes, nr. 45 i 52, Les ditions
du Cerfs, Paris, 1956-1958; Ambroise de Milan, La pnitence, texte latin,
introduction, traduction et notes de Roger Gryson, col. Sources Chrtiennes,
nr. 179, Les ditions du Cerfs, Paris, 1971; Ambroise de Milan, Apologie
de David, Introduction, texte latin, notes et index par Pierre Hadot, traduc-
tion par Marius Cordier, col. Sources Chrtiennes, nr. 239, Les ditions du
Cerfs, Paris, 1977.
Cercettorii italieni au publicat n mai puin de dou decade (1977-1994)
o ediie bilingv, cu introduceri i note la toat opera literar a Sfntului
Ambrozie, n 27 volume (dintre care 22 volume cuprind textul bilingv al scri-
erilor ambroziene i 5 volume subsidiare cu indici i o ampl bibliografie)8.
n cele din urm, amintim ediia n curs de publicare de ctre Academia
din Viena, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesisticorum Latinorum. n volumul 32, Karl
Schenkl a editat Partea I a lucrrilor Sfntului Ambrozie (Hexaemeron De
bono mortis)9, Partea a doua (De Jacob De Tobia)10 i Partea a patra (Expositio
evangelii secundum Lucam11); n volumul 12, M. Petschenig a editat Partea a
cincea a operei Sfntului Ambrozie (Expositio Ps. CXVIII)12, iar n volumul 14,
acelai cercettor a editat Partea a asea (Explanatio psalmorum XII)13. Otto
7
Pentru stadiul traducerilor din Sfntul Ambrozie ce au aprut sau vor aprea n: colecia
Sources Chrtiennes a se vedea http://www.sources-chretiennes.mom.fr/upload/doc/tableau_
avancement_ambroise.pdf, 27 februarie 2014.
8
Cf. Giuseppe Vison, Lo status quaestionis della ricerca ambrosiana, n: Nec timeo
mori. Atti del congresso internazionale di studi ambrosiani nel XVI centenario della morte di
sant Ambrogio. Milano, 411 Aprile 1997, Luigi F. Pizzolato i Marco Rizzi (ed.), col. Studia
Patristica Mediolanensia, 21, Milano, 1998., pp. 31-71.
9
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: Hexameron, De paradiso, De Cain, De Noe, De Abraham,
De Isaac, De bono mortis, n: CSEL 32 / 1, ed.Karl Schenkl, Vienna, 1896.
10
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: De Iacob, De Ioseph, De patriarchis, De fuga saeculi,
De interpellatione Iob et David, De apologia prophetae David, De Helia, De Nabuthae, De Tobia, n:
CSEL 32 / 2, ed.Karl Schenkl, Vienna, 1897.
11
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam, n: CSEL 32 / 4,
ed.Karl Schenkl, Vienna, 1902.
12
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: Expositio de psalmo 118, n: CSEL 62,ed.M. Petschenig,
Vienna, 1913 (ediie revizuit i republicat n aceeai colecie de M. Zelzer n anul 1999).
13
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: Explanatio super psalmos XII, n: CSEL 64, ed. M.
Petschenig, Vienna, 1919 (ediie revizuit de Michaela Zelzer n anul 1999).
69
studii
Faller a publicat prile VII14, VIII15 i IX16 din opera Sfntului Ambrozie, iar
mpreun cu Michaela Zelzer a editat partea a X-a17, ce conine scrisorile epis
copului de Mediolanum18. Acum se lucreaz la editarea scrierilor care nc nu
s-au publicat n aceast colecie: De officiis, De virginibus, De viduis, De virgini-
tate, De institutione virginis, Exhortatio virginitatis19.
Rescrierea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu n inimile credincioilor
Propovduirea i explicarea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu erau vzute de Sfntul

Ambrozie ca datorii de cpetenie ale unui episcop: De la datoria de a m instrui
nu m pot sustrage, deoarece slujba preoeasc, de care eu firete, fugeam, mi-o
impune, dup cuvntul Apostolului: Dumnezeu a rnduit pe unii apostoli, pe alii
profei, pe alii evangheliti, pe alii ns pstori i nvtori20.
Oricte sarcini l-ar fi apsat pe Sfntul Ambrozie n exercitarea misiunii sale,
nu a mpuinat niciodat timpul acordat pentru pregtirea predicilor i cuvnt-
rilor sau pentru redactarea minuioas a scrierilor sale21. Cum a reuit Sfntul
Ambrozie s realizeze imensa munc, care nu numai c i-a dat cunotinele nece-
sare pentru a nva poporul milanez, ci mai mult l-a fcut cunoscut ca una din-
tre principalele autoriti doctrinare ale Bisericii, recunoscut astfel nu doar n
Apus, ci i n Rsrit22? Rspunsul poate fi aflat doar indirect, din scrierile sale23.
14
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: Explanatio symboli, De sacramentis, De mysteriis, De
paenitentia, De excessu fratris Satyri, De obitu Valentiniani, De obitu Theodosii, n: CSEL 73, ed.
Otto Faller, Vienna, 1955.
15
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: De fide libri V ad Gratianum Augustum, n: CSEL 78, ed.
Otto Faller, Vienna, 1962.
16
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: De spiritu sancto, De incarnationis dominicae
sacramento, n: CSEL 79, ed. Otto Faller, Vienna, 1962.
17
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Opera: Epistulae et Acta, n: CSEL 82 / 1, ed. Otto Faller, Vienna,
1968; CSEL 82 / 2, ed. Otto Faller i Michaela Zelzer, Vienna, 1982; CSEL 82 / 3, ed. Michaela Zelzer,
Vienna, 1990; CSEL 82 / 4, ed. Michaela Zelzer, Vienna, 1996.
18
G. Vison, Lo status quaestionis della ricerca ambrosiana, n: Nec timeo mori, pp. 35-36.
19
Cf. http://www.csel.eu/?id=3, 27 februarie 2014.
20
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, I, 2; PL 16, 24A.
21
Cf. Maria Grazia Mara, Ambrose of Milan. Ambrosiaster and Nicetas, n: Johannes
Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, Christian Classics, Texas, 1986, p. 152; Boniface Ramsey, Ambrose,
Routledge, London-New York, 1997, p. 55; Ioan G. Coman, Profil literar ambrozian. La aniversarea
a 16 veacuri de la hirotonia Sfntului Ambrozie ca episcop al Milanului, n: Mitropolia Banatului,
XXV (1975), nr. 4-6, p. 138.
22
A se vedea mrturiile adunate n: PL 14, 113-120; cf. i Johannes Irmscher, Ambrosius
in Byzanz, n: Ambrosius Episcopus: Atti del Congresso internazionale di studi Ambrosiani nel XVI
centenario della elevazione di sant Ambrogio aIIa cattedra episcopale, Lazzati, G., (ed.), vol. 2,
Milan, 1976, pp. 298-311.
23
Cf. i Charles Kannengiesser (coord.), Handbook of Patristic Exegesis. The Bible in Ancient
Christianity, Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2006, pp. 1045-1046.
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Parcurgnd opera literar a Sfntului Ambrozie, putem descoperi destul de uor
care au fost scrierile folosite de el ca surs de inspiraie i care au fost autorii ce
i-au pus amprenta asupra gndirii teologice a Sfntului Printe.
Presupunem c Sfntul Ambrozie a fost iniiat n studiul Sfintelor Scripturi,
de ctre Simplicianus24, pe care Ambrozie l numete deseori printele su25.
Simplicianus este una dintre acele personaliti, care, fr a juca un prim rol
n formarea Sfntului Ambrozie, a exercitat din umbr o influen care se pre-
zint decisiv asupra stilului scriitoricesc al ierarhului milanez26, fiind profesorul
Sfntului Ambrozie n tiinele eclesiastice27. n realitate ns, formaia teologic
i scriitoriceasc a Sfntului Ambrozie este n mod esenial livresc, dup cum
mrturisete el nsui n De Officiis ministrorum:
Eu sunt luat de la tribunalul judectoresc; a trebuit s schimb legtura de

cap (infula28) a funcionarului cu aceea a preotului i aa am nceput a instrui
mai nainte nc de a fi nvat eu nsumi. De aceea trebuie ca eu s le unesc
pe amndou, a nva i a instrui; cci nu mi-a ngduit nici timpul, ca s
nv mai nainte29.
Este sigur c ntre lecturile sale, Sfnta Scriptur a jucat primul rol, cci ne
frapeaz uurina cu care Sfntul Ambrozie citeaz din minte ntregi versete scrip-
turistice30. Toat opera ambrozian apare astfel ca un vast comentariu al Sfintei
24
Cf. Yves-Marie Duval, Ambroise, de son lection sa conscration, n: Ambrosius
Episcopus, atti, Milano 2-7 diciembre 1974, vol.2, Milano: Vita e pensiero, pp. 243-283.
25
Sfntul Ambrozie al Milanului, Scrisoarea a XXXVIII-a, 2, n: Scrieri. Partea a II-a (Despre
Sfintele Taine, Scrisori, Imnuri), traducere, introducere i note de Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene Branite,
Prof. David Popescu, Lector Dr. Dan Negrescu, col. PSB, vol. 53, Ed. IBMBOR, Bucureti,
1994, p. 172; Scrisoarea a LXV-a, 10, n: PSB, vol. 53, p. 274; Fericitul Augustin, Confessiones
(Mrturisiri), VIII, II, 3, traducere de Prof. Dr. Docent Nicolae Barbu, Ed. IBMBOR, Bucureti, 21994,
p. 230.
26
Cf. i Herv Savon, Ambroise de Milan (340 -397), Paris, 1997, p. 52.
27
Homes F. Dudden, The Life and Times of. St. Ambrose, voI. 1, Oxford, 1935, p. 113.
28
Cuvntul infula (folosit uneori la plural infulae) desemna o legtur de cap (band) din ln
alb i roie, ce se purta ca o diadem sau ca un turban, ale crei capete atrnau de o parte i de alta a
capului. Uneori termenul a fost confundat cu ali termeni, care desemnau ornamente de cap, ghirlande
sau anumite bentie ce se purtau pe cap (capital, diadema, fascia, mitra, stemma, taenia etc.). Infula
era un nsemn sacru, indice al consacrrii i inviolabilitii religioase; era rezervat persoanelor,
animalelor de sacrificiu sau monumentelor ce serveau cultului divin. n general, infula putea fi purtat
de ctre preoi sau era pus pe capul unei victime nainte de a fi sacrificat. Mai trziu, ea a devenit
semn al naltelor demniti. Cf. Dictionnaire des antiquits grecques et romaines dàprs les textes et
les monuments, Ch. Daremberg i Edm. Saglio (coord.), tome 3, I-re partie, Hachette, Paris, 1900, pp.
515-516 i Felix Gaffiot, Dictionnaire Latin -Franais, Hachette, Paris, 1934, p. 817.
29
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, I, 4; PL 16, 25A.
30
Pentru bogia citatelor scripturistice n opera Sfntului Ambrozie a se vedea J.
Allenbach (et al.), Biblia patristica: Index des citations et allusions dans la littrature
71
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Scripturi31. Puini scriitori bisericeti citeaz att de mult din Sfnta Scriptur:
Pentru Sfntul Ambrozie, Biblia este izvorul ntregului adevr, ntregii frumusei,
ntregii filosofii [...]. Ea este sftuitoarea noastr sigur n dificultile zilnice32.
Extrema densitate a citatelor i trimiterilor scripturistice din estura prozei
ambroziene a frapat pe toi cititorii si33. Acesta poate este i obstacolul cel mai
mare n lectura scrierilor Sfntului Ambrozie, cci noi, cei de astzi, am pierdut
familiaritatea intim cu textul scripturistic i nelegem greit, cel puin la prima
lectur, necesitatea i coerena compilaiilor de versete scripturistice, care joac
n scrierile sale un rol mult mai important dect acela de simple testimonia34.
Problema versiunilor latine a Sfintei Scripturi anterioare Vulgatei, Vetus
Latina, nu este pe deplin lmurit, pentru a putea determina cu certitudine
ce text scripturistic folosea Sf. Ambrozie35, ns, cu siguran, el folosea abun-
dent i textul grecesc al Septuagintei, alturi de alte traduceri, ca acelea ale lui
Aquila i Simah36.
Opera Sfntului Ambrozie are caracter exclusiv practic, fiind de fapt doar
o ncercare izbutit, de cele mai multe ori, de a rspunde necesitilor pasto-
rale ale timpului su, de zidire duhovniceasc a credincioilor. Toat activitatea
sa episcopal poate fi rezumat practic la efortul su de rescriere a Cuvntului
lui Dumnezeu n inimile credincioilor. Dac nainte de cderea n pcat, omul
avea Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu n inima sa, dup cdere acesta l-a pierdut; ast-
fel, datoria oricrui ndrumtor duhovnicesc este aceea de a rescrie Cuvntul
lui Dumnezeu n inima ucenicilor, aa cum Moise a rescris Cuvntul pe piatr.
Cuvntul strpunge duritatea inimii, o vindec de rnile pcatului i o ntrete
ntru iubire, cci dumnezeietile scripturi pe toate le ntresc (omnes aedificat
scriptura divina)37. Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu este lumin (Verbum Dei lux est)38,
este foc care mistuie pcatele i aprinde sufletul de dorul dup Mirele ceresc39.
patristique, vol. 6: Hilarie de Poitiers, Ambroise, Ambrosiaster, ditions du Centre national de

la recherche scientifique, Paris, 1995, 376 p.
31
Raymond Johanny, LEucharistie centre de lhistoire du salut chez Saint Ambroise,
Beauchesne, Paris, 1968, p. 14.
32
Pierre de Labriolle, Saint Ambroise, Ed. Bloud et Companie, Paris, 1908, p. 8.
33
G. Nauroy, Ambroise de Milan. criture et esthtique dune exgse pastorale. Quatorze
etudes, coll. Recherches en littrature et spiritualit, 3, Peter Lang, Berne, 2003, p. 247.
34
G. Nauroy, Ambroise de Milan, p. 247.
35
Cf. R. W. Nauroy, The New Testament Text of Saint Ambrose, Cambridge University Press,
2008, 197 p.
36
Pr. Prof. Ioan G. Coman, Profil literar ambrozian. La aniversarea a 16 veacuri de la hirotonia
Sfntului Ambrozie ca episcop al Milanului, n: Mitropolia Banatului, XXV (1975), nr. 4-6, p. 144.
37
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio psalmi 48, 5; n: CSEL 64, p. 364.
38
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam VII, 15, n: SC, vol. 52, p. 14.
39
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio psalmi 118, 13, 2, n: CSEL 62, pp. 281-282.
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A ignora cuvntul lui Dumnezeu nseamn a-i condamna sufletul la moartea
duhovniceasc: Aadar dac medicamentul leprei este cuvntul (Si igitur leprae
medicina verbum est), dispreul cuvntului nseamn sigur lepra sufletului40.
Poate mai mult dect orice, pentru Sfntul Ambrozie Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu este
medicament care vindec sufletul de toate rnile pcatului: Cuvntul tu este
medicament (Verbum tuum medicina est)41. Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu din Sfnta
Scriptur este medicament, nu doar pentru c risipete toate uneltirile diavolu-
lui: intr Cuvntul, iese diavolul (intret verbum, exeat diabolus)42, ci mai ales
pentru c Hristos vine ntotdeauna n ajutorul celui ce este n nevoi i suferin,
fiind tmduitor al bolilor grave (aegritudine gravi)43; Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu
este medicament nu pedeaps (hoc verbum medicina, non poena est)44.
Sfnta Scriptur hrana zilnic a sufletului
Sfntul Ambrozie este un martor major al secolului al IV-lea pentru rolul i

locul Sfintei Scripturi n discursul pastoral al unui episcop45. Evlavia scriptural
(Schriftfrmmigkeit)46 a Sfntului Ambrozie a fost hrnit printr-un asiduu studiu
al scrierilor lui Filon47, evreul alexandrin al primului secol cretin, de cele ale lui
Origen, Clement Romanul, Ipolit, Sf. Vasile cel Mare, Sf. Grigorie de Nazianz i ale
celorlali Prini Capadocieni, dar i de cele ale vechilor corifei ai culturii greco-
latine precum: Platon, Cicero, Xenofon, Epicur, Virgiliu, Ovidiu etc. nelepciunea
evreiasc i filosofia clasic, n gndirea Sfntului Ambrozie, i au originea n
acelai Logos divin, Care vorbete n i prin Scriptur48.
Pentru Sfntul Ambrozie, Scriptura este Trupul Fiului lui Dumnezeu, la fel
ca Biserica sau Euharistia49, astfel c Scriptura nu este constituit dintr-o simpl
niruire de cuvinte, ci cuvinte care au o substan a lor: Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu,
40
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam V, 5, n: SC, vol. 45, p. 184.
41
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio psalmi 45, 3, n: CSEL 64, p. 332.
42
43
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam VII, 82, n: SC, vol. 52, p. 35.
44
45
46
Ernst Dassman, Ambrosius von Mailand: Leben und Werk, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, 2004, p. 378.
47
Despre influena lui Filon asupra Sf. Ambrozie, cf. Enzo Lucchesi, Lùsage de Philon dans
lòeuvre exgtique de Saint Ambroise: Une Quellenforschung relative aux commentaires
dAmbroise sur la Gense, Brill, Leiden, 1977, 140 p; Adam Kamesar, Ambrose, Philo, and the
Presence of Art in the Bible, n: Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2001, vol. 9, nr. 1, pp. 73-103.
48
C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1045.
49
Corpus ejus traditiones sunt scripturarum. Corpus ejus ecclesia est []; in omnem ecclesiam,
quae Christi corpus est; Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, VI, 33-34; PL 15, 1763B; n: Ambroise
de Milan, Trait sur l`vangile de S. Luc, vol. 1, Introduction, traduction et notes par Dom Gabriel
Tissot, col. Sources Chrtiennes, vol. 45, Les ditions du Cerfs, Paris, 1956, p. 240.
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ntr-adevr, este substana vital, cu care se hrnete sufletul nostru [...] i dup
care i regleaz comportamentul [...]. Prin Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu i sub aciu-
nea harului Su, sufletul nostru este ntrit50.
Cuvntul divin posed o funcie analoag celei a Euharistiei, deoarece
hrnete omul, transformndu-l; comentnd versetul scripturistic n care se
spune c omul nu triete doar cu pine, ci cu tot cuvntul care iese din gura
lui Dumnezeu, Sf. Ambrozie constat c: ntr-adevr, cuvntul este o hran51.
Cuvntul mistic al Sfintelor Scripturi este o pine care deschide inima omului
[...], ca i vinul, cuvntul are o savoare special52. Tema cuvntului i a pi-
nii ocup un loc important n gndirea sacramental a Sfntului Ambrozie53.
Purttor al voinei divine, cuvntul nu doar descoper planul mntuirii, ci el
este ca o man duhovniceasc pe care trebuie s o asimilm, o pine pe care
trebuie s o frngem nainte de a lua pinea, Trupul lui Hristos, oferit pe masa
Jertfei, n cursul aceleiai slujiri liturgice54.
Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu poate produce n sufletul celui hrnit cu acesta o
stare extatic numit de Sfntul Ambrozie sobria ebrietas (beie treaz), expresie
ntlnit i n scrierile lui Filon i ale lui Origen. Sobria ebrietas corespunde unei
chemri a Bisericii, care prin vocea Scripturii, ne cheam ctre bucuria haric:
Vrei s mnnci, vrei s bei? Vino la ospul nelepciunii, care-i invit pe toi
cu mare vestire [...] aceast beie ne face cumptai; aceasta este beia harului,
nu cea provenit din butur. Ea nate bucurie, nu cltinare pe picioare55. Aa
cum vinul poate nltura slbiciunea trupului (1 Timotei 5, 23), aa i Cuvntul lui
Dumnezeu poate nltura orice slbiciune a sufletului omului56.
50
Haec est enim animae nostrae vitalis substantia, qua alitur, et pascitur, et gubernatur.
Nec quidquam aliud est quod vivere faciat rationabilem animam, quam alloquium Dei. Sicut enim
augetur sermo Dei in anima nostra, dum suscipitur, dum intelligitur, dum comprehenditur; ita
etiam vita ejus augetur: et quemadmodum e contrario alloquium Dei deficit in anima nostra, ita et
incurrit ejus vita defectum. Itaque ut connexio ista animae et corporis nostri spiritu vitali animatur,
atque alitur, et tenetur: ita verbo Dei et spiritali gratia anima nostra vivificatur, Ambrosius
Mediolanensis, Explanatio psalmi 118, 7, 7, n: CSEL 62, p. 131.
51
Verbum enim cibus est; Explanatio psalmi 118, 6, 13, n: CSEL 62, p. 115.
52
Mysticus sermo coelestium Scripturarum sicut panis est, qui confirmat cor hominis [].
Est etiam vis ferventior verbi, sicut vini; Explanatio psalmi 118, 13, 23-24, n: CSEL 62, pp. 294-295.
53
Raymond Johanny, LEucharistie centre de lhistoire, p. 13.
54
R. Johanny, LEucharistie centre de lhistoire, p. 13.
55
[] sed uis manducare, uis bibere? Veni ad conuiuium sapientiae, quae inuitat omnes
cum magna praedicatione dicens [] sed haec ebrietas sobrios facit, haec ebrietas gratiae, non
temulentiae est. Laetitiam generat, non titubantiam; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Cain et Abel,
I, 15, 19; CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 355-356; trad. rom. n: Scrieri. Partea I (Tlcuiri la Sfnta Scriptur),
traducere, introducere i note de Pr. Prof. Teodor Bodogae, Pr. Prof. Nicolae Neaga i prof. Maria
Hetco, col. PSB, vol. 52, Ed. IBMBOR, Bucureti, 2007, p. 129.
56
Cf. Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et arca 29, 111; CSEL 32/ 1, p. 488; trad. rom. n:
col. PSB, vol. 52, p. 233.
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Sfnta Scriptur este o mare fr sfrit n care se revars toate rurile,
care cuprinde n ea nelesuri adnci i tainice57. Ea este lucrare a harului dum-
nezeiesc spre vindecarea omului de pcat: [] toat Scriptura dumnezeiasc
este nsufleit de harul lui Dumnezeu [], este un medicament sigur pen-
tru mntuirea omului (medicina quaedem salutis humanae)58. Cuvntul lui
Dumnezeu din Sfnta Scriptur este un adevrat remediu mpotriva lncezelii
i a tristeii; el apr sufletul de somn i de apatie59. Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu
trebuie s fie obiectul rugciunii nencetate; ntreaga noastr via trebuie s
fie aezat sub acest semn60.
Pentru a nelege exegeza Sfntului Ambrozie, trebuie s accentum faptul
c tlcuirea Scripturii este nainte de toate un act liturgic, care, n desfurarea
slujbei, urmeaz lecionarele scripturistice. Scriptura este vzut de credincio-
ii Bisericii primare mai nti de-a lungul unei lectio, termen pe care episcopul
Mediolanului l folosete foarte des pentru a numi Sf. Scriptur61. n secolul al
IV-lea, cartea nu este un obiect cultural de mare rspndire, aa cum a devenit
dup descoperirea tiparului. Scriptura, care nu este o carte dect pentru o mino-
ritate de intelectuali, este pentru majoritatea cretinilor expresie oral, Cuvnt
liturgic. Ea se preteaz deci mai puin meditaiei personale, ct rugciunii colec-
tive. Comentariul exegetic urmrete astfel nu doar luminarea i risipirea anumi-
tor obscuriti textuale, ct mai ales explicarea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu rostit
n cadrul unei slujbe. Ar fi preios, din acest punct de vedere, dac am dispune
de lista lecturilor liturgice din calendarul bisericesc milanez. Predicile inserate
n anumite scrisori ale ierarhului milanez, uneori foarte explicite asupra lectu-
rilor liturgice care nsoeau slujba acelei zile, arat grija pe care o avea Sfntul
Ambrozie n tlcuirea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu, devenit astfel mpreun glsu-
ire, mpreun rugciune.
Ceea ce pare sigur este c predica, n diversitatea funciilor i de-a lungul
anului liturgic, n diversitatea auditoriului, n pluralitatea inteniilor ei, este fun-
damentul operei exegetice a Sfntului Ambrozie62. n general, se pare c la baza
oricrui tratat ambrozian, fie el i scurt, stau mai multe predici; Sfntul Ambrozie
avea vocea fragil, o mrturisete chiar el n dou rnduri63, iar modelele directe
57
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Scrisoarea II, 3, n: PSB, vol. 53, p. 28.
58
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio psalmi 1, 4; 7, n: CSEL, vol. 64, p. 4, 7.
59
Ambrosius Mediolanensis; Explanatio psalmi 118, 15, n: CSEL, vol. 62, p. 75.
60
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Abraham II, 5, 22, CSEL 32/1, pp. 579-580.
61
[] instruit lectio; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Abraham I, 9, 86, CSEL 32/ 1, p. 557;
deocet sequentium series lectionem; De Abraham, II, 7, 41, CSEL 32/ 1, p. 596.
62
63
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Sacramentis, I, 6, 24, n: CSEL 73, pp. 25-26; De apologia
prophetae David, 2, 5, 28; CSEL 32, 2, p. 376.
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din predica sa, care ni s-au pstrat, spre exemplu anumite predici inserate n
scrisorile64 sale sau faimoasele sale cateheze despre Sfintele Taine dovedesc c
discursul oral al episcopului depete rar zece pagini.
Sfntul Ambrozie a propus uneori, se pare, credincioilor milanezi, cicluri
de predici supra celor ase zile ale creaiei, asupra patriarhilor65, asupra psal-
mului 118, asupra Evangheliei dup Luca, pentru a ne mrgini doar la aceste
patru exemple indiscutabile66. Aceast metod a mbinrii arat unitatea
central a gndirii Sf. Ambrozie i grija sa de a rezuma diversitatea nvtu-
rilor ieite din comentariul biblic la cteva teme dominante, datorit crora
tratatele sale exegetice sunt altceva dect un simplu comentariu al versetelor
Sfintei Scripturi67.
Episcopul Mediolanului, supus unei discipline severe, a predicii sptm-
nale, ba chiar zilnice n anumite perioade ale anului liturgic68, secondat de o
memorie excepional, o putere de munc puin obinuit, cu aptitudini ctre
introspecie i meditaie, care l-au uimit i pe Fericitul Augustin69, a dobndit
repede o real autonomie n rolul su de exeget. Fr a revoca modelele sale
mai ales scriitorii greci, precum Origen, Sfntul Vasile, Didim, dar i cei latini,
Sfntul Ciprian n mod deosebit70, fr a nceta s citeasc i s discute cu o
curiozitate inepuizabil comentariile altora, el merge ntotdeauna pe propria lui
cale, urmnd bineneles tradiia de acum veche i bogat, dar cu o libertate i o
degajare ce fac din predica sa asupra Scripturii, cu siguran, un fel de sintez a
exegezei primelor patru secole, dar cu o contribuie original, att prin metod,
ct i prin temele abordate sau forma acesteia71. A-l acuza pe Sfntul Ambrozie
c i-a plagiat pe Prinii Rsriteni, cum a fcut Fericitul Ieronim, se dovedete a
fi nu doar rea intenie, ci mai mult, real necunoatere a scrierilor sale.
Opera Sfntului Ambrozie, n ciuda diversitii genurilor literare, nu este de
fapt dect o continu predic, iar predica lui nu este altceva dect o neobosit
64
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Scrisorile 20, 22, 41; PL 16, 994-1002; 1019-1026; 1113-1121.
65
Pentru ciclul omiliilor asupra patriarhilor a se vedea mrturia Sfntului Ambrozie nsui n:
De Joseph, 1, 1; CSEL 32, 2, p. 73; J. -R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise et lEmpire Romain, Paris, 1933,
pp. 444-452.
66
67
68
Cf. Augustinus Hipponensis, Confessiones, 6, 3, 4; PL 32, 721: Et eudem quidem in populo
verbum veritatis recte tractatem omni die dominico audiebam.
69
Augustinus Hipponensis, Confessiones, 6, 3, 3; PL 32, 721.
70
Influena Sfntului Ciprian asupra Sfntului Ambrozie a fost analizat de Yves-Marie Duval n
numeroase studii, dar mai ales n: Sur une page de saint Cyprien chez saint Ambroise. Hexaemeron
6, 8, 47 et De habitu uirginem 15-17, n: Revue d Etudes Augustiniennes et Patristiques, 1970, vol.
16, nr. 1-2, pp. 25-34.
71
G. Nauroy, Ambroise de Milan, pp. 250-251.
76
studii
meditaie (ruminatio72 dup un cuvnt drag Sfntului Printe) asupra Sfintei
Scripturi73. Cu orice ocazie, discursul episcopului de Mediolanum, chiar i atunci
cnd este cuprins ntr-un tratat sau ntr-o scrisoare redactat n linitea cabine-
tului su de lucru, este nscut din predica sa, ce avea n centrul ei Cuvntul lui
Dumnezeu din Sfnta Scriptur.
Aa cum am artat, scrierile lui Filon din Alexandria i-au ghidat primii
si pai, iniiindu-l n lectura alegoric, care permite depirea obscuritii
literei74, dar fr a fi un imitator docil al acestuia, ci l-a corectat i depit
cu mult pe maestrul su, precum se poate observa cu uurin. nainte de
toate, Sfntul Ambrozie nu a uitat niciodat c Filon este evreu i reprezint
astfel un pericol pentru nvtura sa75. El a citit apoi, cu o atenie aparent
mai docil, care nu exclude, cu siguran, discernmntul, dar i lucida i con-
stanta retractatio a modelelor lui, scrierile lui Origen i Ipolit, cofondatori, n
secolul al III-lea, ai unei hermeneutici cretine metodice76.
Facerea, Psalmii, Evanghelia dup Luca i Cntarea Cntrilor sunt
principalele cri asupra crora i-a exercitat Sfntul Ambrozie efortul her-
meneutic. Aceasta nu nseamn c el nu a comentat i alte cri ale Sfintei
Scripturi, nici c asupra acestor patru cri, comentariul su este exhaus-
tiv. Abordm astfel delicata problem a formei literare a exegezei biblice a
Sfntului Ambrozie. Sunt numeroase titluri adugate ulterior, care deschid
false piste; tratatele asupra lui Ilie, Nabot sau Tobie sunt mai puin monografii
ale acestor personaje biblice, ct ndemnuri morale (exhortationes), hrnite
de tablouri savuroase i pitoreti ale moravurilor contemporane, ndemnnd
la refuzul lcomiei, setei de avuie i cmtriei. Neta mprire n tomuri,
scolii i omilii este strin operei exegetice a episcopului de Mediolanum, care
este totui divers att dup form, ct i dup coninut77. Acestea ne fac s
susinem c Ambrozie nu are o hermeneutic n sensul tehnic al cuvntului, el
nu construiete o oper exegetic coerent i complet, opera sa scris fiind
nscut aproape ntotdeauna din predica sa, i chiar i acolo unde ne putem
72
Ruminatio = rumegare, meditaie, reflecie. Cf. Felix Gaffiot, Dictionnaire Latin
-Franais, p. 1373.
73
74
Cf. i H. Savon, Remploi et transformation de thmes philoniens dans la premire lettre
dAmbroise Just, dans B. GAIN, P. JAY, G. Nauroy, Chartae caritatis. tudes de patristique et
dantiquit tardive en hommage Yves- Marie Duval, Institut dtudes Augustiniennes, Paris
2004, pp. 83-95.
75
H. Savon, Ambroise et Philon, n: Connaissance des Pres de lEglise - revue trimestrielle
thmatique, Nouvelle Cit, 59 (1995), p. 23.
76
77
G. Nauroy, Ambroise de Milan..., p. 251.
77
studii
ndoi, totui fr a fi siguri de acest lucru, c citim un text redactat direct, fr
etapa prealabil a unui discurs oral, acesta continu s imite particularitile
cuvntului rostit78.
Toat opera literar a Sfntului Ambrozie al Mediolanului apare astfel ca
un vast comentariu al Sfintei Scripturi i nu doar scrierile exegetice, ci ntreaga
activitate literar ambrozian este bazat pe Sfnta Scriptur:
Sunt puini scriitori bisericeti att de opuleni n citate biblice []. Pentru
Sfntul Ambrozie, Biblia este izvorul oricrui adevr, oricrei frumusei, ori-
crei filosofii []. Ea este sftuitoarea sigur n problemele zilnice, legea
suprem la care el se raporteaz constant i care primeaz, n ochii si, asu-
pra tuturor celorlalte, de vreme ce toate celelalte trebuie s se inspire din ea
i nu valoreaz dect pentru conformitatea lor cu principiile ei79.
Avnd n vedere c nu este posibil s urmm cu precizie o ordine cro-

nologic a compunerii lucrrilor Sf. Ambrozie80, le vom prezenta n ordinea n
care apar n Clavis Patrum Latinorum81, urmnd mprirea clasic a operei sale
literare: scrieri exegetice, scrieri morale i ascetice, scrieri dogmatice, scrisori
i imnuri82.
I. Scrierile exegetice
1. Hexaemeron (Exameron)83 cuprinde ase cri, alctuite din nou

omilii, rostite n Postul Mare, n unul dintre anii 386-39084. Crile I, III i V
conin cte dou omilii, ceea ce ne face s concluzionm c n ziua nti, a treia
i a cincea din Sptmna Mare a Postului Patelui, Sfntul Ambrozie a predi-
cat o dat dimineaa i nc o dat seara. Scrierea este menionat i n dou
dintre scrisorile Sfntului Ambrozie85. Aa cum indic i titlul, lucrarea este
un comentariu asupra celor ase zile ale creaiei, imitat dup Hexaemeronul
Sfntului Vasile cel Mare. De aici i faptul c interpretarea ambrozian a Facerii
78
Cf. J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 435-479; G. Nauroy, Ambroise de Milan. criture
et esthtique, pp. 252-253.
79
Pierre de Labriolle, Saint Ambroise, Ed. Bloud, Paris, 1908, p. 8.
80
Despre cronologia scrierilor Sf. Ambrozie, cf. Michaela Zelzer, Zur Chronologie der Werke
des Ambrosius. berblick ber die Forschung von 1974 bis 1997, n: Nec timeo mori, pp. 73-92.
81
E. Dekkers,Clavis Patrum Latinorum, Brepols,31995.
82
Maria Grazia Mara, n: J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, pp. 152-153.
83
PL 14, 123 - 274; CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 3-261; trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 52, pp. 31-56; Clavis Patrum
Latinorum 123.
84
J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 153; J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 513-520.
85
Scrisorile, XLIII, 1; XLV, 1; PL 16, 1120C; 16, 1142A.
78
studii
exclude, la fel ca cea a Sfntului Vasile cel Mare, orice alegorie; scopul moral
este evident, constnd n ilustrarea bunvoinei i providenei lui Dumnezeu,
manifestate n opera Sa creatoare. Practic, Sfntul Ambrozie se abandoneaz
cu emoie descrierii frumuseii lumii, a perfeciunii ce domnete pn i n
cele mai mici lucruri, a purtrii de grij a lui Dumnezeu, Care vegheaz asupra
tuturor. Opera sa este deosebit de ngrijit sub aspect literar, demonstrnd
msura n care Sfntul Ambrozie s-a dedicat lecturilor din Vergilius, Ovidius i
Horatius86. Dup Fericitul Ieronim, Sfntul Ambrozie s-a folosit n redactarea
acestei scrieri nu doar de comentariul Sfntului Vasile cel Mare, ci i de comen-
tariile pierdute ale lui Origen i Ipolit al Romei87. Popularitatea acestei lucrri
este dovedit i de numeroasele manuscrise care o conin, a cror clasificare a
fost fcut de Karl Schenkl88.
2. Despre Paradis (De Paradiso)89, a fost scris ntre anii 375-37890.
Lucrarea este amintit n Scrisoarea XLV n care afirm c am scris multe des-
pre Rai, cu toate c nu sunt nc preot btrn91. Sfntul Ambrozie examineaz
n aceast carte despre locul unde este Edenul, despre dialogul Evei cu arpele
i ce viclenii a folosit diavolul pentru a o ispiti pe femeie. Este o expunere mis-
tic despre Rai i faptele protoprinilor notri, al crei izvor este De sacrificio
a lui Filon, despre care Sfntul Ambrozie mrturisete datorit simirii sale
evreieti nu nelegea cele duhovniceti92. Dup Sfntul Ambrozie, Raiul este
sufletul omului, n care s-au dezvoltat germenii virtuilor93. Sunt combtute n
aceast scriere cteva nvturi ale ereticilor gnostici, maniheeni, dar i sabe-
lieni, fotinieni i arieni.
86
87
Ieronim, Epistula 84, 7; PL 22, 749: Nuper Sanctus Ambrosius sic Hexaemeron illius
compilavit, ut magis Hippolyti sententias Basiliique sequeretur. Ego ipse, cujus aemulatores
esse vos dicitis, et, ad caeteros talpae, caprearum in me oculos possidetis, si malo animo
fuissem erga Origenem, interpretatus essem hos ipsos, quos supra dixi, libros, ut mala ejus
etiam Latinis nota facerem; sed nunquam feci, et multis rogantibus acquiescere nolui.
88
CSEL, 32/ 1, p. XXXIII sq.
89
PL 14, 275 - 314; CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 265-336; trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 52, pp. 61-112; Clavis
Patrum Latinorum 124.
90
J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 154; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1074.
91
Lecto Hexaemero, utrum paradisum subtexuerim, requirendum putasti, et quam de eo
haberem sententiam, significandum, idque velle te studiose cognoscere. Ego autem jam dudum
de eo scripsi, nondum veteranus sacerdos Scrisoarea a XLV-a. Ambrozie ctre Sabin, 1; PL 16,
1142B, trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 53, p. 214.
92
Philon autem, quoniam spiritalia Judaico non capiebat affectu; Ambrosius Mediolanen-
sis, De Paradiso, 4, 25, CSEL 32/ 1, p. 281; PL 14, 301B
93
Unde plerique paradisum animam hominis esse voluerunt, in qua virtutum quaedam
germina pullulaverint; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Paradiso, 11, 51; CSEL 32/ 1, p. 308; PL
14, 318C.
79
studii
3. Despre Cain i Abel (De Cain et Abel)94, n dou cri95, compuse ime-
diat dup scrierea anterioar, pe care o i continu96. n unele manuscrise apare
cu denumirea A doua carte despre Paradis. Sfntul Ambrozie trateaz n aceste
dou cri despre naterea, viaa i apoi uciderea lui Abel de ctre Cain. El arat
c aa cum Isaac i Iacov erau chipul a dou popoare potrivnice, Cain i Abel
sunt tipul a dou categorii de oameni: pctoii i drepii. Cain i Abel sunt inter-
pretai i eclesiologic, primul reprezentnd poporul iudaic, care L-a rstignit pe
Mntuitorul Iisus Hristos, iar al doilea pe cretini. Ca i n lucrarea anterioar,
folosete ca surs de inspiraie scrierea De sacrificio a lui Filon.
4. Despre Noe (De Noe)97, cuprinde istoria potopului i viaa lui Noe.
Explic fiecare fragment din aceast istorie dup cele trei sensuri: literal, spiri-
tual i alegoric. Datarea crii este nesigur; cei mai muli cercettori dau pentru
compunerea ei, fie anii 378-379, fie 383-38498. Karl Schenkl o dateaz cu anul
384 i consider c titlul originar al lucrrii este De Noe, susinnd c cel de De
Noe et archa, aa cum apare n Patrologia Latina, este o adugare ulterioar99.
Arca este pentru Sfntul Ambrozie o nfiare a trupului omenesc100, iar cnd
Dumnezeu a poruncit lui Noe s intre n corabie, a vrut s spun: acum intr
n tine nsui, n mintea ta, n luntrul sufletului tu. Acolo e scparea, acolo e
crma vieii tale101.
5. Despre Avraam (De Abraham)102, n dou cri, a fost scris cel mai trziu
n 388103. Prima carte este nscut din literatura catehetic adresat catehumenilor
n Postul Mare, n ciuda primei fraze de la nceputul acestei scrieri: Abraham libri
94
PL 14, 315 - 360; CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 339-409; trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 52, pp. 117-172; Clavis
95
J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 155; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1047; J. R.
Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 439.
96
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Cain et Abel, I, 1; CSEL 32/ 1, p. 339; PL 14, 333.
97
PL 14, 361-416; CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 413-497; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 126; trad. rom. n: PSB,
vol. 52, pp. 177-242.
98
J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, pp. 155-156; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1054; J. R.
99
CSEL 32/ 1, p. XXIII-XXVI.
100
[] humani figuram corporis; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe, 6, 13; CSEL 32 /1, p.
422; PL 14, 387, trad. rom. n: PSB vol. 52, p 183.
101
[] in te ipsum intra, in tuam mentem, in tuae animae principale, ibi salus est, ibi
gubernaculum; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe, 12, 38; CSEL 32 /1, p. 437; PL 14, 397, trad.
rom. n: PSB vol. 52, p. 195.
102
PL 14, 419-500; CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 501-638; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 127.
103
n ceea ce privete data compunerii acestei cri, s-au avansat mai multe ipoteze. J. R.
Palanque propune anii 382-383, n timp ce Maurinii, Karl Schenkl i Otto Bardenhewer o plaseaz
n: jurul anului 387. Pentru izvoare i tradiia manuscriselor lucrrii cf. Karl Schenkl, CSEL 32, 1, pp.
XXVI-XXVIII; J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 156; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1057, J. R.
80
studii
huius titulus est104. J.R. Palanque d ca mrturie a originei catehetice a lucrrii
pasajele I.24, I.25, I.59 i I.89 din prima carte; considernd lungimea scrierii, presu-
punem alctuirea ei din mai multe cateheze105. Lucrarea este un elogiu adus patri-
arhului Avraam, ale crui fapte i virtui, descrise minuios de Sfntul Ambrozie,
sunt date ca exemplu candidailor care se pregteau pentru primirea Botezului.
Itinerariul patriarhului este cel al oricrui convertit: el merge, progresiv i
n etape, de la superstiie i pgnism, la Dumnezeu i descoperire, de unde
i tematica Deum sequi, fundamental pentru Sfntul Ambrozie106. Sfntul
Ambrozie insist n aceast prim carte a lucrrii De Abraham asupra vieii con-
jugale, ceea ce ne face s conchidem c printre catehumeni erau numeroi tineri
care se pregteau pentru cstorie sau tineri nu demult cstorii. Adulterul i
concubinajul sunt ferm condamnate de Sfntul Ambrozie, iar divorul este asimi-
lat adulterului. Foarte multe pasaje de acest fel din aceast scriere vor fi incluse
de Graian n Decretul su107.
Cartea a doua pare a fi un tratat aternut n scris. Datorit caracterului su
erudit, care este mult diferit de expunerea moral din prima carte, K. Schenkl
consider c aceast carte nu mai este adresat catehumenilor, ci celor ce au
primit Botezul cu ceva timp n urm. Sfntul Ambrozie dezvolt n aceast carte
o exegez alegoric i spiritual i nu se mai rezum, ca n prima carte, la ndem-
nuri morale. Patriarhul Avraam devine din model al virtuii (Cartea I), paradigm
a nelepciunii biblice. Aceast alctuire n dou cri, una moral i alta alego-
ric, amndou interpretnd acelai text scripturistic, anticipeaz bine cunos-
cuta lucrare a Sfntului Grigorie de Nyssa, Viaa lui Moise108.
6. Despre Isaac i despre suflet (De Isaac vel anima)109, n ciuda diferitelor
opinii, pare a fi un tratat scris110. n ceea ce privete data scrierii, s-au emis mai
multe opinii: Jean-Rmy Palanque propune anul 391111, Maurinii 387, iar Karl
Schenkl 388112. Sfntul Ambrozie relateaz n aceast lucrare despre cstoria lui
Isaac cu Rebeca, comparat cu unirea Logosului cu sufletul omului, potrivit exe-
gezei origeniene la Cntarea Cntrilor, de care se folosete mult n scriere113.
104
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Abraham I, I, 1; CSEL 32/ 1, p. 501.
105
J. Quasten, Patrology, p. 156.
106
H. Savon, Saint Ambroise devant lèxgse de Philon le Juif, vol. I (textes et notes), Paris,
1977, pp. 294-300.
107
Cf. J. Gaudemet, Làpport de la patristique latine au Dcret de Gratien en matire de
marriage n: Studia Gratiana, 2, 1954, pp. 48-71.
108
B. Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 57.
109
PL XIV, 501-534, CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 641-700; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 128.
110
J. Quasten, Patrology, pp. 156-157.
111
J. R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 540.
112
CSEL 32/ 1, p. XXVI.
113
CSEL 32/ 1, pp. XVI-XVIII; Cf. i C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, pp. 1060-1061.
81
studii
7. Despre binele morii (De bono mortis)114 a fost redactat imediat dup
Despre Isaac i suflet, ntre care exist o strns legtur. Pare a fi alctuit din
dou omilii, pe la anul 390115. n aceast lucrare, Sfntul Ambrozie vorbete des-
pre trei tipuri de posibiliti de a muri: moartea sufletului datorat pcatului,
moartea mistic de care vorbete Sfntul Apostol Pavel n Epistola ctre Romani
VI, 4, prin care murim pcatului pentru a tri n Domnul Iisus Hristos i moartea
natural, prin care sufletul se desparte de trup. Spre sfritul crii, bazndu-
se pe cartea Ezdra IV, considerat canonic de Sfntul Ambrozie, evoc ziua
Judecii de Apoi, ziua ncununrii ateptat de toi, pentru ca n acea zi, cei
nvini s roeasc, iar victorioii s primeasc adevrata cunun a biruinei116.
8. Despre Iacov i viaa fericit (De Iacob et vita beata)117 alctuit din
dou cri, a fost alctuit, dup Jean-Rmy Palanque, n jurul anului 386118, iar
dup Karl Schenkl i Otto Bardenhewer, n anul 387119. Lucrarea are la baz dou
predici distincte120, aa cum reiese i din text: ut ad exordia sermones hujus
severtamur, sicut legi audisti hodie121, n care autorul se ocup de cartea IV
Macabei, ce a circulat ntre crile anaghinoscomena ale Sfintei Scripturi. ntlnim
n scriere o serie de sfaturi practice date noilor botezai pentru a dobndi sfine-
nia i perfeciunea vieii n care s-au angajat prin Botez.
9. Despre patriarhul Iosif (De Ioseph)122 const ntr-o singur predic123,
dup cum consider Otto Bardenhewer124 i Jean-Rmy Palanque125. Ct privete
datarea lucrrii, J.-R. Palanque o plaseaz n anul 388126, iar Karl Schenkl i Otto
Bardenhewer, n 389-390.
n aceast lucrare, Sfntul Ambrozie descrie, cu toate podoabele elocinei
sale, rezistena lui Iosif la ispitirile femeii lui Putifar. El este dat ca exemplu pentru
114
PL 14, 539-568; CSEL 32/ 1, pp. 703-753; trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 52, pp. 465-500; Clavis
115
C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1064; J. R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 540.
116
Coronae enim dies exspectatur ab omnibus; ut intra eum diem et victi erubescant, et
victores palmam adipiscantur victoriae; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De bono mortis X, 46; PL XIV,
588; trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 52, p. 492.
117
118
119
O. Bardenhewer, Patrology: The Lives and Works of the Fathers of the Church, translated
by Thomas Shahan, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1908, p. 434.
120
O. Bardenhewer, Patrology, p. 434.
121
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Iacob I, V, 17; II, V, 23; PL 14, 635; PL 14, 653.
122
123
Meministi certe verborum meorum, Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Ioseph VI, 30; PL
14, 686; cf. C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1061.
124
125
126
82
studii
curia i nevinovia sufletului la care poate ajunge un cretin, ct i ca prefigu-
rare a Jertfei Mntuitorului Iisus Hristos. Iosif este tipul tainic al Mntuitorului
Hristos127. Astfel, este uor de neles de ce ntlnim n scrierea aceasta att tl-
cuirea moral, ct i cea alegoric128.
10. Despre binecuvntrile patriarhilor (De benedictionibus Patri
archarum) sau Despre patriarhi (De Patriarchis129) este o lucrare ce pare a fi
redactat direct n scris de ctre Sf. Ambrozie, dup anul 390130, nefiind n ea
nicio urm a stilului omiletic131.
Este un comentariu la Facerea 48-49, completnd lucrarea sa anterioar
De Ioseph. n aceast scriere, Sfntul Ambrozie accentueaz nelesul moral i
alegoric legat de binecuvntarea dat de Iacov fiilor si.
11. Despre fuga de obiceiurile acestui veac (De fuga saeculi)132. Cercettorii
par a fi de acord n privina originii omiletice a acestei lucrri. Maurinii o dateaz
n jurul anului 387, n timp ce Jean-Rmy Palanque o plaseaz n anul 394, n
contextul politic creat dup moartea lui Teodosie cel Mare133. Karl Schenkl i Otto
Bardenhewer fixeaz ca terminus post quem anul 378134.
Sfntul Ambrozie trateaz n aceast scriere despre cetile de refugiu, meni-
onate n Numerii 35, 11-34, inspirndu-se din lucrrile Legum allegoriae i De fuga
et inventione ale lui Filon din Alexandria. Dintre toate scrierile Sfntului Ambrozie
inspirate din Filon, De fuga saeculi pare a fi cea mai original135. Aceast scriere se
ncheie cu o doxologie, ceea ce ntrete caracterul omiletic al lucrrii136.
12. Despre rugciunea lui Iov i David (De interpellatione Iob et David)137,
n patru cri, a fost compus ctre anul 387138. Scrierea trateaz despre sufe-
127
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Ioseph, IX, 47; PL 14, 694.
128
Cel mai competent studiu de pn acum asupra acestei scrieri a Sfntului Ambrozie
este G. Nauroy, Exgse et cration littraire chez Ambroise de Milan: Lexemple du De Ioseph
Patriarcha, Collection des tudes Augustiniennes, vol. 181, Institut d`tudes Augustiniennes,
Paris, 2007, 539 pp.
129
PL 14, 707-728; CSEL 32/ 2, pp. 125-160; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 132; trad. rom. n: PSB,
vol. 52, pp. 345-368.
130
J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 540.
131
132
133
J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 549-550.
134
CSEL 32/ 2, pp. XVI-XVII.
135
H. Savon, Saint Ambroise devant lexegese de Philon le Juif, vol. 1, tudes Augustiniennes,
Paris, 1977, p. 330.
136
[], per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, cui regnum est a saeculis, et nunc, et
semper, et in omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen; AMBROSIUS MEDIOLANENSIS, De fuga, 9, 58;
CSEL 32 /2, p. 207.
137
138
83
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rinele lui Iov, despre rul fizic i rul moral, cauze ale suferinei umane. Dou,
dintre cele patru cri, se sfresc printr-o doxologie (II, 36 i IV, 31), fiind prac-
tic comentarii asupra Psalmilor 41, 42 i 72. Celelalte comenteaz Cartea Iov,
cu aluzii la viaa contemporan Sfntului Ambrozie. Pasajele IV, 15; IV, 23-25 i
IV, 29 conin referine clare la polemica antiarian.
13. Despre aprarea profetului David (De apologia prophetae David)139.
Acest discurs a fost pronunat la Milan, n 384140, la puin timp dup moartea
mpratului Graian, sau n anul 387141, innd cont de data uzurprii teritoriului
lui Valentinian II de ctre Maxim, i a fost dedicat mpratului Teodosie cel Mare.
n aceast lucrare, Sfntul Ambrozie trateaz despre pcatele regelui David,
adulterul acestuia, dar i omuciderea, aa cum ne relateaz capitolul 12 din
Cartea a doua a Regilor, evideniind ct de mare este iertarea lui Dumnezeu,
atunci cnd ne plngem pcatele. Asupra acestui subiect a fost avansat i o
interpretare politic142. n regele David, vinovat de adulter, Sfntul Ambrozie l
indic pe Valentinian II, care era vinovat de adulter spiritual, acceptnd simpati-
ile pro-ariene ale mprtesei Justina143.
Sfntul Ambrozie comenteaz, n aceast scriere, Psalmul 50, verset cu ver-
set, inspirndu-se din comentariile similare ale lui Origen i Didim cel Orb144, psalm
care este el nsui un simbol al cinei cretine i al splrii pcatului prin Botez145.
14. Despre Sfntul Ilie i despre post (De Helia et Jejunio)146, n dou cri,
pare a fi alctuit dup descoperirea imnului ambrozian147, deci dup anul 386148.
Stilul oral al lucrrii se descoper n ochii cititorilor ndeosebi din amintirea lec-
turilor scripturistice din cursul slujirii: audistis hodie in lectione decursa149,
audistis quid lectum sit hodie150. Se pare c a folosit ca izvor al acestei lucrri
139
PL 14, 891-960; CSEL 32/ 2, pp. 299-355; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 135-136; trad. rom.
de Andreea Stnciulescu n: Sfntul Ambrozie cel Mare, episcopul Mediolanului, Despre pocin,
Editura Cartea Ortodox - Egumenia, Galai, 2004, pp. 5-65.
140
J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 162.
141
J. R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 520-521.
142
Cf. J. Quasten, Patrology, p. 162.
143
144
145
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Apologia prophetae David I, 17, 81; CSEL 32/ 2, pp.
352-353.
146
147
[] si nos Christo, non vino et sicerae surgamus. Hymni dicuntur, et tu citharam tenes?
Psalmi canuntur, et tu psalterium sumis aut tympanum; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Helia et
ieiunio, 15, 55; CSEL 32/ 2, p. 445.
148
J. R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 527. Pentru evaluarea manuscriselor acestei scrieri
cf. CSEL 32/ 2, p. XXXVII-XXXX.
149
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Helia et ieiunio, 20, 75; CSEL 32/ 2, p. 457.
150
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Helia et ieiunio, 21, 77; CSEL 32/ 2, p. 458.
84
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trei omilii ale Sfntului Vasile cel Mare: Omilia I. Despre post; Omilia a XIII-a.
Despre botez i Omilia a XIV-a. Despre beie.
n prima carte d exemple vetotestamentare, de la Adam la prorocul Daniel,
cu privire la postire i foloasele acesteia. n cartea a doua combate beia i mn-
catul n exces, comentnd i capitolul 23 din Isaia.
15. Despre istoria lui Nabot (De Nabuthae historia)151 este bazat pe rela-
tarea din III Regi 21 i reprezint o exegez spiritual la ntreaga naraiune
scripturistic despre oprimarea lui Nabot de ctre regele Ahab. Acest episod
este inserat de ctre Ambrozie n contextul social, politic i religios n care era
el nsui protagonist152.
Se pare c aceast lucrare a fost redactat n scris de ctre Sfntul Ambrozie,
n jurul anului 389153. Dup cum reiese i din notele lui Karl Schenkl154, izvorul
principal de inspiraie pentru aceast carte, folosit de Sfntul Ambrozie, l repre-
zint dou omilii ale Sfntului Vasile cel Mare: a bogatului nebun (Luca 12, 18) i
Omilia mpotriva bogailor (Matei 19, 16-24)155.
16. Despre Tobie (De Tobia)156, compus dup anul 376157, ctre sfritul
domniei lui Valentinian, cnd Imperiul Roman de Apus ncepe s aib conflicte cu
hunii. Scrierea relateaz istoria lui Tobie, model de virtute pentru cretini. Foarte
multe citate din Vechiul i Noul Testament sunt folosite de Sfntul Ambrozie pen-
tru a combate bogia i zgrcenia. Izvoarele pentru aceast lucrare a Sfntului
Ambrozie sunt: Virgiliu, dintre clasici, i Sfntul Vasile cel Mare, dintre Prinii
Rsriteni, ndeosebi Omilia la Psalmul XIV158.
17. Comentarii la 12 Psalmi ai lui David (Enarrationes in XII Psalmos
Davidicos)159. Sunt comentai Psalmii I, XXXV XL, XLIII, XLV, XLVII, XLVIII, LXI.
Au fost scrise dup anul 387160 i ncheiate chiar pe patul de moarte, potrivit
biografului su, Paulin al Mediolanului, care ne relateaz c Sfntul Ambrozie
151
152
M. G. Mara n: J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 160.
153
J. R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 528-529; J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 160; C.
Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1063.
154
denique non praetermittam in his tribus opusculis Ambrosium multa ex Basilii
deprompsisse, qua de rex mox accuratius agendum erit, CSEL 32/ 2, p. VII.
155
Ambele omilii sunt traduse de Pr. D. Fecioru, n: PSB, vol. 17, pp. 399-421.
156
157
Prerea cercettorilor asupra anului compunerii acestei lucrri difer destul de mult: Von
Campenhausen propune anul 376, Bardenhawer 380, iar Palanque, 389. Cf. J.R. Palanque, Saint
Ambroise..., p. 528; J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 161.
158
Cf. J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 161.
159
PL 14, 963-1238; CSEL 64; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 140.
160
Omiliile la aceti 12 psalmi au fost rostite la date diferite i nu este uor a preciza cu
exactitate anul n care au fost alctuite fiecare; cf. J. R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 518-519;
550-553; 555; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1066.
85
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lucra la Psalmul XLIII, nainte de a trece la cele venice161. Urmeaz tlcuirile
Sfntului Vasile cel Mare i ale lui Origen la Psalmi. n Psalmi, Sfntul Ambrozie
vede concentrarea ntregii nvturi a Sfintei Scripturi: n cartea Psalmilor
poate fi gsit calea sporirii pentru toi i, ca s spunem aa, leacul pentru
salvarea omului162.
La nceputul lungului comentariu asupra Psalmului XXXVI163, Sfntul
Ambrozie se vede nevoit a explica sensurile Sfintei Scripturi i legturile cu cr-
ile biblice specifice: Toat Scriptura este fie natural, fie mistic, fie moral:
natural n Facerea n care se spune cum s-a fcut cerul, mrile, pmntul i
n ce fel este constituit pmntul; mistic, n Levitic n care nelegem Taina
Preoiei; moral, n Deuteronomul, n care viaa uman este format dup pre-
ceptul Legii164.
18. Comentariul la Psalmul CXVIII (Expositio Psalmi CXVIII)165, n 22 de pre-
dici, redactate n scris n jurul anilor 386-390166, comenteaz cel mai lung psalm
biblic. Sfntul Ambrozie i propune n aceast carte s indice cretinilor mijloa-
cele de a atinge desvrirea.
19. Comentariul la Evanghelia dup Luca (Expositio Evangelii secundum
Lucam)167, n 10 cri, este scrierea cea mai considerabil a Sfntului Ambrozie
i singura sa exegez la Noul Testament. n ciuda titlului, nu este un tratat pro-
priu-zis, ntruct aceast oper este format dintr-un ansamblu de omilii, inute
n anii 377-378, i revzute pentru redactarea final, n jurul anilor 389 -390168.
Faptul c nu avem de-a face cu un tratat sistematic este demonstrat i prin
aceea c Sfntul Ambrozie nu comenteaz ntregul text al Evangheliei dup Luca
i aprofundeaz chiar pasaje ntregi din celelalte trei Evanghelii. A treia carte din
aceast oper, care trateaz despre genealogia Mntuitorului dup Evanghelia
de la Matei i Luca, pare s fie o reelaborare a ntrebrilor i rspunsurilor despre
161
Paulinus Mediolanensis, Vita Ambrosii, 42; PL 14, 44D.
162
in libro Psalmorum profectus est omnium, et medicina quaedam salutis humanae;
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio psalmi 1, 7; CSEL 64, p. 6.
163
Cuprinde 66 pagini n: CSEL 64, ed. a II-a, revizuit de M. Zelzer, Viena, 1999.
164
Omnis scriptura divina vel naturalis vel mystica vel moralis est. Naturalis in Genesi, in qua
exprimitur, quomodo facta sunt caelum maria terrae et quemadmodum mundus iste sit constitutus;
mystica in Levitico, in quo comprehenditur sacerdotale mysterium; moralis in Deuteronomio, in
quo secundum legis praeceptum vita humana formatur; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio
psalmi 36, 1; CSEL 64, p. 70.
165
PL 15, 1261-1604; CSEL 62; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 141; trad. rom. fragmentar de pr. asist.
C. Necula n: Sfntul Ambrozie al Milanului, Viu va fi sufletul meu pri alese din Comentariul
la Psalmul 118, traducere, adaptare, introducere: pr. asist. univ. drd. Constantin Necula, Editura
Oastea Domnului, Sibiu, 2000.
166
J. Quasten, Patrology, p. 163; J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 524.
167
PL 15, 1607-1944; CSEL 32/ 4; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 143.
168
J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 529-531; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1050.
86
studii
Evanghelii, scriere a lui Eusebiu de Cezareea169. Virgiliu ocup un loc important
printre izvoarele clasice folosite de Sfntul Ambrozie n alctuirea acestui tra-
tat170, alturi de Ovidiu, Xenofon, Pliniu, Cicero etc., iar printre scriitori bisericeti,
n afar de Eusebiu i Origen, Sfntul Ilarie de Pictavium ocup un loc central.
Exegeza ambrozian, n Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, este consoli-
dat pe triplul sens al Scripturii171: istoric sau literal, moral i mistic sau alegoric,
Sfntul Ambrozie urmndu-l n acest sens pe Origen172.
n ntreaga oper se vede puternica insisten de a demonstra natura
uman i divin a Mntuitorului Iisus Hristos, contestat de arieni; eclesiologia
i mariologia primesc aici un spaiu larg: Sfntul Ambrozie este unul dintre primii
scriitori latini interesai de mariologie173.
II. Scrieri moral ascetice
Activitatea literar a Sfntului Ambrozie nu se rezum doar la explicarea

Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu din crile Sfintei Scripturi - chiar i aceasta ns urm-
rete, n mod clar, un scop pragmatic: creterea duhovniceasc a cretinilor i
ntrirea lor n credin, prin rescrierea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu n inimile lor
- ci, mai mult, Sfntul Printe elaboreaz o serie de scrieri destinate unor ucenici
ai lui, n care se ngrijete de starea moral a acestora, oferindu-le o serie de
sfaturi necesare n lupta lor ascetic de zi cu zi:
nchide deci acest avut al tu sufletul curat i inima bun apr-l conti-
nuu cu bgare de seam, adpostete-l cu ngrdirea grijii deosebite, pentru
ca nu cumva s nvleasc n el i s nu-l robeasc patimile nebuneti ale
trupului, pentru ca s nu se arunce asupra lui tulburri puternice, pentru ca
s nu-i rpeasc trectorii recolta. Pzete omul tu cel luntric! Nu neglija
i nu dispreui acest avut preios. Fructele sale nu cad i nu se termin cu
timpul, ci rmn statornice pentru mntuirea venic174.
169
170
Citat de trei ori ntr-o singur fraz (Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio evangelii
secundum Lucam X, 149, n: SC, vol. 52, pp. 205-206; PL 15, 1935)!
171
C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1051; J. Quasten, Patrology, pp. 164-165.
172
Cf. i Pr. Lector Dr. Ilie Melniciuc-Puic, Sfntul Ambrozie al Mediolanului. Expunere
la Evanghelia dup Luca, n: Teologie i Via, nr. 5-8, mai-august, 2013, pp. 156-167 i n: limba
engleza Biblical Intertextuality in St. Ambroses Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam, n: Text i
discurs religios, nr. 5, 2013, pp. 183-193.
173
Claudio Moreschini, Enrico Norelli, Istoria literaturii cretine vechi greceti i latine,
vol. II, De la Conciliul de la Niceea pn la nceputurile Evului Mediu, tomul I, traducere de Elena
Caraboi, Doina Cernica, Emanuela Stoleriu i Dana Zmosteanu, Ed. Polirom, Iai, 2004, p. 302.
174
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, I, 30, 150; PL 16, 72C; De officiis
ministrorum, I, 3, 11; PL 16, 27AB.
87
studii
ntre operele morale i ascetice, prin care ajunge la nlimi nentrecute
n viaa duhovniceasc, este capodopera sa, De officiis ministrorum. Alturi de
aceasta stau cteva tratate n care Sfntul Ambrozie trateaz tema fecioriei,
recomandndu-o cu fervoare ucenicilor lui: De virginibus, De viduis, De virgini-
tate, De institutione virginis i Exhortatio virginitatis.
1. De Officiis ministrorum (Despre slujirea preoilor)175. Datarea acestei
scrieri pune dificulti notabile: Baronius fixnd ca an al scrierii 377176, Otto
Bardenhewer 386177, iar Maurinii 391178. ncercarea lui Jean-Rmy Palanque de
a plasa lucrarea n a doua jumtate a anului 389 nu este convingtoare179. Un
mare numr de cercettori sunt de acord n ceea ce privete originea omiletic
a lucrrii (Ihm, Bardenhewer, Schmidt, Palanque), ns au abandonat ncerca-
rea de a stabili numrul i dimensiunea omiliilor originare180. Opera De officiis
ministrorum, dei are n centrul ei mai mult probleme de etic, ocupndu-se
cu precdere de datoriile morale i virtuile slujitorilor bisericeti, e socotit ca
cea dinti scriere patristic din Apus cu preocupri pastorale sistematice. Dintre
toate tratatele patristice despre preoie, cel al Sfntului Ambrozie conine cele
mai multe elemente practice pentru viaa moral i duhovniceasc a preotului181.
Aceast scriere a rezultat din cuvntrile adresate de ctre Sfntul Ambrozie fii-
lor si duhovniceti, clericii din Mediolanum, i se nrudete ndeaproape, prin
structur i idei, cu opera la fel intitulat a lui Cicero, din care citeaz deseori.
Aa cum Cicero i scrie lucrarea pentru ceteanul i omul politic roman, Sfntul
Ambrozie o alctuiete pentru clericii din Mediolanum182. Aceast nvtur,
pe care episcopul o d preoilor si, nu i privete exclusiv pe acetia; ea poate
fi de un preios ajutor i oamenilor de Stat, care au fcut din Cretinism sin-
gura religie oficial. Dezbaterea noiunilor i ideilor despre ceea ce este cinstit i
ceea ce este util arat c morala cretin depete pe cea pgn prin noiunea
dreapt a sfritului lumii, prin sigurana vieii viitoare i prin dispreul bunurilor
pmnteti183. De officiis ministrorum cuprinde trei cri. n prima carte, Sfntul
Ambrozie trateaz despre datorie (officium), cinste i util, accentund faptul c
175
PL 16, 25-194; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 144.
176
PL 16, 21-22.
177
178
PL 16, 23-24.
179
180
O. Bardenhewer, Patrology, p. 436; J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 452-453.
181
Cf. Ierom. Magistrand Nestor VORNICESCU, Viaa i morala duhovniceasc a preotului
dup lucrarea Sfntului Ambrosie De officiis ministrorum, n: BOR, LXXV (1958), nr. 3 4, p. 333.
182
Gustave BARDY, Saint Ambroise, n: Dictionnaire de spiritualit asctique et mystique.
Doctrine et histoire, vol. I, Ed. Beauchesne, Paris, 1937, col. 428.
183
F. CAYR, Prcis de Patrologie. Histoire et doctrine des Pres et Docteurs de l Eglise, vol.
I, Paris, 1927, pp. 527 - 528.
88
studii
nimic nu este folositor, dect ceea ce servete pentru dobndirea vieii ve-
nice, nicidecum ceea ce servete spre desftarea vieii actuale. De asemenea
nu recunoatem niciun fel de precdere n strlucirea i n abundena bunurilor
pmnteti. Din contr, toate acestea ne par a fi pagub184, de unde i diferena
dintre filosofia pgn i Cretinism asupra datoriei. Sfntul Ambrozie explic i
etimologia cuvntului datorie (officium), care, provenind de la efficere, nseamn
att funcie, slujb, ct i slujire, pentru a arta c n orice aciune a noastr tre-
buie s facem ceea ce nu aduce pagub nimnui, ci folosete tuturor185. Apoi,
dup ce vorbete amnunit despre virtuile, pe care trebuie s le dobndeasc
fiecare cretin, spune:
Dac ns a fi perfect (vorbesc numai pentru a da un exemplu, cci n

realitate sunt slab), dac deci a fi perfect, atunci a binecuvnta pe cel ce
blestem, precum binecuvnta i Sfntul Apostol Pavel, care zice: Ocri
fiind, binecuvntm. Prigonii fiind, rbdm (1 Corinteni 4, 12). Cci auzise
pe cel ce a zis: Iubii pe vrjmaii votri, binecuvntai pe cei ce v bles-
tem, facei bine celor ce v ursc i rugai-v pentru cei ce v vatm i
v prigonesc (Matei 5, 44). De aceea suferea deci Sfntul Apostol Pavel
cu rbdare persecuiile, fiindc pentru rsplata promis nbuea i biruia
nfierbntarea sa omeneasc; el tia c se face fiu al lui Dumnezeu, dac
iubete pe vrjmai186.
n a doua carte, Sfntul Ambrozie a scris cu precdere despre ceea ce este

folositor (utile), cinste (honestitate) i fericire (beatitudo), artnd c utilitatea i
onestitatea sunt acelai lucru. Nimic nu este mai folositor dect iubirea, care se
dobndete prin blndee, bunvoin, binefacere, dreptate i alte virtui187. Ct
privete drnicia, trebuie pstrat o msur, ca s nu se dea celor ce nu merit
aceea ce trebuia s se dea celor ce merit; totui milostenia nu trebuie adminis-
trat cu prea mult cercetare i team, ci trebuie a imita pe dreptul Iosif, a crui
nelepciune este mult recomandat:
Este evident deci, c trebuie a ine dreapta msur n artarea drniciei,

pentru ca aceasta s nu se fac nefolositoare. Trebuie a se observa cu trezvie
n privina aceasta, mai ales de ctre preoi. De altfel lcomia furtunoas a
ceretorilor niciodat nu a fost mai mare dect acum188.
184
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, I, IX, 28; PL 16, 32 A.
185
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, I, VIII, 26; PL 16, 31 B.
186
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, I, XLVIII, 234; PL 16, 92 C.
187
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, II, VII, 28 39; PL 16, 111 A 114A.
188
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, II, 16, 76 77; PL 16, 123 BC.
89
studii
Datoria principal a cretinului este de a nzui n permanen dup desvr-
ire i a se purta cu mult nelepciune: Fiilor gndii-v nainte de a face ceva, iar
dup ce ai meditat mai mult timp, facei atunci ceea ce ai recunoscut ca drept189.
n cartea a treia vorbete despre relaia dintre cinste i folos i arat scopul
final al vieii omeneti, adic asemnarea cu Dumnezeu, expune apoi datoria ca
fiecare s-i ntocmeasc felul su de vieuire n aa fel ca nu numai el nsui, ci i
aproapele su s nainteze spre desvrire: Ca regul unic pentru a evita orice
greeal, cu privire la raportul dintre ceea ce este cinstit i ceea ce este folositor,
trebuie s serveasc formula: Dreptul niciodat nu poate sustrage altuia ceva,
niciodat nu poate voi s-i mreasc propriul lui folos spre paguba altuia190.
Printele Profesor Alexandru Moisiu conchide ntr-un studiu despre aceast scri-
ere ambrozian: Opera aceasta este o lucrare monumental, adevrat cluz
i ndreptar al vieii preoilor i slujitorilor lui Hristos191.
2. De virginibus (Despre fecioare)192, scris n jurul anului 377193, n trei
cri, dedicat sorei sale Marcelina. n prima carte aduce elogii fecioriei, apoi, n
crile III i IV, d sfaturi despre modul de a practica aceast virtute. Constituie
un document important despre monahismul secolului al IV-lea n Occident; de
reinut faptul c monahismul apusean din acest secol nu trebuie neles ca un
mod de via dus ntr-o reedin specific, ntr-o mnstire, ci ca form de via
petrecut, n general, n propria cas.
3. De viduis (Despre vduve)194, scris n 377195, se prezint ca fiind o pre-
dic, ce descinde direct din De virginibus, adresat vduvelor i descrie vduvia
ca o instituie biblic. Sfntul Ambrozie consider cstoria un lucru bun, ns
nu recomand vduvilor a doua cstorie, fr ns a o condamna n termenii
violeni ai lui Tertulian i ai Fericitului Ieronim.
4. De virginitate (Despre feciorie)196, scris la puin timp dup Despre
fecioare, n 378197, rspunde obieciilor la scrierea anterioar, pe care o i com-
pleteaz. Opera s-a bucurat de oarecare faim, obinnd chiar i aprobarea
Fericitului Ieronim, de obicei ostil Sfntului Ambrozie.
189
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, II, XXX, 153; PL 16, 144 C.
190
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis ministrorum, III, II, 12 13; PL 16, 148 CD.
191
Pr. Prof. Alexandru MOISIU, Sfntul Ambrozie pstor i ndrumtor al vieii i tririi
cretineti, n: Studii Teologice, XXVI (1974), nr. 3 4, p. 179.
192
193
B. Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 71; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1048.
194
195
B. Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 60; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1049. Palanque o plaseaz
n: anul 376, alturi de De virginibus, cf. J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 493.
196
197
B. Ramsey, Ambrose, pp. 60-61; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1054. Palanque o
plaseaz un an mai devreme, cf. J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 494.
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5. De institutione virginis (Despre educaia fecioarei)198, scris n 391-
392 cu ocazia depunerii voturilor monahale de Ambrosia, nepoata lui Eusebiu,
199
probabil episcopul de Bologna, cruia i-a i dedicat aceast carte. Mare parte
din aceast scriere se ocup cu combaterea prerilor lui Bonosus de Sardica i
Helvidius, care negau pururea fecioria Maicii Domnului.
6. Exhortatio virginitatis (ndemn la feciorie)200, scris ntr-unul din anii din-
tre 393-395201, este un discurs pronunat la Florena cu ocazia sfinirii bisericii
Sfntului Laureniu, construit de o femeie bogat, Iuliana, care s-a clugrit
mpreun cu toat familia sa.
III. Scrieri dogmatice
Scrierile dogmatice ale Sfntului Ambrozie au, de asemenea, un scop

pastoral precis, i anume, edificarea credincioilor n ceea ce privete dreapta
credin, respingnd cu trie orice atac eretic al timpului su. Aceste scrieri,
cu caracter mai teoretic, sunt printre primele opere scrise lsate de episco-
pul Mediolanului, i utilizeaz din abunden n alctuirea lor scrierile Sfinilor
Prini de limb greac.
Tema general a scrierilor dogmatice era cea general a secolului al
IV-lea, i anume problema Sfintei Treimi, nvtur pe care Sfntul Ambrozie
o apr, folosind ndeosebi argumente biblice, mergnd pe liniile patristice ale
Sinodului I Ecumenic de la Niceea: Urmeaz Scriptura i astfel nu vei putea
grei202. O alt direcie a activitii sale nvtoreti o constituie explicarea
Sfintelor Taine care, avnd un neles att de adnc, erau ameninate s fie
alterate de doctrinele eretice.
A. Contra ereziilor:
1. De fide ad Gratianum Augustum libri quinque (Cinci cri despre credin

ctre mpratul Gratian)203. Primele dou cri au fost alctuite n anul 378, ime-
diat dup ntoarcerea Sfntului Ambrozie de la Sinodul de la Sirmium, la cererea
198
199
J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 542; B. Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 61; C. Kannengiesser,
Handbook, p. 1068.
200
201
C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1069; J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 542; B.
Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 61.
202
Sequere scripturas, ut errare non possis; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio evangelii
secundum Lucam II, 12, n: SC, vol. 45, p. 76.
203
PL 16, 549-726; CSEL LXXVIII; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 150.
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mpratului Graian. Lucrarea a fost completat n anul 380 cu alte trei cri204.
Scopul principal al acestei scrieri este dovedirea dumnezeirii Mntuitorului Iisus
Hristos, consubstanialitatea i perfecta egalitate a Fiului cu Dumnezeu Tatl205.
Aceste cinci cri au fost citate adeseori n literatura patristic sub titlul Despre
Sfnta Treime206, dar nsui Sfntul Ambrozie a citat aceast scriere cu titlul De
fide207. A fost citat la Sinodul de la Efes, Sinodul de la Calcedon208, de ctre
Teodoret, Vinceniu de Lerin209, papa Fulgeniu210 i de ctre papa Leon I211.
n primele dou cri, dup ce a fcut distincia ntre credina ortodox i ere-
zia arian, accentund unitatea fiinial a Persoanelor Sfintei Treimi, combate ase
negaii folosite de arieni contra Dumnezeirii i consubstanialitii Fiului cu Tatl:
Fiul este consubstanial cu Tatl, Fiul nu are nceput, cci naterea Cuvntului este
o lucrare cu totul special, Fiul lui Dumnezeu nu a fost creat, ci nscut (Dei Filium,
non dissimilem Patri, genitum, non creatum212), Fiul este Dumnezeu adevrat, dup
cum spun Scripturile, Prinii de la Niceea i cei de la Rimini213. Fiul lui Dumnezeu
este bun214 i Adevrul215, Fiul lui Dumnezeu nu este separat de Dumnezeirea Tatlui
i nu i este cu nimic inferior Acestuia. Ultimele trei cri aprofundeaz Dumnezeirea
Fiului, respingnd toate obieciile arienilor. ntre Tatl, Fiul i Sfntul Duh este o uni-
tate care exclude orice diferen de substan, voin sau lucrare.
2. De Spiritu Sancto libri tres, ad Gratianum Augustum (Trei cri despre
Duhul Sfnt ctre mpratul Graian)216 scris n anul 381217, completeaz lucrarea
204
Pentru cronologia lucrrii cf. J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 498; C. Kannengiesser,
Handbook, pp. 1049-1050 .
205
Pentru mai multe detalii despre contextul n care a fost alctuit aceast scriere a se
consulta Daniel W. Williams, Polemics and politics in Ambrose of Milan`s De Fide, n: The
Journal of Theological Studies, 46/2 (1995), pp. 519-531.
206
Leo I, De haeresi et historia Manichaeorum (Despre erezia i istoria maniheilor) I, IX, 4, n:
PL 55, 851 C.
207
[] quia plenius in libris digessimus quos de fide scripsi; Ambrosius Mediolanensis,
Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam, III, 32, n: SC, vol. 45, p. 138; Despre Duhul Sfnt, I, XI, 121,
n: PL 16, 733 B.
208
phse et Chalcdoine: Actes des Conciles, trad. par A.J. Festugire. Paris, Beauchesne,
1982, pp. 233-234; The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, translated with introduction and notes by
Richard Price and Michael Gaddis, vol. 1, Liverpool University Press, 2005, p. 306.
209
Vincentius Lerinensis, Commonitoria, I, V, n: PL 50, 643.
210
Fulgentius Ruspensis, Epistola XIV, 20, n: PL 65, 410 A 410 B.
211
Leo I, Epistola LX: Epistula eiusdem Leonis ad Leonem Augustum, n: PL 84, 739 B.
212
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De fide II,1, n: PL 16, 559 D.
213
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De fide I, XVIII, 122, n: PL 16, 556 B.
214
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De fide, II, I, 15 32, n: PL 16, 563 A 565 D.
215
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De fide, II, III, 33 38. n: PL 16, 565 D, 567 A.
216
PL 16, 731-850; CSEL 79, pp. 15-222; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 151.
217
J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 503-504; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1055;
B. Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 62; O. Bardenhewer, Patrology, p. 437.
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anterioar cu nvtura despre Sfntul Duh. Sfntul Ambrozie arat c Sfntul
Duh, ca i Fiul, este consubstanial cu Tatl, deci Dumnezeu adevrat. A folosit
ca izvoare pentru aceast lucrare scrierile Sfntului Atanasie cel Mare, Sfntului
Vasile cel Mare, Sfntului Grigorie de Nazianz i Sfntului Grigorie de Nyssa, dar
mai ales pe cele ale lui Didim cel Orb218. Aceast scriere este amintit de Fericitul
Ieronim, Fericitul Augustin219, Rufin de Aquileia220 i papa Fulgeniu221.
n cartea I, Sfntul Ambrozie demonstreaz c Sfntul Duh este Dumnezeu ade-
vrat i nu o creatur a lui Dumnezeu. Crile a II-a i a III-a sunt consacrate unirii per-
fecte care exist ntre Tatl, Fiul i Sfntul Duh, unitate fiinial, de voin i lucrare.
Acest tratat al Sfntului Ambrozie nu abordeaz problema precum n scri-
erile predecesorilor si latini, ce aveau formulri uor ambigue i au stat mai
trziu la baza punctului de vedere occidental, privind purcederea Sfntului Duh,
unul dintre motivele schismei dintre Biserica occidental i cea rsritean. Se
inspir din lucrrile Sfntului Atanasie cel Mare i Sfntului Vasile cel Mare.
3. De incarnationis Dominicae sacramento (Despre Taina ntruprii
Domnului)222, scris ntre 381-382223 att mpotriva arienilor, ct i a apolinariti-
lor. Lucrarea este citat de ctre papa Leon I224, Leoniu de Bizan225, Sfntul Ioan
Damaschin226. Contra anomeilor, Sfntul Ambrozie explic diferena dintre ns-
cut i nenscut, care nu sunt nsuiri fiiniale, i n consecin nu este nicio ine-
galitate ntre Tatl i Fiul; contra omeienilor, pornete de la ideea c Dumnezeu
este absolut simplu i chipul su, Cuvntul, nu poate fi dect perfect.
218
Fericitul Ieronim judec foarte sever acest tratat al Sfntului Ambrozie, pe care l
consider plagiat dup cel al lui Didim cel Orb (cf. Didim Alexandrinul, De Spiritu Sancto, S.
Hieronymo Interprete. Hieronymi Praefatio ad Paulinianum [Didim Alexandrinul, Despre Duhul
Sfnt, traducere de Fericitul Ieronim. Prefaa Fericitului Ieronim ctre Paulinian], n: PL 23, 103B),
plagiat cruia i contrapune propria traducere. Sigur c Sfntul Ambrozie se inspir din scrierea
lui Didim cel Orb, pe care a citit-o n originalul grecesc, precum Didim, la rndul lui, se inspir din
scrierea omonim a Sfntului Vasile cel Mare, dar afirmaia Fericitului Ieronim este, fr ndoial
o exagerare. Fericitul Augustin aduce elogii deosebite acestei scrieri (cf. Augustinus Hipponensis,
De doctrina christiana (Despre nvtura cretin) I, XXI, 46, n: PL 34, 111 - 112).
219
Cf. supra Nota 218.
220
Rufinus Aquileiensis, Apologia in Sanctum Hieronymum (Aprarea Fericitului Ieronim) II,
25, n: PL 21, 604 A.
221
Fulgentius Ruspensis, Epistola XIV, 27, n: PL 65, 416 C.
222
223
J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., pp. 506-507; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1056;
B. Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 62; O. Bardenhewer, Patrology, p. 437.
224
Leo I, Epistola CXXXIV, II, n: PL 54, 946 B.
225
Leontius Byzantinus, Liber tres contra nestorianos et eutychianos, PG 86/1, 1311-1312.
Leoniu citeaz din De Incarnatione Dominicae Sacramento V, 35; cf. i PL 16, 827.
226
Sfntul Ioan Damaschin, Tratatul al treilea contra celor care atac sfintele icoane, n: PG
94, 1408, traducere n limba romn de Pr. Prof. Dumitru Fecioru: Sfntul Ioan Damaschin, Cele
trei tratate contra iconoclatilor, Ed. IBMBOR, Bucureti, 1998.
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Cea mai mare parte a scrierii se ocup cu respingerea prerilor lui Apolinarie,
pe care totui nu-l numete nici mcar o singur dat n aceast carte. nsi finalita-
tea ntruprii, mntuirea, este ruinat de ctre apolinarism, dup Sfntul Ambrozie.
Mntuitorul Iisus Hristos este unicul Fiu al lui Dumnezeu, nscut din Tatl din ve-
nicie, dup dumnezeire, i nscut din Fecioara Maria ca om adevrat, desvrit,
avnd att trup ct i suflet raional; consubstanial cu Tatl dup dumnezeirea Sa,
dar consubstanial i cu oamenii, dup natura sa uman. Sfntul Ambrozie accentu-
eaz faptul c Mntuitorul Iisus Hristos are dou firi, divin i uman, inseparabile i
inconfundabile n unica Persoan a Fiului lui Dumnezeu ntrupat.
B. Explicarea Sfintelor Taine:
1. Explanatio symboli ad initiandos (Explicarea Simbolului de Credin

ctre catehumeni)227, explic catehumenilor articol cu articol Simbolul de cre-
din apostolic. Lucrarea nu poate fi datat228, iar autenticitatea ei a fost nde-
lung disputat. Cercettori precum O. Faller, B. Botte sau R. H. Connolly au stabi-
lit definitiv i acestei scrieri paternitatea ambrozian229.
2. De mysteriis (Despre Sfintele Taine)230, scris ntre 387-390231, este o cate-
hez mistagogic, similar catehezelor Sfntului Chiril al Ierusalimului. Forma de
astzi este cea a unui tratat mprit n nou capitole, dintre care primele cinci
ne redau explicarea riturilor prebatismale i a Botezului propriu-zis, al aselea i
al aptelea explicarea Mirungerii i a riturilor post-baptismale, iar ultimele dou
se ocup cu explicarea Tainei Euharistiei, insistnd asupra prefacerii darurilor232.
A cunoate tainele Scripturii nseamn a cunoate ratio sacra
mentorum233: doar interpretarea mistic a Scripturii asigur nelegerea rituri-
lor i Tainelor Bisericii234. Iniierea hermeneutic ncepe prin chemarea neofiilor
227
228
229
R. H. Connolly, St. Ambrose and The Explanatio Symboli, n: The Journal of Theological
Studies, 47 (1946), pp. 185-196.
230
231
Dup Palanque, scrierea este redactat n jurul anului 390 (cf. J. R. Palanque, Saint
Ambroise..., pp. 540-541), n timp ce mauritii o plaseaz n anul 387 (cf. PL 16, 387-388). Dup
C. Kannengiesser redactarea acestei lucrri a fost fcut ntre 389-391 (cf. C. Kannengiesser,
Handbook, p. 1065).
232
Cf. Preot prof. Dr. Ene Branite, Explicarea Sfintelor Taine de iniiere (Botez, Mirungere,
Euharistie) n: Literatura cretin, Ed. Arhiepiscopiei Bucuretilor, Bucureti, 1990, p. 111.
233
De Mysteriis I, 2; PL 16, 389.
234
Cf. Dom Bernard Botte, Introduction, n: Ambroise de Milan, Des Sacrements. Des
Mystres, texte tabli, traduit et annot par Dom Bernard Botte, col. Sources Chrtiennes, vol.
25, Les ditions du Cerf, Paris, 1944, pp. 33-34.
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spre deschiderea ctre simurile duhovniceti235. Botezul este doar un nceput de
drum n care credinciosul, lepdndu-se de satana, se ntoarce ctre Hristos i
i fixeaz privirea drept ctre El236.
3. De sacramentis237 (Despre Taine)238, n ase cri, este o completare a
crii precedente i chiar dac nu avem niciun element de ncredere pentru a
data aceast lucrare239, ea pare s i aib originea n aceleai cuvntri catehe-
tice inute neofiilor, ntre 387-390, dar a fost aternut n scris de un tahigraf,
care a transmis-o sub forma actual240. Majoritatea cercettorilor de astzi sus-
in paternitatea ambrozian a scrierii De Sacramentis, fiind practic o amplificare
sau o variant a scrierii De Mysteriis241. Cei care resping autenticitatea aces-
tei scrieri, pe motivul deosebirilor lexicale i stilistice dintre aceast scriere i
celelalte scrieri ambroziene de autenticitate sigur o plaseaz ntr-unul dintre
secolele V-VII242.
4. De paenitentia (Despre Pocin)243, scris ntre 384-394244, este o res-
pingere a ereziei novaienilor; foarte preioas pentru datele pe care le fur-
nizeaz asupra doctrinei i practicrii pocinei n secolul al IV-lea. n aceast
lucrare, Sfntul Ambrozie susine c Biserica poate ierta pcatele, chiar i pe
cele mai grave. Explic lmurit practica pocinei publice i particulare n Biseric
pe baza Sfintei Scripturi. Expunerea sa emoionant nfieaz armonia dintre
cele dou Testamente care ncepe i se sfrete cu o chemare ctre o pocin
personal245. Se pare c a fost compus de la nceput ca un tratat scris246, n care a
folosit ca izvoare unele scrieri ale lui Tertulian i ale Sfntului Ciprian247.
235
De Mysteriis I, 3; PL 16, 389. Cf. i Georgia Frank, Taste and See: The Eucharist and the
Eyes of Faith in the Fourth Century, n: Church History, 70/ 4 (2001), pp. 619-643.
236
[] ad Christum convertitur, illum directo cernit obtutu; De Mysteriis, II, 7; PL 16, 391.
237
Pentru diferena dintre termenii mysterium i sacramentum a se consulta studiul Christine
Mohrmann, Sacramentum dans les plus anciens textes chrtiens, n: Harvard Theological
Review, vol. 47/3 (1954), pp. 141-152.
238
PL 16, 417-462; CSEL 73, 13-85; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 154.
239
240
Despre problema originii scrierii De Sacramentis cf. Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene Branite, Explicarea
Sfintelor Taine de iniiere, pp. 112-122.
241
J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 172.
242
Cf. C. Atchley, The Date of De Sacramentis, n: The Journal of Theological Studies, XXX
(1929), pp. 281-286.
243
244
J. Quasten, Patrology, p. 173; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1058; J. R. Palanque,
Saint Ambroise..., p. 541 (o dateaz ca fiind scris ntre 385-395, prefernd primii ani ai aceste
decade).
245
246
247
Pentru mai multe date despre izvoarele folosite de Sfntul Ambrozie n alctuirea acestei
scrieri a se consulta studiul lui Otto Faller din CSEL 73.
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IV. Cuvntri:
1. De excessu fratris (Despre moartea fratelui [Satyrus])248, scris

n 378249, este alctuit din dou discursuri: primul inut n biserica din
Mediolanum, n ziua morii fratelui su, iar al doilea, o sptmn mai tr-
ziu, la mormntul lui Satyrus. n timp ce primul discurs este dedicat n special
descrierii vieii celui adormit, cel de-al doilea este de o factur mai teoretic,
incluznd consideraii asupra caracterului inevitabil al morii, asupra bine-
facerii pe care aceasta o poart cu sine, eliberndu-ne de caznele vieii din
lumea aceasta i mai ales asupra nvierii250. Cele dou cuvntri, care au fost
reelaborate pentru publicare, demonstreaz o cunoatere intim a stilului
clasic de consolare251.
2. De obitu Valentiniani (Despre moartea lui Valentinian II)252, rostit n anul
392, dup uciderea mpratului Valentinian al II-lea (cruia Sfntul Ambrozie
i fusese ndrumtor spiritual) de ctre uzurpatorul Arbogaste. Acest discurs
funerar, ce este foarte bogat n citate scripturistice, arat preferina Sfntului
Ambrozie asupra Cntrii Cntrilor i influena asupra sa a comentariilor lui
Origen la Cntarea Cntrilor i Ieirea253.
3. De obitu Theodosii (Despre moartea lui Teodosie)254, rostit n 395, cu pri-
lejul morii mpratului cretin, apropiat al Sfntului Ambrozie. A fost rostit pe
25 februarie 395, exact la patruzeci de zile dup moartea lui Teodosie cel Mare,
n prezena mpratului Honorius. Sfntul Ambrozie l prezint ca pe un mprat
puternic ancorat n credina niceean i sprijinind Biserica n orice aciune a aces-
teia, invitndu-l, n acelai timp, pe Honorius s urmeze exemplul lui Teodosie.
Influena lui Origen iese la iveal destul de des n acest discurs255. mprteasa
Elena i descoperirea Sfintei Cruci sunt evocate n capitolele 40-50256.
n toate discursurile sale un loc important l ocup componenta panegiric
i encomiast, bazat pe enumerarea virtuilor defunctului i pe relatarea epi-
soadelor principale ale vieii sale.
248
249
J.R. Palanque, Saint Ambroise..., p. 488 (o dateaz ntre 375-378); J. Quasten, Patrology,
p. 174; C. Kannengiesser, Handbook, p. 1053.
250
C. Moreschini, E. Norelli, Istoria literaturii, vol. II, p. 305.
251
252
253
254
255
256
L. Laurand, Lòraison funbre de Thodose par Saint Ambroise. Discours prononc et
discours crit, n: Revue DHISTOIRE ecclsiastique, 17, 2/3 (1921), pp. 349-350.
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4. Sermo contra Auxentium (Discurs mpotriva lui Auxeniu)257, a fost rostit
n Duminica Floriilor din anul 386258, cnd mprteasa Iustina i-a cerut Sfntului
Ambrozie s predea biserica mare din Mediolanum episcopului arian Mercurinus
(care i luase un alt nume, Auxeniu, pentru a sublinia continuitatea de credin
dintre el i episcopul Auxeniu, predecesorul Sfntului Ambrozie n scaunul de
Mediolanum).
5. Imnuri: se pare c Sfntul Ambrozie a compus 94 de imnuri259, dintre
care doar 4 sunt de o autenticitate indiscutabil: Aeterne rerum conditor (Venic
creator al lucrurilor), Iam surgit hora tertia (Se apropie ceasul al treilea), Deus
creator omnium (Dumnezeu, Creator al tuturor), Veni, redemptor gentium (Vino,
Mntuitorul neamurilor), fiind atestate de Beda Venerabilul260.
n ceea ce privete paternitatea celor mai multe dintre imnuri exist nc dis-
cuii, cercettorii nefixndu-se asupra unei soluii definitive. Totui, n urma cerce-
trilor ntreprinse de Luigi Biraghi261, Jacques Fontaine262, Jan den Boeft263, Antonio
Bonato264, A. Bastiaensen265 i alii se pot considera ca autentice cel puin cele 12
imnuri editate de abatele J. P. Migne, n volumul 16 al Patrologiei Latine266.
n compunerea versurilor sale, Sfntul Ambrozie se inspir din Sfnta
Scriptur, pe care o folosete la maximum, ceea ce le ofer girul doctrinar, opu-
nndu-le n acest chip produciilor asemntoare ale ereticilor267. Totui, auto-
rul nu recurge la teoretizri aride. Spre deosebire de ali autori cretini, precum
Sfntul Ilarie de Pictavium, Marius Victorinus sau Sfntul Grigorie de Nazianz,
Sfntul Ambrozie nu filosofeaz n poeziile lui, ci red nvtura Bisericii n ter-
menii cei mai clari, accesibil astfel mulimii credincioilor.
257
PL 16, 1007-1018.
258
J. Quasten, Patrology, p. 175; B. Ramsey, Ambrose, p. 64. J. R. Palanque, Saint
Ambroise..., pp. 511-513.
259
PL 16, 1409 1412 (Imnurile I-XII) i PL 17, 1171 1222 (alte 82 de imnuri atribuite Sf.
Ambrozie); Clavis Patrum Latinorum 163.
260
Beda Venerabilis, De arte metrica, 21; PL 90, 172.
261
Luigi Biraghi, Inni sinceri e carmi di Sant Ambrogio, Milano, 1862.
262
Jacques Fontaine (ed), Ambroisede Milan, Hymnes, Paris 1992.
263
Jan den Boeft, Ambrosius Lyricus, n: Early Christian Poetry: A Collection of Essays, ed.
J. den Boeft, A. Hilhorst, Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, 22, Brill, Leiden, 1993, pp. 77-90;
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Delight and Imagination:AmbrosesHymns, n: Vigiliae Christianae,
62 (2008), pp. 425-440.
264
S. Ambrogio, Inni, introduzione, traduzione e commento diAntonio Bonato, Ed. Paoline,
Roma, 1992.
265
Antoon AdriaanRobert Bastiaensen, Les hymnes dAmbroisede Milan: propos dune
nouvelle edition, n: Vigiliae Christianae, 48 (1994), pp. 157-169.
266
Mai multe detalii asupra acestui subiect cf. Mitropolit Nicolae Corneanu, Aspecte din
lirica ambrozian, n: Studii patristice. Aspecte din vechea literatur cretin, Ed. Mitropoliei
Banatului, Timioara, 1984, pp. 198-200.
267
Cf. i M. J. Mans, TheFunction of Biblical Material in the Hymns ofSt Ambrose, n: Early
Christian Poetry, pp. 91-134.
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Sfntul Ambrozie insist asupra valorii didactice a imnurilor sale. n
msura n care ele conin o nvtur religioas i moral, dogmatic i spi-
ritual, acestea strng i mai mult legturile prin care se asocia vechea imno-
grafie cretin cu omilia268, atunci cnd episcopul lua cuvntul, adresndu-
se credincioilor, dup lecturile sfinte din ceea ce numim astzi Liturghia
Cuvntului269. Rspuns i, n acelai timp, recapitulare condensat a acestui
cuvnt nvtoresc, imnul era ca o repetiie pedagogic a mrturisirii de cre-
din i a cuvntului pastoral270: repetiie prin care poporul a devenit propriul
lui nvtor, fiecare fiind pe rnd nvtor i ucenic ai coparticipanilor la cn-
tare271. Aceste lucruri le-a spus i Sfntul Ambrozie n Cuvntarea mpotriva
lui Auxeniu, cu un anumit umor: S-au fcut aadar toi propovduitori, dei
nainte abia dac puteau fi ucenici272.
Sfntul Ambrozie al Mediolanului este unul dintre marii scriitori paleocre-
tini ai Occidentului latin care a fost orator sacru i imnograf, n acelai timp. Este
singurul, totui, ale crui proz i versuri au fost admirate att de contemporanii
si, ct i de posteritate273.
6. Scrisori274: S-au pstrat 91 de scrisori275 mprite n dou mari clase:
a. Primele 63 de scrisori sunt cele la care li s-a putut stabili cu aproximaie
anul scrierii (379 -396);
b. Ultimelor 28 de scrisori nu li s-a putut stabili anul cnd au fost tri-
mise; majoritatea sunt exegeze asupra unor pasaje din Vechiul Testament sau
Epistolele Sfntului Apostol Pavel.
Jean - Rmy Palanque mparte scrisorile ambroziene dup destinatarii si,
astfel: ctre sora sa, Marcelina, ctre mpraii Graian, Valentinian II, Teodosie
cel Mare, uzurpatorul Eugeniu, ctre diferii episcopi, clerici i laici276.
268
Cf. Maurice P. Cunningham, The Place of the Hymns of Saint Ambrose in the Latin Poetic
Tradition, n: Studies in Philology, LII /4 (1955), pp. 509-514.
269
Jacques Fontaine, Ambroise pote: La cration de l` Hymne ambrosien, n:
Connaissance des Pres de lEglise, nr. 59 (1995), p. 10.
270
Cf. Gerard Nauroy, Le martyre de Laurent dans l`hymnodie et la prdication des IV et V
sicles. Nouvelles rflexions sur làuthenticit ambrosienne de l`hymne Apostolorum supparem
n: Revue d Etudes Augustiniennes et Patristiques, 35, 1989, pp. 44-82.
271
Jacques Fontaine, art. cit., p. 10.
272
Facti sunt igitur omnes magistri, qui vix poterant esse discipuli; Sermo contra Auxentium,
34; PL 16, 1018.
273
Jacques Fontaine, Prose et posie: lìnterfrence des genres et des styles dans la cration
littraire dÀmbroise de Milan, n: Ambrosius Episcopus, vol. 1, p. 126.
274
PL 16, 875-1286; n: CSEL au fost publicate mai multe volume, astfel: Epistulae et acta
ed.O. Faller (Vol. 82/1: lib. 1-6, 1968); O. Faller, M. Zelzer ( Vol. 82/2: lib. 7-9, 1990); M.
Zelzer (Vol. 82/3: lib. 10, epp. extra collectionem. Gesta Concilii Aquileiensis, 1982);Indices et
addendacomp.M. Zelzer, 1996, Vol. 82/4; Clavis Patrum Latinorum 160.
275
276
98
studii
Ediia maurinilor, imprimat de J. P. Migne, a ncercat s dea, pe ct posibil,
o clasificare de tip cronologic; ediia lui Otto Faller i M. Zelzer d o mprire n
zece cri, care pare s fie atestat de o serie de manuscrise277, ca aparinnd
Sfntului Ambrozie278, dup modelul epistolarului lui Pliniu cel Tnr279. nsui
Sfntul Ambrozie ne d mrturie, ntr-una dintre scrisorile sale ctre Sabinus, c
i-a clasat epistolarul n mai multe cri280, n vederea publicrii:
Acestea le-am nceput cu tine i le voi arta n crile mele de scrisori, iar dac
socoteti cu cale, o voi numra i pe aceasta ntre ele, pentru ca scrisorile mele s
se recomande prin numele tu, iar dragostea noastr, cu ajutorul lui Dumnezeu,
s sporeasc prin scrisorile tale ctre mine i prin ale mele ctre tine281.
Aceeai scrisoare adresat episcopului Sabinus de Placentia este foarte

important pentru nelegerea scrierilor ambroziene, artndu-ne modul prac-
tic n care episcopul Mediolanului i redacta lucrrile i preocuparea atent de
a nu se strecura vreo greeal n acestea. Pentru corectitudinea scriiturii sale,
Sfntul Ambrozie se strduia s nu mai redacteze toate operele sale dictnd,
ci s le scrie, pe ct e posibil, cu propria mn i apoi s le trimit unui prieten
cu autoritate n materie, episcopul Sabinus, spre a le cerceta obiectiv i critic i
numai dup aceea a le publica: Dac este ceva ru n ele vreau ca mai degrab
s fie ndreptat de judecata ta, nainte de a le da drumul n public, de unde nu le
mai pot chema napoi, dect s fie ludat de tine ceea ce este criticat de alii282.
277
Corespondena Sfntului Ambrozie a ajuns la noi ntr-o colecie n zece cri atestat
ndeosebi de dou manuscrise din secolul al IX-lea, ce sunt datorate iniiativei editoriale a Sfntului
Ambrozie nsui; a se vedea M. Zelzer, CSEL 82, 2, p. XV-XXXIX. Alte 17 scrisori au ajuns la noi
independent de aceast colecie (extra collectionem) n dou corpusuri; a se vedea M. Zelzer,
CSEL 82, 3, p. LXXXIV sqq., p. CIX sq. Cf. G. Nauroy, Le Christ et la Loi dans le premier livre de la
correspondance dAmbroise de Milan, n: M.-A. Vannier (dir.), La christologie et la Trinit chez les
Pres, coll. Patrimoines / Christianisme, Paris, Le Cerf, 2013, pp. 155-175.
278
Mai multe informaii asupra acestui subiect i asupra diferenei de numerotare a
scrisorilor dintre ediia din PL i cea din CSEL a se vedea la H. Savon, La premire dition critique
de la correspondance officielle dÀmbroise de Milan, n: Revue d Etudes Augustiniennes et
Patristiques, 32 (1986), pp. 249-254.
279
Cf. J. Quasten, Patrology, pp. 176-177; G. Vison, art. cit., n: Nec timeo mori, p. 63; H.
Savon, Saint Ambroise a-t-il imit le recueil de lettres de Pline le Jeune?, n: Revue des tudes
Augustiniennes, 41, (1995), pp. 3-17.
280
Cf. i Timothy D. Barnes, A Neglected Letter of Ambrose, n: Studia Patristica, vol. 38,
2001, pp. 357-358.
281
Haec tecum prolusimus, quae in libros nostrarum epistolarum referam, si placet, atque in
numerum reponam; ut tuo commendentur nomine, et tuis ad nos, et nostris ad vos litteris augeatur
mutuus amor per Dominum; Scrisoarea 48, 7; PL 16, 1153; trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 53, p. 223.
282
malo enim tuo corrigatur judicio, si quid movet, priusquam foras prodeat, unde jam
revocandi nulla facultas sit; quam laudari a te, quod ab aliis reprehendatur; Scrisoarea 48, 1; PL
16, 1152; trad. rom. n: PSB, vol. 53, p. 221.
99
studii
Spiritul critic ambrozian ncearc s elimine orice subiectivitate din scrierile
sale, acestea trebuind s descopere doar adevrul: Nu tiu cum, pe lng ceaa
neateniei, care uneori m nvluie i pe mine, pe fiecare l amgete scrisul su
i nu-i intr n urechi ce spun alii despre el. Precum pe prini i desfat chiar
copiii uri, la fel pe scriitor l mgulesc scrierile sale proaste283.
Cartea cretin trebuie s respecte, spune Sfntul Ambrozie, un principiu
sine qua non: mrturisirea dreptei credine: Dac vreun cuvnt nu va suna bine,
s ntrebi puterea mrturisirii. Iar mrturisirea credinei este porunca pe care o
avem dat de la mai marii notri284.
Aa cum se poate constata, chiar de la o simpl lectur, colecia de scri-
sori a Sfntului Ambrozie formeaz una dintre cele mai importante surse de
documentare pentru cunoaterea personalitii episcopului de Mediolanum i
a contextului religios i politic al timpului su. Neglijat n trecut, epistolarul lui
Ambrozie a fost reconsiderat recent, cu att mai mult cu ct astzi dispunem, n
sfrit, de o ediie critic demn de ncredere a acestei corespondene285.
Cteva scrieri, precum Hegesippus sive de bello iudaico286, Lex Dei sive
mosaicarum et romanorum legum collatio287, De lapsu virginis288 i Te Deum289,
au fost atribuite n mod greit Sfntului Ambrozie al Mediolanului.
Concluzii
Activitatea exegetic a Sfntului Ambrozie are un caracter profund pasto-

ral, fiind strns legat de slujirea sa ca episcop al Mediolanului. Dup Sfntul
Ambrozie al Mediolanului, orice slujitor al lui Hristos, atlet al lui Hristos (Christi
283
Nescio quo enim modo praeter imprudentiae calginem, quae me circumfundit,
unumquemque fallunt sua scripta, et aurem praetereunt; atque ut filii etiam deformes delectant,
sic etiam scriptorem indecores sermones sui palpant; Scrisoarea 48, 2; PL 16, 1152; trad. rom. n:
PSB, vol. 53, p. 222.
284
verbum si offenderit, virtutem professionis interrogato. Professio autem fidei sententia
est, quam [] a majoribus traditam tenemus; Scrisoarea 48, 4; PL 16, 1152; trad. rom. n: PSB,
vol. 53, p. 222.
285
C. Moreschini, E. Norelli, Istoria literaturii, vol. II, p. 308. Autorii se refer la ediia
redactat n CSEL.
286
O lucrare publicat ctre sfritul secolului al IV-lea, dnd o traducere latin istoriei
Rzboiului iudaic (Bellum Judaicum) a lui Iosif Flavius. Cf. Clavis Patrum Latinorum 169; J. Quasten,
Patrology, vol. IV, p. 179.
287
Datat ctre sfritul secolului al IV-lea, lucrarea aceasta este foarte important pentru
istoria dreptului roman. Cf. Clavis Patrum Latinorum 168; J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, p. 179.
288
Atribuit Sfntului Niceta de Remesiana; Cf. J. Quasten, Patrology, p. 180.
289
Cercettorii o atribuie cu certitudine tot Sfntului Niceta de Remesiana. Cf. J. Quasten,
Patrology, p. 180. A se vedea i tefan C. Alexe, Sfntul Niceta de Remesiana i ecumenicitatea patristic
din secolele IV i V, tez de doctorat, n: Studii Teologice, an XXI, 1969, nr. 7 8, pp. 453-587.
100
studii
athletam)290, are datoria de a cunoate i a vesti Cuvntul lui Dumnezeu: [] zi
de zi se ndeletnicete cu citirea dumnezeietilor Scripturi291. Cunoaterea pro-
fund a textului sacru l-a fcut capabil pe Sfntul Ambrozie s-i exprime ideile
sale n termeni scripturistici292. n ciuda numeroaselor sale omilii la Evanghelia
dup Luca, totalitatea lucrrilor sale demonstreaz c a preferat s predice pe
textul Vechiului Testament293.
n domeniul exegezei, Sfntul Ambrozie ocup un loc important n istoria
literaturii cretine latine, pentru c a tiut s medieze cu un nelept echilibru
tradiia teologico-exegetic rsritean, mai cu seam alexandrin, cu cea a
Occidentului cretin294.
n mai multe locuri din corespondena sa, dintre care o parte considera-
bil este consacrat problemelor scripturistice, Sfntul Ambrozie ne-a lsat s-i
cunoatem gndirea sa asupra acestui subiect295. Un prim principiu, pe care
Augustin l va prelua i aplica ntr-un mod magistral, este acela al recursului la
Scriptur pentru a explica Scriptura, un text lmurindu-l pe cellalt296.
Un al doilea principiu, motenit de la Prinii greci, este acela al triplului
sens al Scripturii: istoric sau literal, moral consacrat aplicaiilor practice i mis-
tic sau alegoric. Sfntul Ambrozie nu a ignorat sensul literal al Scripturii, ns
mereu a ncercat s depeasc sensul literei pentru a descoperi duhul acesteia,
pe care s-l sdeasc n inima credincioilor:
i acum Se preumbl prin rai (Facerea 3, 8), cnd eu citesc Sfintele

Scripturi. Cartea Facerii este raiul n care sunt stpne puterile patriarhilor.
Deuteronomul este raiul n care rsar nvturile legii. Evanghelia este raiul
n care pomul vieii face roade i rspndete, n toate popoarele, nvtura
ndejdii venice297.
Mntuitorul Iisus Hristos este singurul interpret al Sfintei Scripturi, uni-

cul criteriu adevrat pentru a ajunge la cunoaterea lui Dumnezeu, singurul
290
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio psalmi 118, 20, 9, n: CSEL 62, p. 449.
291
Ambrosius Mediolanensis , Explanatio psalmi 118, 20, 9, n: CSEL 62, p. 449.
292
Angelo Paredi, Saint Ambrose. His Life and Times, translated by M. Joseph Costelloe,
University of Notre Dame Press, Indiana, 1964, p. 259.
293
Angelo Paredi, Saint Ambrose, p. 259.
294
Antonio Bonato, La Scrittura come ricerca del Verbo divino e alimento spirituale negli
scritti di santAmbrogio, n: Dizionario di spiritualit biblico-patristica, vol. 48: Parola di Dio. S.
Scrittura. Tradizione nei Padri dei secoli IV e V, Edizioni Borla, Roma, 2008, p. 190.
295
Dom Gabriel Tissot, Introduction, n: SC, vol. 45, p. 18.
296
Dom Gabriel Tissot, Introduction, p. 18; cf. i Sf. Ambrozie, Scrisoarea XLIII; 3, n: PL 16,
1178: Oportet enim divina divinis conferamus, quo melius colligere possimus.
297
Sf. Ambrozie, Scrisoarea XLIX, 3, n: PSB, vol. 53, p. 223.
101
studii
martor/vestitor (Verkndiger) adevrat al Cuvntului revelat298: Mntuitorul
Iisus Hristos este adevratul interpret al Scripturii (Scripturae verus interpres
Christus)299. Sfntul Ambrozie subliniaz acest fapt i n comentariul su la
Psalmul 64, spunnd: Numai Hristos a fost n msur s deschid urechile omu-
lui spre cunoaterea tainelor (ad cognoscenda mysteria), doar el a rupt pecetea
crii (solus libri signaculum soluit), doar el a dezlegat tainele profeilor (resoluit
aenigmata prophetarum)300.
Toat Scriptura dumnezeiasc respir harul lui Dumnezeu301, har pe care
Sfntul Ambrozie s-a strduit n ntreaga sa via s-l sdeasc i s-l rodeasc n
inimile credincioilor. Pentru Sfntul Ambrozie, interpretarea Scripturii nu este
un scop final, ci temelie a activitii sale pastorale, fie ca predicator, pstor sau
catehet302. Sfntul Ambrozie st n faa noastr ca un exemplu de pastoraie,
punndu-i ntreaga sa via n slujirea lui Dumnezeu i a semenilor, dup mode-
lul Cuvntului fcut om.
SUMMARY: Scriptural Piety reflected in Saint Ambrose

of Mediolanum`s Works
Saint Ambrose of Mediolanum is a major witness of the fourth century

for the role and place of Scripture in a bishop`s pastoral discourse. The main
target of Saint Ambrose`s whole literary activity is the spiritual edification
of his spiritual sons, rewriting God`s Word in their hearts, and because of
that, this whole activity appears to be a huge scriptural comment. The pres-
ent study tries to convey this not only but giving some extracts from his great
works (as proofs of his exegetic methods and their use in the pastoral activ-
ity), also it functions as a short introduction in his opera, by means of which
the reader can more easily choose among the best editions of his writings,
among the subjects he is interested to and about the Saint Ambrose`s influ-
ences and homiletic or pastoral approach.
298
Thomas Graumann, Christus interpres. Die Einheit von Auslegung und Verkndigung in
der Lukaserklrung des Ambrosius von Mailand, Patristiche Texte und Studien, 41, Berlin - New
York, 1994.
299
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam VII, 50, n: SC,
vol. 52, p. 25.
300
301
[...] omnis scriptura diuina dei gratiam spiret; Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Explanatio
psalmi 1, 4, n: CSEL, 64, p. 4.
302
Cf. Henning Graf Reventlow, History of Biblical Interpretation, vol. II: From Late Antiquity
to the End of the Middle Ages, translated by James O. Duke, Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta,
2009, p. 68.
102
studii
To understand Saint Ambrose`s exegesis and/or pastoral activity we
should note that the interpretation of the Holy Scripture is above all a liturgi-
cal act; God`s Word from the Holy Bible has an analogous function to the Holy
Communion: it nourishes the soul, aiming at man`s deification.
The writings of Saint Ambrose are mainly practical, being most of the
times an attempt - oftentimes succesfull - to meet the pastoral needs of his
time. All his episcopal activity can be found in his effort to sow the Word of
God in the hearts of his faithfull. The literary work of Saint Ambrose of Me-
diolanum, despite the diversity of literary genres, is actually a continuous ser-
mon and his sermon is nothing but a relentless meditation (ruminatio, after a
dear word for this Holy Father) on Divine Writings.
Pr. tefan Zar

Doctor n Teologie al Universitii din Bucureti; Consilier
cultural al Arhiepiscopiei Rmnicului
Este autor al volumului Taina Cununiei n teologia

Fericitului Augustin (Ed. Perpesicius, Bucureti, 2002) i a
unor articole n presa bisericeasc i laic din care menio-
nm: Viaa Sfntului Ambrozie n contextul religios i politic
al secolului al IV-lea, n: Glasul Bisericii, an LXV, nr. 1-4 (36-37), 2006, pp. 236-
258; Interpretarea Sfintei Scripturi, de la liter la duh, n: Iisus Biruitorul, nr. 10,
28 februarie-6 martie 2011; Zeul din ran, n vol. colectiv Urmele fgduine-
lor, Ed. Perpessicius, Bucureti, 2003.
103
Creation and the Concept of Matter
in the Theology of Ambrose
John F. Johnson
T h e natural world can be viewed in one of two moment, the creatio ex nihilo viewpoint is undermined.
ways: as necessary and existing consubstantially with But what exactly are the basic constituents of matter?
whatever else has being, or as contingent and pos- What is its role in creation? How can one postulate the
sessing its being only through the free power of that creation of something out of nothing? T h e answers
which itself is necessary. These two fundamental posi- which the early Christian fathers offer to these and
tions represent the naturalistic approach to the world similar queries are integral to the doctrine of creation
and the theological approach, respectively. According as it has been systematically developed over the cen-
to the former view, the natural world is all that exists, turies. One of the clearer and more intriguing sets of
a n d t h e a p p r o p r i a t e activities of m a n are self- answers is offered by St. Ambrose, a fourth-century
understanding and self-actualization. According to bishop of Milan.
the latter view, the natural world must bow before its
Creator, who brought it into being, and the proper Five Perspectives
activities of man are work and worship. In his Handbook of the Early Christian Fathers Ernest
This second stancethat of divine creationis the Leigh-Bennett observes that "the power of Ambrose
one championed by theologians in the Christian tradi- lay not in his originality or profundity of teaching, but
tion. Indeed, among the basic creedal affirmations of in his strong Christian personality." 1 This judgment is
the faith is that "God the Father Almighty" is "Maker certainly a correct one in regard to the Ambrosian
of heaven and earth." Traditionally, this orthodox view of creation. Ambrose relies mainly on the work of
Christian teaching concerning the creation of the another Greek father, Basil the Great. Only in the
world has involved three primary elements: that the concept of matter does one detect any original think-
universe has its origin and end in the spontaneous will ing on the part of Ambrose. In the main, he treats the
of God; that the universe is in no sense independent of doctrine of creation from five perspectives.
Him, but that its preservation is the result of a con- First, Ambrose emphasizes the notion of creation
tinuing exertion of His creative power and ability; and out of nothing. By the force of His command, he
that God made the universe, not out of some pr- writes, God "made this great beauty of the world out of
existent material, but out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo). nothing, which did not itself have existence, and gave
T h e early Greek and Latin fathers discuss all three substance to things or causes that did not themselves
of these elements on the basis of the Scriptural record exist." 2 T h e deity commanded the world to come into
of creation. However, one element in particular being and it was made. While Ambrose's definition of
appears somewhat troublesome throughout the pa- matter will be especially investigated in the second part
tristic hexameral literaturethe idea of matter and of the present discussion, it is apparent that for him
the role this concept plays in the creation account. T h e the creative work of God was much more than the
crucial importance of this premise to the orthodox work of a "divine artist" who merely imposed form on
Christian doctrine of creation is self-evident. If one eternal, uncreated matter. Matter is neither eternal
affirms that God used matter in the initial creation nor uncreated, and God is not simply the fashioner of
matter but its true source.
Secondly, Ambrose strongly argues for the con-
Dr. Johnson is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, nection between creation and the work of the Holy
serving the seminary in that capacity since 1977 and as guest Trinity. That is to say, the distinction which the heretic
professor the previous year. Marcion drew between the "Supreme God" and the
CONCORDIA JOURNAL/MAY 1981 109

Creator, Ambrose decisively repudiates. Creation is sumption; other things serve for other uses. There
the work of God and therefore of each Person of the is nothing without a purpose; there is nothing su-
Trinity. The divine creative activity, Ambrose con- perfluous in what germinates from the earth. What
tends, issues from the Father, energizes through the you consider as useless has use for others; as a
Son, and is consummated in the Holy Spirit.3 matter of fact, it often is useful to you in another
q
Regarding the creative activity of the Son, way.
Ambrose formulates four propositions. First, the Son
At this juncture, Ambrose cites the good uses of poi-
made the world, not as an unconscious tool in the hand
sonous herbs for medicinal purposes and the function
of an artificer, but with full knowledge and conscious-
of savage animals in the education of mankind. To be
ness of what He was doing. Second, the Son made the
sure, there are some things in which man can perceive
world of His own free will. Third, the work of the Son
no good; yet Ambrose emphasizes that the inherent
in creation is not merely a material copy of an ideal
wisdom of God should not be questioned on that
world previously conceived by the Father, but an orig-
account, for "we are unable, owing to human weak-
inal work. Fourth, the part played by the Son in crea-
ness, to know and understand the reason for the crea-
tion is not inferior in any way to that played by the
tion of each and every object."10
Father.4
In terms of the creative activity of the Holy Spirit, It is undeniable, of course, that moral evil exists in
Ambrose follows two lines of analysis. The earth is the world. However, moral evil originated not with
admittedly renewed by the Spirit. But -the renewed God but with man. There was no necessity for man to
earth is better than the earth as originally created. If, sin. Created with the capacity for either good or evil in
then, the earth were created only by the Father and his original state, man willfully and deliberately chose
Son without the Spirit, the conclusion would follow evil. Therefore, Ambrose agrees with the Protestant
that the work of the Father and the Son is inferior to tradition: moral evil is not a part of the substance of
that of the third Person of the Trinity. Clearly, man (cf. FC, I); rather, it is the aberration of the
Ambrose says, this view cannot be held on the basis of creature from the divine Lawthe disobedience of
the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. Further, man to God. But as with all which appears evil, moral
Ambrose asserts that the Holy Spirit is confessed to be evil results finally in good. According to the bishop,
the author of the incarnation. But He who could effect without moral evil man would have missed the more
what is greatest must have power to produce what is perfect restoration guaranteed to him in redemption.
less (i.e., the physical world). On the basis of these God allowed man to be overcome by evil so that
arguments Ambrose teaches that each creative act through penitence he might receive more abundant
which the Father performs through the Son is com- grace and might adhere to the divine Law more strict-
pleted in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives actuality to iy
the work of creation and brings it to perfection. 5 A fifth aspect in the Ambrosian view of creation
A third aspect of Ambrose's doctrine of creation concerns the characteristics of the creatures. The
concerns the method of God's creative act. He rejects beings created by God are essentially different from
the theory of a "late and leisurely creation of the world God. Their creation was a voluntary act of the
out of a concourse of atoms."6 Rather, the deity cre- sovereign divine will. God did not stand in need of
ated the world instantaneously with "incomprehensi- creating any of them in order that He might be more
ble speed." 7 God initially created matter "in the perfect or complete Himself. Ambrose divides these
rough" and then by successive acts called into exist- creatures into two classes: invisible (angelic beings)
ence the various forms of beauty. "God had but to and visible (men, other creatures of the earth, the
will," he states, "and immediately the effect willed was heavenly bodies). 11 Yet, all creatures share certain
produced."8 All of the peculiarities of the world's con- traits. They are limited, mutable, and (in the case of
stitution and structure are due directly to the will of rational creatures) liable to sin. Moreover, they serve
God, and any scientific endeavor to account for them and worship, they derive their being and beginning
is utterly futile. from God, and they subsist by Him in continual de-
pendence on His grace.
Ambrose, fourthly, takes especial note of the good-
ness of the divine creation. The Creator made all For Ambrose, then, the general doctrine of crea-
things good; thus, those things which are apparently tion is one which closely reflects the Genesis account,
evil serve, in reality, good and useful purposes: mirroring those three primary elements noted in the
introductory comments to this study. Nevertheless,
Each and every thing which is produced from there does seem to be a difficulty involved with his
the earth has its own reason for existence, which, as interpretation of the concept of matter, which must be
far as it can, fulfills the general plan of creation. clarified in order for Ambrose to be helpful in formu-
Some things, therefore, are created for our con- lating an approach to the Christian view.
no
Concept of Matter God, therefore, created the heavens and the earth
and those things which He as Author has ordained
The opening sentence of Ambrose's Hexameron in-
to exist, not just as a designer of their form but as a
dicates the significance which he attaches to the con-
Creator of their nature. How, in fact, can the crea-
cept of matter:
tive power of God which is impassive and the na-
T o such an extent have men's opinions varied that ture of matter which is passive form an agreement
some, like Plato and his pupils, have established together, as if one borrowed from the other what
three principles for all things; that is God, Idea, was lacking in each? 14
and Matter. T h e same philosophers hold that these
T h e meaning of Ambrose is apparent: it is incor-
principles are uncreated, incorruptible, and with-
rect to understand God and matter as two equally
out a beginning. They maintain that God, acting
active causes, one completing the work of the other.
not as a creator of matter but as a craftsman who
This view, of course, would violate the integrity of the
reproduced a model, that is, an Idea, made the
Trinity. If one accepts the notion that God and matter
world out of matter. This matter, which they call
were partners in creation, God would be an inventor
hyle, is considered to have given the power of crea-
and not a Creator.
tion to all things. 12
God, then, is the Creator of matter itself. But the
Matter, in other words, is said to have furnished the bishop next raises a most interesting question. Why do
causas gignendi to all things. we speak about matter at all in connection with Genesis
It becomes apparent that Ambrose understands 1:1? Moses writes that God created heaven and earth;
matter as more than merely a passive substance but there is no mention of matter in the abstract. T h e
rather in terms of an active principle. He continues: answer lies in Jewish and Christian commentators,
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Moses, a such as Philo and Origen, who studied Greek philoso-
holy man, foresaw that these errors would appear phy as well as Holy Scripture. They were constantly
among men and perhaps had already appeared. At seeking for points of contact between these two
the opening of his work he speaks thus: "In the sources of knowledge; one such contact was that of
beginning God created heaven and earth." He earth and matter.
linked together the beginnings of things, the Ambrose discusses the Genesis text in his second
Creator of the world, and the creation of matter in sermon on the first day of creation. 15 He appears to
order that you might understand that God existed accept the identification of earth and matter and initi-
before the beginning of the world or that He was ates his commentary with the meaning of "was." He
Himself the beginning of all things. So in the Gos- asks what the term means, knowing that some take it to
pel, in answer to those who were inquiring of Him indicate that which is without beginning and without
"Who art thou?" He replied: "I am the beginning, I end. Thinking of this line of argumentation, he notes
who speak with you." All this was that you might other texts in which "was" (erat) does not mean to be
know that He gave to all created things their begin- without a beginning but rather to "be" from the mo-
ning and that He is the Creator of the worldnot ment it was made: "And Cain was a husbandman"
one who imitates matter under the guidance of (Gen. 4:2). "He was father of them who played upon
some Idea, from which He formed His work, not in the psalter and the cithern" (Gen. 4:21).
accordance with His will, but in compliance with a Moreover, as Ambrose continues, where could
self-proposed model. 1 3 matter have been if it were eternal? The bishop notes
several possible answers, discarding each in turn. If
T h e original text of the foregoing passage is of
matter were in some "place," for instance, then the
paramount importance. T h e words et ipsum dedisse gig-
place would have been without a beginning. If it seems
nendi rebus omnibus initium are mindful of what was just
absurd to think of a place, perhaps we should imagine
said about matter: quae gignendi causas rebus omnibus
a flying earth without a foundation and suspended in
dedisse adseratur. Ambrose says that according to Plato
midair. But in what air would this earth fly? It could
and the pagan philosophers the work of God as de-
not fly without air; yet, air could not have existed
scribed in Genesis was really the work of matter
because without material for the world there would
matter gives the power of creation to all things. T h e
have been no distinction of the elements. Finally he
bishop clearly rejects this idea. God is the sovereign
writes:
Creator of the world and not a being which simply
imitates the power of matter. Ambrose underscores Where, therefore, was the hyle [matter]? Are you to
this point in the introduction to his homily on the suppose by some notion that it was God? God, a
second day of creation, in which he summarizes his spirit most pure and incomprehensible, with a na-
statements regarding the first day: ture that is invisible and incorruptible, who "dwells

in light inaccessible," was therefore the place of the things." Some scholars have observed that Ambrose
material of the world? And was God a part of this employed Origen as a source for his Hexameron, and
world, of which not even the meanest of the ser- since the interpretation of heaven as invisible sub-
vants of God have a part, as we are told in the stance was that of Origen, it could be that Ambrose
Scriptures: "They are not of this world, even as I simply followed him despite the ambiguity two such
am not of the world." 16 interpretations pose. 19 Perhaps Ambrose attached no
real significance to the words he was using. T h e gist of
Here, of course, Ambrose interprets matter as the
his teaching clearly indicates that all created things
equivalent of earth. Portio mundi denotes earth; the
(heaven and earth) were not ideas merely in the mind
other portio is heaven.
of God, but they are contained by the divine mind. In
T h e association of matter with earth is of no little other words, the difficulty suggested by the two senses
significance. For if heaven were also denoted by the of the term "heaven" does not preclude the orthodoxy
term "matter," then God would appear to reside in a of the basic position of Ambrose.
material sphere and not in a spiritual one. Further, if
matter is identified with earthas it seems to be in
Ambrosewhat is the meaning of heaven? Prominent Conclusion
early church theologians had different views. Philo, In sum, then, St. Ambrose sets forth all of the
for instance, connected both the heaven and the earth essential elements of the orthodox Christian doctrine
mentioned in the opening verse of Genesis with im- of the creation. Admittedly, he has some difficulty in
material essences or simply "ideas." Such a theory was explicating his view of matter, or of "earth" as Genesis
also held by Origen. terms it. Still, his portrayal of this concept as a uniquely
With this fact in mind, we should note the follow- active principle is not the same as that of pagan phi-
ing statement from Ambrose: losophy. Matter was created by God and was not
prexistent nor an immaterial divine idea. In terms of
Being a man full of wisdom, [Moses] noticed that any active causation it may exert, matter would seem to
the substances and the causes of things visible and be clearly of an instrumental nature and secondary to
invisible were contained in [by] the divine mind. the creative power of God.
He did not hold, as the philosophers teach, that a
T h e Christian understanding of creation implies
stronger conjunction of atoms furnished the cause
that prior to the "moment" of creation God existed in
of their continuous duration. 1 7
sovereign self-sufficiency. It suggests, further, that
Since this comment belongs to the interpretation of there came a "point" in the divine life in which He
Genesis 1:1, "things invisible" seem to be rendered determined to project into being that which was not
accurately "heaven," while "things visible" indicates Himself and yet which was dependent upon Him for
matter. T h e difficulty, however, is that such a render- its continuing existence and preservation. This projec-
ing appears to clash with the second occurrence in the tion, as it were, represents an absolute origination, a
Hexameron, in which Ambrose speaks of the same pas- bringing out of nothing, and not any mere fashioning
sage in Genesis. Here he apparently refers to heaven of some prexistent matter or "pre-matter." T h e Bib-
and earth as the vibilia; the invisibilia are said to have lical aspect of absolute origination in the initial crea-
been created by God before. 1 8 tion, indicated by the powerful words, "In the begin-
How are such differences to be explained? In one ning God created the heavens and the earth," remains
place Ambrose speaks of heaven as invisibilium sub- under attack by many in our day. Christians would do
stantia-, in another place he couples it with earth as a well to learn from those who defended this mighty
visible substance. Concerning earth Ambrose is quite truth in the past; in this sense the Hexameron of
clear: he identifies it with matter. Concerning heaven, Ambrose is an important resource for the presenta-
however, he is less settled. There are texts which sug- tion of the Scriptural position on creation. It should be
gest a literal interpretation of heaven as firmament appreciated more by those who hold exclusively to that
and others which place heaven among the "invisible position.
Notes
1 5
Ernest Leigh-Bennett, Handbook of the Early Christian Fathers For example, the Spirit adorns the sky with stars, causes the
(London: Williams and Norgate, 1920), p, 297. earth to germinate and flower, and makes the waters teem with life.
2
Ambrose, Hexameron, 1.4.16. All quotations are from the En- Hexameron, 1.8.29.
6
glish translation of John J. Savage in The Fathers of the Church (New Hexameron, 1.2.7.
7
York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1961), vol. 42. Ibid., 1.2.5.
3 8
Hexameron, 1.5.18-19. Ibid., 1.3.8.
4 9
F. H. Dudden, The Life and Times of St. Ambrose, 2 vols. (Oxford: Ibid., 3.9.39. -
10
T h e Clarendon Press, 1935), 2:582. Ambrose, Paradise, 2.7.
112
11
Hexameron, 1.5.19. bilis et purissimus spiritus, locus erat materiae mundialis, et erat in
12
Ibid., 1.1.1. The Latin text is crucial for exegeting this pas- deo mundi portio, cum de hoc mundo non sit mens servolorum eius,
sage: "Tantumne opinionis adsumpsisse homines, ut aliqui eorum sicut habemus scriptum: de hoc mundo non sunt, sicut et ego non
tria principia constiturent omnium, deum et exemplar et mater- sum de mundo."
iam, sicut Plato discipulique eius, et ea incorrupta et increata ac sine There seems to be a problem at this point in the Savage transla-
initio esse adseverarent deumque non tamquam creatorem mater- tion. In the first sentence, he omits the two words dementi and in. As a
iae, sed tamquam artificem ad exemplar, hoc est ideam intendentem consequence, his rendering, "Are you to suppose by some notion
fecisse mundum de materia, quam vocant hylen. quae gignendi that it was God?" is rather meaningless. Moreover, the translation of
causas rebus omnibus dedisse adseratur." All Latin quotations are "mens" as "meanest" is open to question in this context. Nevertheless
taken from Corpus Scnptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. 32. it is of no great theological moment. It should be noted that also
13
Ibid., 1.2.5. "Unde divino spiritu praevidens sanctus Moyses other points of Savage's rendition exhibit liberties with the original;
hos hominum errores fore et iam forte coepisse in exordio sermonis e.g., "He" for "deifilius" in footnote 13, and "mens sola divina con-
sui sic ait: in principio fecit deus caelum et terram, initium rerum, tineat" becomes "were contained in the divine mind" in footnote 17.
17
auctorem mundi, creationem materiae conprehendens, ut deum Ibid., 1.2.7. "advertit enim vir plenus prudentiae quod visibi-
cognosceres ante initium mundi esse vel ipsum esse initium univer- lium atque invisibilium substantiam et causas rerum mens sola di-
sorum, sicut in euangelio deifliusdicentibus: tu quis es? respondit: vina contineat, non ut philosophi disputant validiorem atomorum
initium quod et loquor vobis, et ipsum dedisse gignendi rebus in- conplexionem perseverantiae iugis praestare causam."
18
itium et ipsum esse creatorem mundi, non idea quadam duce imita- Ibid., 1.5.19. "et factus est ergo mundus et coepit esse qui non
torem materiae, ex qua non ad arbitrium suum, sed ad speciem erat; verbum autem dei in principio erat et erat semper. Sed etiam
propositam sua opera conformaret." angeli, dominationes et potestates etsi aliquando coeperunt, erant
14
Ibid., 2.1.2. tarnen iam, quando hic mundus est factus. Omnia' namque creata et
15
Ibid., 1.7.25. 'condita sunt, visibilia et invisibilia.' "
16 19
Ibid., 1.7.25. "Ubi ergo erat hylen, nisi forte dicatur quadam For a concise summary of Origen's thought see Hans von
dementi intentione quia in deo erat? Ergo deus invisibilis naturae Campenhausen, The Fathers of the Greek Church (New York: Pantheon
atque inviolabilis, qui lucem habitat inaccessibilem, inconprehensi- Books, 1959), pp. 44ff.

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Mary Ann Clarahan
Mystagogy and Mystery
As a buzzword, mystagogy has had quite a resurgence of popularity

in church circles, especially in the last ten years or so. While it is
currently more well known as a period of post-baptismal catechesis
in the RCIA,1 wide-ranging possibilities for its use have greatly
increased. A recent Google search on "mystagogy" evidenced
38,000 results in English, and in the Italian google: 28,200 entries
for "mistagogia"1 Lest we forget that this term originated not in
Christianity, but in the Greek culture of the Elusinian mystery
rites,3 there are also web sites advocating a mystagogy for Hindu
ritual, and a "Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary of Mystagogy"
promulgated by the site: "Oneness Commitment for co-creating a
happy world."4 What was common to all the sites was a basic defi-
nition of mystagogy as "introduction to the mysteries" or "expla-
nation of the mysteries." The distinctions arose in reference to
methodology and how one defines "mystery."
This article will argue that cyclic and cumulative engagement in
catechesis that is mystagogical, involving all stages of faith forma-
tion, has the potential to engage the Christian community in a life-
long journey of conversion enabling us to contemplate, celebrate
and live the mystery of God's self-giving love as a way of life. I will
Mary Ann Clarahan R.S.M. teaches liturgy and catechesis at The Catholic Uni-
versity of America in Washington, D.C.
1
In the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, mystagogy is the final period of
catechesis for the newly baptized. See International Commission on English in
the Liturgy, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Study Edition (Collegeville,
MN: Liturgical Press 1988).
2
Date accessed: 2 February 2008.
3
See Basil Studer, "Mystagogia," in Dizionario Patristico e delle Antichit
Cristiane 2, ed. A. Berardino (Casale Monferrato: Marretti 1984) 2264-65 for the
etymology and use of the concept of mystagogy in early pagan Elusinian
mystery cults, and then by the church writers.
4
Available at http://www.experiencefestival.eom/a/Mystagogy/id/20142.
Internet accessed 2 February 2008.
Mary Ann Clarahan

502
explore the relationship between mystagogy and mystery using a
series of questions as launching pads.
First, how has the Christian tradition understood the "mystery"
into which one is initiated? Second, what clues do we get from the
mystagogue bishops of the fourth-century baptismal catechu-
menate regarding a methodology or process of mystagogy? Third,
in what manner can mystagogy be an integral part of faith forma-
tion for the twenty-first century? And lastly, how can mystagogical
reflection open us to mystery?
HOW HAS THE C H R I S T I A N T R A D I T I O N UNDERSTOOD

THE MYSTERY INTO WHICH ONE IS I N I T I A T E D ?
Mystery, from the Greek term mysteron, connotes something
hidden which is to be revealed, something unapproachable which
invites entry, or something unknowable which offers true enlight-
enment.5 For the early Christians, mystery was connected with the
Jewish notion of the "plan which God has for the world/' New
Testament writers understood the mystery of God's plan to be
revealed in Jesus Christ. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians 1:26-27,
explains that "the mystery hidden from ages and generations past
. . . is Christ in you, the hope of glory."6 God's plan of salvation,
revealed in Christ's Paschal Mystery,7 continues to be realized
through the Spirit active in the community of the faithful, the
Church.
The third-century teacher Origen made a further distinction
between mysteron the threefold manifestation of the word in
Christ's incarnation, in the Church and in the Scriptures and
the plural mysteria baptism, Eucharist and other Christian
rituals. The second meaning was seen in the context of the first.
Thus, God's eternal but elusive activity through Word and Spirit is
manifested through active participation in the sacramental life.
5
See Philip Gleeson, "Mystery," in The New Dictionary of Theology, eds. Joseph
Komonchak, Mary Collins, Dermott Lane (Collegeville: Liturgical Press/A
Glazier Book 1987) 688-92, for a brief synthesis of the Church's ongoing reflec-
tion on the concept of "mystery."
6
Colossians 1:26-27. ^ s o s e e Ephesians 3:3-12, New American Bible (Nashville-
Atlanta: Catholic Bible Press 1991).
7
By Christ's Paschal Mystery, I intend his incarnation, life and ministry,
suffering, death and resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit.

503
In this way, God's plan, into which one is inserted through baptism
and Eucharist, becomes tangible and visible in the mysteries that
are proclaimed, celebrated and lived in the Church. Another use of
the word mystery emphasizes its unknowability that also offers
enlightenment. The Vatican I Constitution on Revelation, Dei Filius,
stressed that God wishes to manifest and share with humankind
"the good things of God which utterly exceed the intelligence of
the human mind/'8 Although God cannot be limited to our
thoughts about divinity, we can gain some understanding of the
mysteries through "reason illumined by faith/'9 In contrast to
fideism, mystery invites one to think more deeply rather than
abandon all thinking.
A powerful voice on mystery in the twentieth century, Karl
Rahner maintained that to be human is to be exposed to the mys-
tery that pervades all being.10 The human inclination to be a ques-
tioner is actually an orientation to the infinite, to be always moving
toward the mystery which is beyond limit. The answer to our ques-
tioning, Rahner taught, is God "Holy Mystery," the "boundless
plenitude,"11 who freely communicates God's Self to us, yet
remains incomprehensible . . . always more.
Von Balthasar spoke of the revelation of mystery in terms of
epiphany. For him, God's self-communicating love is most clearly
revealed in Jesus Christ, the epiphany or appearance of the
invisible God. Hence, Christian faith, according to von Balthasar,
entails a contemplative dimension a continual gazing upon the
incarnate and crucified Christ, there to be drawn into the mystery
of the eternal Trinity.12
8
Dei Filius II, in The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic
Faith, ed. Josef Neuner and Jacques Dupuis, revised edition (Bangalore: Theo-
logical Pub. 2001) no. 113.
9
Dei Filius IL, in The Christian Faith no. 132.
10
See Rahner's essay, "The Concept of Mystery in Catholic Theology/' in Theo-
logical Investigations, vol. 4, trans. C. Ernst (Baltimore: Helicon Press 1979) 36-73.
11
1 have adopted Elizabeth Johnson's term "boundless plenitude" as she
presents Rahner's reference to God as "Holy Mystery." See Johnson, Quest for the
Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God (New York/London:
Continuum 2007) 31-44.
12
Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Glory of the Lord, vol. 1, eds. Joseph Fessio and
John Riches, trans. E. Leiva-Merikakis (San Francisco: Ignatius Press/Crossroad
Mary Ann Clarahan

504
The Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy points to wor-
ship as a privileged though not exclusive locus of encounter with
Christ's paschal mystery and our participation in it: "[I]t is through
the liturgy, especially, that the faithful are enabled to express in
their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the
real nature of the true Church. The Church is essentially both
human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible realities,
zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the
world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her the human is
directed toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the
invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that
city yet to come, the object of our quest/'13 In celebrating Christ's
paschal mystery in symbolic ritual activity, we, the Church partici-
pate and enter into our own mystery.
Jean-Luc Marion14 offers further reflection on the contemplation
of mystery. He, among other contemporary writers, draws on the
analogy of pure gift to speak of God's revelation, and sacrament as
iconic manifestation. An icon acts as a visible mirror of the invis-
ible, a coming to presence of the divine without God being present
as totally comprehensible. Thus, the coming of God through sacra-
ment as "iconic" manifestation, places us in the presence of the
mystery of God who pours out self-giving, self-emptying love
upon a community but without allowing us to reduce God to our
analogies or representations. For Marion, sacramental action is the
983). Von Balthasar speaks of Jesus as the historical form of revelation who
makes visible God's Trinitarian being as super-form. The Son can only be
understood in terms of Trinitarian provenance and Trinitarian destiny. To
perceive the uniqueness of the Christ-form, one needs the eyes of faith.
13
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-
Conciliar Documents ed. Austin Flannery (Northport: Costello 1992) no. 2.
14
Marion, God Without Being, trans. T. Carlson (Chicago/London: University of
Chicago Press 1991) 7-26. Marion contrasts the service of an "icon" vs. adher-
ence to an "idol" and contends that it is what shows through the icon that
matters. In welcoming a sign as icon the beholder does so with the attitude of
being gazed upon rather than gazing. By understanding sacramental action as
iconic manifestation of the gift given by God in Word and Spirit, through the
medium of the sign, rites and language, icon is thus used to counter images of
representation physical, metaphysical, and epistemological.

505
showing forth of the gift given by God through Word and Spirit,
manifested through the medium of sign, rite and language.15
Stanislaus Breton's16 writing on revelation and sacrament as
"traces'7 of the passage of the unknowable God's self-giving
through human history complements Marion's notion of the iconic
as channel of God's gift/giving.
The reflections of both Marion and Breton illuminate the action
of God in revelation and sacraments, but are not dominated by
knowledge that confines God within the limits of reason and
human understanding. They point to a God who remains hidden,
who is mystery, and is yet present to us in traces of self-giving
love.
We could say then, that the mystery into which the Christian
believer is initiated can be described not defined as both
divine nearness and divine transcendence. God's plan of salvation,
revealed in Jesus Christ, present in the Church and world through
Word and Spirit. Something to be contemplated but not possessed,
always in the process of being revealed, inspiring awe and wonder.
In essence, the mystery is pure gift of God's self-communicating
love to be contemplated. . .celebrated. . . lived as a world
horizon.
WHAT CLUES DO WE GET FROM THE MYSTAGOGUE

BISHOPS OF THE FOURTH CENTURY BAPTISMAL
CATECHUMENATE REGARDING A METHODOLOGY OR
PROCESS OF MYSTAGOGY?
The testimony left to us by the great fourth-century mystagogue
bishops: Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, John Chrysostom,
and Theodore of Mopsuestia reveals a baptismal catechumenate
(BC) that was a global process of faith formation.17 Although there
15
See David Power, Sacrament: The Language of God's Giving (New York: Cross-
roads 1999) 282-86, for a synopsis of Marion's work on sacrament as iconic
manifestation.
16
Stanislas Breton, criture et rvlation (Paris: ditions du Cerf 1979); and Le
Verbe et la croix (Paris: Descle 1981).
17
For the purposes of this article I will concentrate on Cyril and Ambrose, from
East and West respectively. The critical editions used for Cyril are A. Pidagnel
ed., Cyrille de Jrusalem, Catchses Mystagogiques, Sources chrtiennes i26bis (Paris:
ditions du Cerf 1966). Greek text with English translation see Cyril ofJerusalem,
Mary Ann Clarahan

506
were local variations of language, rite and interpretation in the BC,
common to both East and West, there appears to be a focus on
formation in Christian living and discipleship in Christ, not merely
mastery of doctrinal content.18 Thomas Finn describes this process
as a ritual journey of conversion from one "way of walking" to
another.19
On the whole, the journey of the BC was marked by distinct yet
connected stages: period of initial inquiry followed by 1) catechu-
menate preparation emphasizing instruction, testing and personal
struggle; 2) penultimate period of preparation for baptism charac-
terized by prayer, instruction, testing and ritual struggle; 3) baptis-
mal immersion and post-baptismal rites culminating in Eucharist;
and 4) post-baptismal catechesis known as mystagogy. A ritual of
passage provided a bridge of entrance into each stage of faith
formation.
Upon completion of this complex ritual journey of conversion
the newly baptized were considered "reborn/' The end result was a
new constellation of relations, values and horizon for interpreting
life. The destination of the journey was salvation in Jesus Christ
through incorporation into the saving community (the Church).
Unified Process of Catechesis. Before moving on to examine the
period of mystagogy, it is important to note the nature of cate-
chetical formation that characterized the baptismal catechu-
menate. "Catechesis" in the early Church, with the Greek root
meaning "echo," was intended to be internalized so that it echoed
not only in the mind but in one's heart and moral conduct. The
"syllabus" of instruction was threefold: Scripture, liturgy and
creed. Hebrew and Christian Scriptures were proclaimed and
Lectures on the Christian Sacraments, trans. F. L. Cross (Crestwood, NY: St Vladamir's

Seminary Press 1977). A critical edition of Ambrose is B. Botte ed., De mysteriis,
de sacramentis, Sources Chrtiennes 25DS, (Paris: Editions du Cerf 1961). Compre-
hensive studies which treat of both Cyril and Ambrose are: Maxwell Johnson,
The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation (Collegeville:
Liturgical Press 1999) and Edward Yarnold, The Awe-inspiring Rites of Initiation
(Collegeville: Liturgical Press 1994).
18
Johnson, The Rites of Christian Initiation, 87.
19
Thomas Finn, Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: West and East
Syria (Collegeville: Liturgical Press 1992) 2-3.

507
commented on daily. Thus, a scriptural literacy was built up in the
candidates. The bishops as chief catechists recognized that the
sacramental experience could only be deeply entered into and
later reflected upon, in relation to biblical narratives of salvation.
Far from being dry doctrinal statements that exacted only a ques-
tion and answer interchange, the catechetical rhetoric of myst-
agogues such as Cyril and Ambrose sought to integrate within the
liturgical homilies familiar imagery, Scripture, exhortation, and
probing questions of motivation and desire as they immersed
the candidates into the Christian symbolic order.
Catechesis often took place within the context of the community
celebration, for there was almost no distinction between liturgy
and catechesis. As Catherine Dooley points out, the approach of
coming to faith was an integrated and embodied one that incorpo-
rated biblical, liturgical, and ecclesial elements within the human
and cultural situation.20
Cyril himself provided expositions of Christian doctrine using a
cascade of biblical images that bombarded the imagination and
appealed to the candidate's self-understanding as a Christian
subject. His introductory protocatechesis entreats the candidates:
"See how great a dignity Jesus bestows on you. You were called a
Catechumen, which means, hearing with the ears, hearing hope,
and not perceiving; hearing mysteries, yet not understanding;
hearing Scripture, yet not understanding their depth. The echo is
no longer around you but within you; for the indwelling Spirit
henceforth fashions your mind into a house of God/'21 Gradually
the catechumens became "hearers of the word." The echo that
resounded in the celebrations of word and rite effected not self-
assured pronouncements of God but participation in mystery. This
ongoing journey of coming to be a believer was geared to affective,
cognitive, spiritual and moral development of the candidate and
was the responsibility of the whole ecclesial community.
Symbolization and Ritualization. Hugh Riley's comparative study
of the baptismal liturgy in the writings of the four mystagogues
indicates that by mid-fourth century, the rites distinctive of the
20
Catherine Dooley, "Liturgical Catechesis: Mystagogy, Marriage or Misnomer?''
Worship 66 (1992) 390.
21
Cyril, Protocatechesis 6.
Mary Ann Clarahan

508
journey to baptism had developed into a rich, dramatic, liturgical
pilgrimage.22 Ritual was key to faith formation, and the involve-
ment of the body was central. Elements of the cosmos provided
highly symbolic forms for the mediation of the Christian faith. One
only need recall Cyril's description of what happened to the neo-
phytes at the Easter Vigil in Jerusalem:23 separated from where the
other Christian faithful had gathered, they receive two sacraments
of initiation at the site of the baptistery. They take part in pro-
longed prayers, hear a voice coming out of the darkness charging
them to renounce Satan to his face and then turn to Christ pledg-
ing total allegiance. Still only half comprehending, they find them-
selves stripped, anointed, plunged into water three times. A broad
struggle of both spiritual and cosmic proportions throws them into
a deeper contest of a primordial tension between: darkness and
light, chaos and creation, evil and good, death and life. The neo-
phytes then move toward the banquet of the eucharistie table. In
essence, they have been plunged into mystery.
Thomas Finn notes that, "[T]he theology of the early Church was
the result of symbols deeply lived."24 Experiences of word and
ritual symbolic activity from the rite of acceptance throughout the
catechumenate and period of enlightenment and into the sacra-
mental celebrations of the Easter Vigil immersed the candidates
into the cultural-lingusitic tradition of what Louis-Marie Chauvet
calls the triple body the C h u r c h . . . its tradition. . . and the
cosmos.25 Domenico Sartore maintained that such an approach to
faith formation, permeated by a vision of salvation history, ori-
ented the candidates toward incorporation into the Trinitarian life
and the worshiping community of faith.26
22
Hugh Riley, A Comparative Study of the Baptismal Liturgy in the Mystagogical
Writings of Cyril ofJerusalem, John Chrysostom, Theodore ofMopsuestia and Ambrose
of Milan (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press 1974) 36.
23
Cyril: Mystagogical Catchses 1-5. From Cyril's Mystagogical Catchses on
baptism (1-3), Chrismation (4) and Eucharist (5) it is possible to reconstruct a
quasi description of the liturgical rites in Jerusalem at this time.
24
Finn, 5.
25
Louis-Marie Chauvet, Symbol and Sacrament: A Sacramental Reinterpretation of
Christian Existence, trans. Madeleine Beaumont, Patrick Madigan (Collegeville:
Liturgical Press/A Pueblo Book 1995) 149-52.
26
Domenico Sartore, "Catechesi e liturgia," in Nuovo Dizionario della Liturgia,
eds. Domenico Sartore, Achille Triacca (Rome: Paoline 1984) 221.

509
But it was the period of mystagogy, the post-baptismal cate-
chesis, that afforded the newly baptized an opportunity to reflect
upon what happened to them that night. How could they interpret
their life in light of the mysteries celebrated?
Mystagogy. The research into the mystagogical homilies indicates
that there were significant differences in the conception of
mystagogy evidenced among them.27 Bornert identifies two princi-
pal meanings of Christian mystagogy in addition to "introduction
to the mysteries": 1) the celebration itself of Christian initiation,
and 2) an oral or written explanation, a catechesis that explains
and deepens the sacraments received.28
Each bishop's cycle of mystagogical homilies was coordinated so
as to explain to the neophytes the spiritual and theological signifi-
cance of the various rites, symbols and gestures of the initiation
sacraments in which they participated at the Easter Vigil. However,
the diversity that mystagogy assumed in the fourth century, lead
scholars such as Pamela Jackson to conclude that each author
adapted a particular mode of explaining the mystery hidden in the
Scriptures and celebrated in the liturgy, shaped by his particular
homiletic gifts and what he found pastorally effective in his
community.29
Enrico Mazza, in his comprehensive work, Mystagogy, identifies
three components of mystagogy from the fourth-century tradi-
tion.30 The starting point was the actual experience of the liturgy;
secondly, interpretation of the rites called upon a variety of
27
See Craig Alan Satterlee, Ambrose of Milan's Method of Mystagogical Preaching
(Collegeville: Liturgical Press/A Pueblo Book 2002) 190. Satterlee contends that
although there was a broad pattern of initiation rites that was common among
the four mystagogues, the details of each ecclesial center describe a unique
process of initiation in terms of rites and their meanings.
28
R. Bornert, Les commentaries byzantins de la divine liturgie du VII au XV sicle,
Archives de lOrient Chrtien 9 (Paris: Institute Francais des Etudes Byzantines
1966) 29.
29
Pamela Jackson, "Ambrose of Milan as Mystagogue," Augustinian Studies 20
(1989) 93-107.
30
Enrico Mazza, Mystagogy: A Theology of Liturgy in the Patristic Age, trans.
Matthew O'Connell (New York: Pueblo 1989). For a critical application of these
three elements to mystagogy today, also see Richard Fragomini, "Wounded in
Extraordinary Depth: Toward a Contemporary Mystagogia," in A Promise of
Mary Ann Clarahan

510
methods, particularly the genre of typology; and thirdly, mystagogy
operated within a particular worldview: the platonic. However each
bishop saw fit to practice this tripartite framework of experience,
interpretation and articulated worldview, it was a mode of mystagogi-
cal catechesis which retained a connection with the experiences of
liturgy and the proclamation of Scripture within the life experi-
ence of a particular community of faith.
Experience of liturgy. Both Cyril and Ambrose took the experience
of the sacramental rites during the Easter Vigil as a point of depar-
ture for their post-baptismal catechesis. Mystagogy, however,
involved more than a simple explanation of the rites. Rather, each
sought to draw forth the meaning of the liturgical experience from
within the life of the faith community and thereby give to the
baptized the necessary motivation to live the sacramental life.
In his opening sermon to the neophytes in the week following
the Vigil, Cyril expresses that he has greatly desired to speak with
them on these spiritual and celestial mysteries, but he knows that:
". . . seeing is far more persuasive than hearing, [so] I waited till
this season; that finding you more open to the influence of my
words, from this your experience, I might take and lead you to the
brighter and fragrant meadow of this present Paradise . . . espe-
cially as you have been made fit to receive the more sacred
Mysteries . . . let us now teach you exactly about these things, that
you may know the deep meaning of what was done to you on that
evening of your baptism/'31
Ambrose begins his mystagogical catechesis in a similar vein:
"Now is the time to speak of the mysteries and to reflect systemati-
cally on the sacred ritual actions. We would not have considered it
helpful to those not yet initiated, but rather a betrayal of them, if
we had decided to give such a detailed explanation before bap-
tism. Indeed, it is better for the light of the mysteries themselves to
have inundated you as a surprise than it would have been for us to
Presence, eds. Michael Downey, Richard Fragomini (Washington, DC: Pastoral

Press 1992) 115-37.
31
Mystagogical Catechesis 1.1 (emphasis added).

511
have given an explanation beforehand."32 These bishops imply that
any meeting with God comes as a surprise awareness of new life.33
Applying contemporary ritual theory34 to this fourth-century
practice, one wonders if Cyril and Ambrose did not instinctively
sense that ritualized bodies give rise to understanding and growth
in faith.35 While not denying the initial gift of faith or reducing
God's grace to symbolic process, their mystagogical approach
gives further credence to Chauvet's premise: symbolic mediation
of the sacramental celebration involving participation of one's total
corporeality yields a deeper understanding of the meanings on a
faith and conceptual level.36
Interpretation of liturgical "text" For Cyril and Ambrose, the rites
of Christian initiation were inseparable from Scripture. Their
approach to the interpretation of the liturgical "text" the inter-
action of Scripture, rites and symbols within a particular assembly
organically progressed from their modes of interpreting biblical
texts. Typology was a method broadly used in that era for a deep
reading of both Hebrew and Christian Scriptures in order to dis-
cover within them an understanding of the mystery of Christ.37
For example, in Galatians 4:24, Paul refers to the sons of Hagar and
Sarah as prefiguring Jews and Christians respectively. In this
hermeneutical approach, ancient happenings speak of present day
events, since they have their fulfillment in Christ.
32
De mysteriis 1:2.
33
Mary Peter Ellebracht, "Today This Word Has Been Fulfilled in Your Midst/'
Worship 60 (1986) 348.
34
See Catherine Bell, Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice (New York: Oxford Univer-
sity Press 1992); Ronald Grimes, Beginnings in Ritual Studies (Columbia, SC:
University of South Carolina Press 1995); Nathan Mitchell, Liturgy and the Social
Sciences (Collegeville: Liturgical Press 1999).
35
This is an extension of Paul Ricoeur's famous phrase "Symbols give rise to
thought," in Symbolism of Evil, trans. E. Buchanan (Boston: Beacon Press 1969)
347. Nathan Mitchell refers to ritual symbolic activity in the liturgy as "pre-
reflective discourse of the body." He suggests that the pre-reflexivity of ritual is
one reason that classic Christian mystagogical catechesis followed rather than
preceded ritual activity. "Ritual Matters," Worship 82 (2008) 449-50.
36
Chauvet, Symbol and Sacrament, 152.
37
Mazza, 7. The author points out that typology was a hermeneutical method
essential to a Christian reading of the Scriptures, for it ensured the unity of the
two testaments.
Mary Ann Clarahan

512
Mazza attests to the fact that mystagogy of the fourth century, in
one fashion or another, employed typology as the central genre for
interpreting the liturgical rites also. Having its roots in the reading
of Scripture, typology was transposed to a reading of the sacra-
mental event itself.38 It was hoped that such a system would make
evident the unity between Christ's presence in the Scriptures and
in the sacramental celebration of the Church.39 Thus the liturgy
became a new locus for theological reflection on Scripture and
experience.
The mystagogue bishop strove to impress upon the newly
baptized that just as the Christian Scriptures reveal God's saving
power in Christ to be the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, so too,
it is in the liturgical celebration that we recognize in faith and
celebrate the economy of salvation still being realized in our daily
lives. In the words of Robert Taft, the "sacred liturgy is the ongoing
Sitz im Leben of Christ's saving pattern in every age."40
While there are varying opinions on the appropriate use of
typology today, Mazza does conclude that the various typological
approaches applied in mystagogy sought to accomplish one com-
mon goal: to endow the newly baptized with an understanding
and motivation to live the Christian life in Christ that had been
bestowed upon them in the liturgical celebration of initiation.41
Articulated world view: the Platonic. The church writers' use of
typology in mystagogy was able to operate within a particular
worldview: the Platonic. Inside this philosophical horizon, there
were two levels of reality: the sensible, the world of images, and
that of the intelligible, the world of ideas. It was held that all activ-
ity occurs and humans operate within these two levels of reality.
Such a worldview had a great influence upon Cyril's doctrine of
38
Mazza, io. The author reminds us that the distinctions between typology
and allegory were not always clearly defined as today. Oftentimes the early
exegetes did not draw careful distinctions between spiritual, allegorical and
typological interpretations.
39
Satterlee, 225-26.
40
Robert Taft, "The Liturgical Year: Studies, Prospects, Reflections," Worship
35 (1981) 16.
41
Mazza, 165.

513
sacramental realism in which what is "seen" differs from what is
"believed" about it.42
Although these mystagogues were not primarily professional
philosophers, the type of Platonism that they drew upon allowed
them to derive from it what was helpful to their theological and
pastoral enterprise.43 As a result, typology found a note of accord
within this horizon. It allowed for the reading of liturgical experi-
ence in continuity with past events and the creative mystery of
God working in Christ.
It would be historically erroneous to construct one general
theory of mystagogy common to all four mystagogues.44 Each
bishop developed his own approach according to pastoral need,
personal taste and rhetorical style. Thus, in order to uncover and
explore the meanings of words, symbols and gestures of the rites,
both Cyril and Ambrose utilized their own unique rhetorical
systems that draw upon a cascade of images, metaphors, and nar-
ratives elicited primarily from Scripture, but from culture as well,
aimed to fortify the newly baptized in living out the sacramental
vision of life and on-going conversion. As a result, the mystagogi-
cal homilies had the potential to channel the evocative power of
story, symbol and faith towards a global experience of conversion
that appealed to the heart, mind and imagination.
In summary, the tripartite framework of liturgical experience,
interpretation and articulated worldview offered to the fourth-
century ecclesial communities a mode of mystagogical reflection
that introduced neophytes to the mysteries. Likewise, it assisted
the whole Christian community to grow more deeply in a sacra-
mental vision of life. The effective and pastoral mystagogue was
one who kept three things in mind: 1) the liturgical rite itself; 2) the
actual condition of the candidates and their relation to their envi-
ronment; 3) and the content and rhetorical style which would most
42
Mazza, 164.
43
Ibid, 201.
44
For example, both Ambrose and Cyril utilized diverse modes of typology in
relation to the sacramental celebration. Ambrose tended to use biblical typology
as a direct vehicle to the contents of the sacraments, while Cyril's typology
appears to be an external confirmation of the theology of the sacrament.
Mary A n n Clarahan
514
adequately explain the mysteries, given this liturgical complex of
ceremonies and this group of candidates.45
HOW CAN SUCH A MYSTAGOGICAL APPROACH BE AN

INTEGRAL PART OF FAITH FORMATION FOR THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY?
Our world and worldview(s) are certainly very different from that
of the fourth century. Richard Fragomini maintains that a contem-
porary process of mystagogy will retain the central place of litur-
gical experience, but offer a renewed method of interpretation and
corresponding worldview.46 This is a particular challenge in a
Church whose membership spans the globe, with a plurality of
worldviews.47 In the past ten years we have heard the call for a
mystagogical approach to catechesis from two magisterial sources:
1) the 1997 General Directory for Catechesis48 and 2) Sacramentum
Cantatisi the 2007 post-synodal exhortation on the Eucharist.
The General Directory for Catechesis (GDC) claims the baptismal
catechumenate that we have just explored to be the premiere
model for all forms of catechesis. It should inspire them in both
their objectives and in their dynamism (GDC 59). The dynamic for
such a model of faith formation interweaves biblical, liturgical, and
ecclesial elements, including creedal symbols and the human
events of the particular community and individuals.
In addition, building upon John Paul II's encyclical, Redemptoris
Missio,50 the GDC envisions such a catechesis to be at the service of
evangelization addressing various socio-religious scenarios: 1) the
missionary activity directed toward those to whom Christ and his
45
Riley, 2.
46
Richard Fragomini, 121.
47
By worldview I intend deeply ingrained attitudes and contexts of which we
are usually unaware, that form one's sense of reality, and through which an
individual or community perceives and makes judgments about experiences,
and ultimately decisions for actions.
48
Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, General Directory for Catechesis (Vatican
City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1997), English trans. United States Catholic
Conference, Washington D.C. 1998.
49
Benedict XVI, post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis
(Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2007). Hereafter referred to as SC.
50
John Paul II, Encyclical letter, Redemptoris Missio (Vatican City: Libreria
Editrice Vaticana 1990) no. 33.

515
Gospel are not known; 2) "new evangelization" for the baptized
who have lost a living sense of the faith; and 3) the ongoing
pastoral care of the faithful who want to deepen their living of the
Christian life (GDC 58). Oftentimes, these realities co-exist in the
same pastoral context.
The GCD implies, therefore, that catechesis for a particular
church involving all age groups and a plurality of religious and
socio-cultural contexts should have the baptismal catechumenate
as an orienting point of reference for a coherent catechetical pro-
gram whose objective is gradual and ongoing conversion to Christ
and a sacramental way to view, interpret and live in this world.
Such an approach is not limited to the RCIA, but applies to faith
formation in general.
2) Ten years later, Pope Benedict XVI, in the post-synodal exhor-
tation Sacramentum Caritatis called for a mystagogical approach to
catechesis on the Eucharist, one that would lead the faithful to
understand and live more deeply the mysteries being celebrated
(SC 64). The best catechesis on the Eucharist, the pope claims, is
Eucharist celebrated well (SC 64). But the faithful need help "to
make their interior dispositions correspond to their gestures and
words" (SC 64). While not neglecting a systematic understanding
of the content of the faith, Benedict advocates a process of Chris-
tian formation with an experiential character with the liturgical
rites as a starting point. Such a mystagogy, he writes, should
respect three elements. First, interpret the rites in the light of the
events of salvation, especially Christ's paschal mystery. Second,
concern itself with presenting the meaning of the signs contained
in their rites that is, sensitizing the faithful to the language of
the liturgical text: the integration of symbols, gestures, and Scrip-
ture. Third, strive to bring out the significance of the rites for the
Christian life in all its dimensions. Such a catechesis, the pope
concludes, will enable the faithful to participate in the liturgy more
fully and their lives to be more conformed to the mysteries being
celebrated. (SC 64) Does this sound familiar? By drawing on a
mystagogical approach to catechesis evidenced in the baptismal
catechumenate of the early Church, these magisterial sources
affirm its dynamics and objectives yet not slavish imitation to
chart a contemporary path for evangelization and ongoing faith
formation.
Mary Ann Clarahan

516
Rooted in Liturgical Catechesis. Mystagogical catechesis is rooted
in liturgical catechesis. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC
1075) states that "liturgical catechesis aims to initiate people into
the mystery of Christ (It is "mystagogy.") by proceeding from the
visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from
the 'sacraments' to the 'mysteries'."51
The work of contemporary writers in the area of liturgical cate-
chesis, such as Catherine Dooley, Gil Ostdiek, Kathleen Hughes
and others, have given us a wealth of reflection and refinement on
the nature of liturgical catechesis. In a 2004 article entitled "To Be
What We Celebrate,"52 Dooley elaborates upon five characteristics
of liturgical catechesis as first offered by Mary Collins.53 It is
paschal, ecclesial, sacramental, transformative and missionary.
1) Paschal: At the heart of liturgical catechesis is the person of
Jesus Christ, who lived, died and rose for us and remains present
to us especially in the assembly, in the Scripture proclaimed and in
sacramental action. The unfolding of the Paschal Mystery within
the liturgical year provides a natural setting.
2) Ecclesial: Because liturgy belongs to the whole Church as
public worship, the assembly who gathers is a visible sign of the
community's identity and belonging. When they participate in the
Church's liturgy it points beyond individual meaning to what God
has and is doing for a people.
3) Sacramental: Liturgical catechesis, rooted in sacramental cele-
bration, aims to uncover the meaning of the central symbols such
as water, wine, bread, assembly, laying on of hands, reading of
Scripture and the sign of the cross visible signs of the invisible
reality of God's saving action in earthly realties through Word and
Spirit. For Dooley, it is not enough to just experience these symbols
in liturgical worship. This must be accompanied by catechesis of
51
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana,
1994) no. 1075.
52
Catherine Dooley, "To Be What We Celebrate: Engaging the Practice of
Liturgical Catechesis/' New Theology Review (Nov 2004) 9-17. See also Mary
Collins, "Liturgy," in The New Dictionary of Theology, ed. J. Komonchak, M. Collins
and D. Lane (Collegeville: Liturgical Press/A Glazier Book 1990) 594-95.
53
Collins, op. cit.

517
their varied meanings in the tradition, culture, everyday life and
liturgical rite.
4) Transformative: The primary goal of liturgical catechesis is
transformation, not just teaching people how to act or behave in
liturgy.
5) Ethical and Missionary: Participation in liturgy and reflection
on the gift-giving of God sends the assembly out in mission, to live
ethical lives in accord with what they have celebrated.
Liturgical Embodiment and Homily. The linchpin to mystagogical
catechesis is ritual participation in liturgies that are well cele-
brated with effective homilies. Embodied experiences of liturgical
celebration linked with meaningful rites, symbols, biblical and
liturgical signs are key. This requires Christian symbols used fully
with ritual actions such as bathing, anointing, eating, drinking,
laying on of hands, procession and silence that invite participation.
Symbols, when used well in the liturgical celebration, have the
power to evoke our deepest religious feelings, and open our
imaginations to possibility and transformation.
The homily plays a special role in liturgical catechesis' potential
to open up the symbols and invite a fruitful mystagogical reflec-
tion that leads to ethical living. In the recent Synod on the Word
held in Rome (October 2008), a point of universal agreement
among the participants was that the quality of homilies needs to
improve. Mary Collins argues the need to connect word, sacrament
and life. She contends that a liturgical homily is one which: ". . .
uncovers the mystery present in people's lives and connects it with
the mystery present sacramentally in the liturgical event. . . .The
kerygmatic word. . . that moves hearts to live is a word of grace, a
word of prophecy evoking conversion. . . . A homily reduced to
doctrinal orthodoxy without kerygmatic power is a failed
homily."54
The fourth-century mystagogue bishops, as noted earlier, leave
us with rich examples of liturgical preaching that utilized a
cascade of images that were familiar yet evocative. These bishops
54
Mary Collins, "Liturgical Homily: Connecting the Body/7 in Eucharist: Toward
the Third Millennium, ed. Gerard Austin (Chicago: Liturgical Training Publica-
tions 1997) 91-92.
Mary Ann Clarahan

518
appealed to memory, imagination, affect and cultural experience
as well as the Christian tradition. Rhetorical style enhanced the
delivery. By integrating the experience of the rites, biblical refer-
ents and the lives and sensibility of the worshiping community,
effective homilies open individuals and communities to ongoing
conversion to Christ and a sacramental view of life.
Mystagogical Reflection. For me, what makes liturgical catechesis
mystagogical is the experience of and reflection upon liturgical
participation. The capacity to reflect upon one's experience is a
significant quality for the Christian life, and essential to mystagog-
ical catechesis. Gil Ostdiek offers a three-stage method of liturgical
awareness: attending, reflecting, applying.55 In attending to the lit-
urgy even in the midst of it, one asks: "What have I/we experienced
in this liturgy?" Such a framework presumes a post-liturgical
mindset and setting for the recovery and naming of liturgical
experience. Reflection moves from the visible to the invisible. The
liturgical experience of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling,
feeling and moving, invites participants to ask the questions
"What does it mean?", "How is the self-giving love of God being
revealed?", and further, "What are the implications for daily
living?" Ongoing liturgical participation and mystagogical reflec-
tion then become formative of coming to be as a Christian believer.
Mystagogical catechesis, however, needs to devise methodologies
that help people to be more attentive to significant life experiences
and to what is most characteristic of liturgical celebrations so as to
connect liturgy and life.56 As a consequence, reflecting on the litur-
gical experience and its meaning for the Christian life has the
potential to inform decision making and ethical praxis. Ethical
living itself becomes mystagogical.
When and for whom? When does mystagogical reflection begin

and for whom? Cultivating an attitude of reflection is an important
dimension not only at the moment of post-sacramental catechesis,
but at every point of faith formation. Whether in the catechu-
menate of the RCIA, in the sacramental preparation of children or
55
Gilbert Ostdiek, Catechesis for Liturgy: A Parish Program for Involvement (Wash-
ington, DC: The Pastoral Press 1986) 11-20.
56
Ostdiek, 171.

519
in adult bible study, a process of faith formation should have ritual
experiences such as liturgy of the word, blessings and intercessory
prayer as integral elements. Building in time to prayerfully attend
to and reflect upon the various meanings of each liturgical experi-
ence in light of the Christian tradition and one's life context, assists
the believer in cultivating dispositions leading to what Chauvet
calls cognition, recognition, and praxis.57 These three elements
coalesce to form a structure of cognition of the breadth of the
Christian tradition, recognition of the mystery of God's gift-giving
and ethical praxis in everyday choices and living. In other words,
cultivating an attitude of reflection within mystagogical catechesis
structured as pre-sacramental catechesis, liturgical experience,
post-sacramental reflection and ethical living is key to a circular
yet cumulative process that enables the believer to conceive, cele-
brate and act in the world with a sacramental view.
David Power, in Sacrament: The Language of God's Giving, high-
lights a critical hermeneutical dimension.58 He notes that any
mystagogical catechesis rooted in celebration must give due atten-
tion to the culture and history of a particular assembly.59 Hence,
mystagogical catechesis may serve the process of inculturation, the
dynamic relationship between faith and culture. As such, myst-
agogy becomes a resource for dealing with human ambiguity and
corrupted symbols whether they be symbolic practices of the
Church or in the broader cultural milieu.
Who can implement this? A mystagogical team is required
presbyters, catechists and liturgists who themselves have attended
to their own faith journey. They should be acquainted with
mystery in their own lives, and have a deep sense and love of the
Christian tradition. They also should have a good grasp of the
persons and community in which they minister.
57
Chauvet, 184-85.
58
The General Directory for Catechesis no. 63-64 correlates stages of evangeliza-
tion with approaches to catechesis. Initial catechesis would be for those moving
toward baptism as well as for the already baptized but uncatechized and those
needing to complete the sacraments of initiation. Ongoing catechesis would apply
to the already initiated who desire to deepen their faith formation in an ongoing
way.
59
(New York: Crossroads 1999) 311-12.
Mary Ann Clarahan

520
It seems then that an ongoing dynamic of mystagogical cate-
chesis can be appropriate for all levels of evangelization in a parish
for both initial and ongoing catechesis. As a catechetical system,
liturgical catechesis occurs before, during and after liturgical
experience. Mystagogical reflection is cultivated at each step
within the catechumenate, during sacramental preparation and
post-sacramental reflection. It takes seriously both the Christian
tradition and the cultural-historical reality of coming to be as a
believer in the twenty-first century.
HOW CAN MYSTAGOGICAL REFLECTION OPEN US

TO MYSTERY?
Kathleen Hughes, in A Mystagogy of Sacrament: Saying Amen,
concurs that mystagogy opens the way to a more profound en-
counter with the mystery of God revealed in Jesus Christ that lies
at the heart of each liturgy. She argues that mystagogical cate-
chesis is a means to appropriate the experience of all sacramental
ritual by each member of the community. This includes celebra-
tions of initiation, marriage, reconciliation, ordination, anointing of
the sick, funerals, and I would add religious professions and
Liturgy of the Hours.
For Hughes, however, effective mystagogical reflection requires
a cultivated attitude of contemplation through a progressive
"pattern of paying attention" to God and oneself in God.61 Similar
to Ostiek, Hughes notes a three-pronged attentiveness needed in
members of the liturgical assembly and correlates this to full,
conscious active participation called for by Vatican II.62
First, liturgical attentiveness is aware that liturgy is God's action
and initiative on behalf of the world through Christ. Second, active
participation invites attention to the action of liturgical prayer as
one is moving through the rite. Third, such mindfulness is attuned
to one's state of heart and soul. In other words, one strives to be
conscious of the joys and sorrows of daily life that one brings to
the liturgy itself. Accordingly, active participation goes beyond
60
(Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications 1999).
61
Ibid., 22.
62
Cf. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: no. 14.

521
external involvement. It also involves a quality of interior aware-
ness, of mindfulness, asked of each participant at liturgy.63
Cultivating an attitude of contemplation as a form of paying
attention, then, entails the continual practice of discerning the
presence of the mystery of God in Christ as disclosed to the
members of the worshiping community in and through the ritual
actions of liturgical prayer and in subsequent reflection upon this
experience. In this sense, mystagogy is linked to God's ongoing
revelation. It leads one ever deeper into mystery, not defining or
possessing it.
There is no denying, however, that contemplation meets many
obstacles to mindfulness in today's noisy, fast-paced world in
which a plurality of cultural images demands our attention. Mary
Collins warned that even in our liturgies we have sometimes
"come dangerously close to wearying ourselves with ritual
busyness."64 And in Sacramentum Caritatis, Benedict XVI warns that
the full, conscious active participation called for by the Second
Vatican Council "must be understood in more substantial terms,
on the basis of a greater awareness of the mystery being celebrated
and its relationship to daily life."65
Perhaps Collins' notion of "contemplative participation"66 best
describes the dynamic of this cultivated attitude that grows and
deepens in mystagogical catechesis. An attentiveness to experienc-
ing something or someone is an attentiveness to presence.
Through continual embodied ritual participation in the Church's
liturgy, reflection upon it, and ethical living we encounter and
recognize the mystery of the crucified-risen Christ within and
among us, present in absence. Subtly, Collins notes, "we are
moving from self-conscious activity to contemplative participation,
rooted in the experience of the mystery of grace."67 Such engage-
ment draws us "into mystery at levels beyond what we initially
63
Hughes, 18-19.
64
Mary Collins, Contemplative Participation: Sacrosanctum Concilium Twenty-Five
Years Later (Collegeville: Liturgical Press 1990) 83.
65
Sacramentum Caritatis 52.
66
Collins, Contemplative Participation, 82-83. See Nathan Mitchell, "Amen
Corner," Worship 82 (2008) 545-48.
67
Collins, 82-83.
Mary Ann Clarahan

522
intended or understood to be possible."68 In essence, one attends
to the mystery of God as our own mystery. In such a framework,
contemplative participation is not limited to ritual celebration and
mystagogical reflection but, as an attitude, becomes a sacramental
horizon and a way of living.
This essay has argued that cyclic and cumulative engagement in

mystagogical catechesis at all levels of faith formation has the
potential to set the Christian community on a journey toward
"unselfconscious conversion to the Christian mystery as the ulti-
mate meaning of their own lives."69 For it affords us glimpses to
recognize the traces of God's self-giving love within which all life
is lived. Thus it enables the Christian community to contemplate,
celebrate and live the mystery of God's self-giving love as a way
of life.
68
Ibid., 83.
69
Ibid.

523
^ s
Copyright and Use:
About ATLAS:

Early Christian
Mystagogy and the
Formation of Modern
Christians
Mark E. Chapman
Second Evangelical Lutheran Church
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
"Mystagogy," the "teaching of the myster- series of sermons spanning the week before
ies," that is, of the sacraments of Baptism and the week after the Vigil of Easter.
and Eucharist, was a phenomenon almost Mystagogy is thus a question of exegesis
unique to Christianity in the late fourth and exegetical method, and the flowering of
century, when itflourishedas a form and mystagogy in the fourth century is also the
style of preaching in both East and West. flowering of the favorite exegetical method
Four great bishop-theologians of this era of the whole patristic era, that of typology.3
have left us the legacy of their mystagogical The exegetical method called "typol-
sermons largely intact (no small feat for ogy" is based on the conviction that "the
writings set down over 1,600 years ago): realities of the Old Testament are figures of
4
Ambrose of Milan, Theodore of Mopsuestia, those of the New." There is a dynamic
John of Antioch (called Chrysostom, "the relationship between the Old and New Tes-
golden mouthed"), and those ascribed to taments by which each continually refers
Cyril of Jerusalem but more probably the back to the other as anticipation and fulfill-
work of his successor, John.1
Basically, mystagogical homilies seek
to explain to the newly baptized the signifi- 1
Enrico Mazza, Mystagogy: A Theology
cance of the "mysteries" they have just of Liturgy in the Patristic Age, trans. Matthew
experienced in their initiation into Chris- J. O'Connell (New York: Pueblo Publishing
tianity at the great Vigil of Easter, the sac- Co., 21989), x.
raments of Baptism and Eucharist.2 This 3
Mazza, Mystagogy, x.
Mazza, Mystagogy, 9.
was a preaching task, and involved apply- 4
Jean Danielou, The Bible and the
ing the scriptures to the mystery that had Liturgy (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre
been or was about to be celebrated, in a Dame Press, 1966 (1951), 4.
Early Christian Mystagogy and the Formation of Modern Christians
285
ment, superimposing each upon the other in is how their mystagogy, and particularly its
order to arrive at the true picture of divine typological exegesis, contributes to the for-
revelation. Israel's history and prophecy mation of Christians, looking at that special
have their fulfillment in Christ; thus the group of Christians, the newly-baptized
New Testament is understood in terms of neophytes basking in the glow of the Easter
the images that anticipate itits "types" Vigil.
in the Old Testament, and conversely, the First, then, Chrysostom. For John Chry-
Old Testament is understood as signs and sostom, the spiritual formation of neophyte
figures that anticipate what achieves its Christians consisted in their moral forma-
concrete expression in Jesus Christ. The tion, and his pastoral concern expresses
New Testament does not have priority over itself in moral exhortation. His style of
the Old, but the two are in a mutual relation- typology, then, is one of broad-stroke, im-
ship of interpretation, arelationship wherein pressionistic ties between Old Testament
the revelation of the divine mysteries is to image, New Testament fulfillment, and sac-
be found.5 ramental reality, all focused on the moral
The typological method is entirely, in- dimension of Christian conduct.8
deed rigorously, biblical. But typology The image that Chrysostom wants to
makes a basic decision about how it will have dominant in the minds of his neo-
approach the Bible that forms its fundamen- phytes, with which he begins his sermon
tal rule of interpretation: that there is an series and elaborates in great detail, is that
objective correspondence between the eras of Baptism as marriage, and of the relation-
of salvation history recorded in scripture; ship of the baptized to Christ as that of bride
that the events of scripture are not unrelated and bridegroom. The point of this image is
or related only in a single-direction, straight- the radical, unmerited, unexpected gracious-
line flow of time, but rather are eras and ness of the love of the Bridegroom, his
events that reflect upon and correspond to "boundless kindness" for a bride who "is
one another objectively, in the creating and deformed and ugly, thoroughly and shame-
redeeming purpose of the will of God.6 fully sordid, and practically wallowing in
That is to say: it is not just the Bible, but the the very mire of her sins."9 Sin, grace, and
Bible as history; and not just God, but God repentance take on specific roles in this
as the Lord of history, that determines the drama of salvation. Sin, for Chrysostom, is
typological method of the Church Fathers. this mindlessly defiled state of the soul by
God stands above history and at its center, which it has "abandoned its proper dignity,
creating all history from the center outward forgotten its noble birth from on high," and
in both directions in such a way that the two collapsed into all manner of idolatry, from
directions parallel and mirror one another
as type and fulfillment.
We shall confine ourselves to examin- 5
Mazza, Mystagogy, 10.
ing briefly the mystagogical sermons of two 6
Mazza, 10-11.
7
of these Fathers here, one from the Eastern Mazza has done this quite well, and
church, John Chrysostom, and then the lone provides extensive bibliography for further
Western representative of this form, Am- work.
Mazza, 106.
brose of Milan. We will present by no 9
St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal
means a complete analysis of their writ- Instructions, trans./ann. Paul W. Harkins (New
ings.7 What we wish to ask in this context York: Newman Press, 1963), 23-24.
286
The spiritual warfare of the Christian is

not a fair and open combat, for that is not
how Satanfights.Satan hardly ever launches
he spiritual a frontal assault against faith; his tactics,
rather, are to undermine, subvert, demoral
warfare of ize, or lull us into false security: "This is the
wicked demon's plan," warns Chrysostom,
the Christian is not a "to trip you up by little things" (Chryso
fair and open combat, stom, p. 39). Dogma is the first line of
defense against this sort of assault, and
for that is not how Chrysostom holds up the Nicene Creed and
the dogmatic decisions behind it as the
Satan fights. norm by which all teaching is to be judged
(p. 32); knowing Christian doctrine is not a
form of intellectual entertainment for some,
which soon arise "the tinsel-trimmed pa but a necessary weapon for all soldiers of
rade of pleasures" that the demons lurking the cross in the war with Satan. Familiar
behind the idols inspire (Chrysostom, p. texts of scripture, and especially those
24). Grace, then, is God's recognition of the psalms and canticles regularly sung at the
true identity of this lost soul, and in Christ, liturgy, are also necessary weapons that
God's communication of this true identity work to purify the mind of worldly vices
to this lost soul, the naming of it as bride and and so open up space in our conceptual
daughter and beloved, and the love for the world for acquiring the virtues that are the
soul that receives it without demanding an fruits of the Spirit: charity, joy, peace, pa
accounting for offenses or exacting judg tience, kindness, goodness, modesty, conti
ment upon it (p. 25). And repentance is to nence, all those things that Satan cannot
"hear and accept [Christ's] exhortation and stand, and the dispositions by which we
remonstrance," and so to "forget the past" receive the grace of God and guard it (p. 36).
(p. 25). There is only one thing Christ asks Moreover, we have been given the
of us, says Chrysostom, and that is "to Eucharist, "a food which is more powerful
forget the past and to show good will for the than any armor, so that you may not weary
future" (p. 28). The catechumenate is that in the fight, and that you may dine joyously
beckoning; Baptism is that breaking with and then win the advantage over the wicked
the past and stepping forth into the future; one" (p. 60). Particularly the wine of the
and the Christian life is the new life lived as Eucharist, the very blood of Christ the Pas
the spotless bride in the love of the divine chal Lamb, is a weapon so fearful to the
Bridegroom. devil that he will flee from its very presence
But to do that is to indeed break with (p. 60). The blood of Christ in the Eucharist
the one who seeks to keep us captive to the is the Christian passover, fulfilling its Old
past; Baptism is to break with Satan and his Testament type (p. 61).
demons, and Satan does not give up without In order to see ourselves and the world
a bitter fight. Christian combat, then, goes in this way, Chrysostom teaches his neo-
hand in hand with the spiritual marriage of
the soul to Christ, and the joys of marriage
quickly become therigorsof war.10 10
Mazza, 117-18.
287
phytes that part of the new birth of Baptism touches your head together with the hand of
is that they must now see the world through the priest... " (Chrysostom, p. 47). Baptism
the eyes of faith, or the eyes of the Spirit. really is death and resurrection, "For the old
They must learn to see behind the visible to man is buried with his sin and the new man
the invisible truth and reality. "This is faith: is resurrected"; the old garment, "made
to see the invisible as if it were visible" (p. filthy with the abundance of our sins," is
46). cast away and the new garment put on,
This is especially true for understand- which is to say, says Chrysostom, "We put
ing Baptism and the Eucharist. Here we get on Christ Himself (p. 47). The words and
a glimpse of Chrysostom's eschatology. elements and rituals of the baptismal liturgy
The sacraments are eschatological acts for point beyond themselves, beyond the min-
Chrysostom, that is, they are the fulfillment isters, beyond the church, to the Trinity at
of the final and ultimate promises of God, work here in a way that is visible only to the
the event of the kingdom of God. But eyes of faith (p. 53).
Chrysostom's eschatology is entirely verti- And it is through the eyes of faith that
cal in its dimensions; the Last Things, the we see the radical change that has been
Final Fulfillment, is not a historically future worked in us, the transformation of the
consummation; it has happened in Jesus baptized into what Chrysostom will call
Christ; it happens in Baptism and the Eu- "fruitful participation" in the life of Christ.
charist. The kingdom of God is a present, The eyes of faith see beyond our physical,
heavenly reality here and now in a transcen- visible life to that spiritual, invisible life
dent plain of divine activity existing paral- that is the truth and reality of our new
lel to our own and interpenetrating our own existence in Christ. The eyes of faith set
in the sacramental mysteries. Chrysostom before the baptized a picture of the invisible
would never say that the Eucharist is a realm which is theirs by participation in
"foretaste of the feast to come"the Eu- Christ, and so encourages them to partici-
12
charist is the heavenly banquet feast, cel- pate in it in the here and now.
ebrated at two levels at once, here in our The life of the Christian, then, is life
lives, where we have the figure or type of lived in imitation of Christ. For Chryso-
that heavenly banquet that is going on right stom, this imitation is linked directly to
along with us in the transcendent presence Baptism, for it is to imitate the profession of
of the Trinity. Only the eyes of faith can faith made in Baptism in the same way that
discern this truth behind the figure of the God "imitates His own goodness" in his
sacraments; but when that discernment hap- actions. For God's acts of mercy and kind-
pens, what the eyes of faith see is God ness towards his creatures, says Chryso-
himself acting, and we who see it find
ourselves set before the immediate activity
of the Trinity.11 11
Mazza, 122, 142. Mazza is not so
So, in Baptism, Chrysostom notes, the explicit about the sheerly vertical dimensions
eyes of the Spirit will see something differ- of Chrysostom's eschatology, and in fact
ent from the eyes in your head. The water seems to want to impose a more linear/
is not merely water, the bishop not merely a historical model; but the vertical eschatology
and its vision of two parallel worldsheaven
mortal man: "For it is not a man who does and churchexisting simultaneously is crucial
what is done, but it is the grace of the Spirit for the whole of Chrysostom's theology.
12
who sanctifies the nature of the water and Mazza, 143.
288
stroke, impressionistic typologies are meant

to provide vivid pictures, easily grasped
and retained in the decision-making pro-
cesses of the mind, into which the baptized
are to fit themselves and by so fitting, deter-
mine the decisions that life forces upon
them and that the faith calls forth from
them. The formation of Christians, then, for
Chrysostom, is this formation of a moral
world of meaning that sets the Christian
people demonstrably apart from all the other
peoples of the world.
From this wild man of West Syrian
asceticism14 no greater contrast could be
found than the refined, erudite, cultured
Italian patrician turned bishop, Ambrose of
stom, are nothing other than the outward Milan. Ambrose is characteristic of Latin
expression of the interior, essential good- theology in general in his abiding concern
ness, love, and mercy of God; the essential to understand the essential
15
unity of the sav-
graciousness of God, the fact that "God is ing work of God. As such, Ambrose
love," is perfectly reproduced outside of focuses his interest in expounding the sac-
God by God's actions towards his creation. raments for the neophytes on the question
The Christian's "imitation" of Christ must of how God acts in human history. For
be of the same sort as God's "imitation" of Ambrose, history is a series of stages, but
his own interior graciousness. The faithful not stages of progress or improvement; in-
must express outwardly, by their deeds of deed, for Ambrose, each successive stage in
love, mercy, and goodness, the indwelling history is necessary because its precursor16
of the Trinity which they have received in ended in failure to achieve union with God.
their Baptism; the good works done by God is active throughout this history,
Christians are an extension of their Bap- though, as the mystery hidden within it. As
tism, the representation to the eyes of the the hidden mystery underlying human his-
world of that spiritual reality that only the tory, guiding its events towards his own
eyes of faith can see.13 divine purpose, God can be known only by
What John Chrysostom's mystagogical looking beyond the outward signs and fig-
homilies do, then, is to create a specifically
Christian world of meaning for his hearers. 13
Mazza, 121-22.
Their lives are cast within a self-under- 14
See Peter Brown, 4The Rise and
standing (bride of the bridegroom), a pos- Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity,"
ture towards life (the combat with Satan), a and 'Town, Village, and Holy Man: The Case
measure for the interpretation of life (the of Syria," in Society and the Holy in Late
eyes of faith), and a model for moral behav- Antiquity (Berkeley: University of California
ior (the imitation of Christ) that is meant to Press, 1982) for a vivid description of the
world that shaped John Chrysostom as a
restructure their whole way of thinking and Christian.
acting in such a way as to mold them into the 15
Mazza, 15.
16
Christian "way." Chrysostom's broad- Mazza, 14.
289
ures of history to the deeper meaning hid- in each successive age until the final, full
den in events. Holy Scripture serves the picture of salvation is finished at the escha-
purpose of holding up to us those particular ton. Each stage of history mirrors all the
events in human history that have profound others, then, just in varying degrees of clar-
depths of meaning to them as the key events ity and precision.20 Mystagogy, then, is the
in history in which the divine mystery works explaining and revealing of this hidden,
out the plan of salvation for humanity.17 deeper meaning in the sacraments.21 There
Ambrose, then, like Chrysostom, calls upon is a connection between the Old Testament,
his neophytes to see the world through the the New Testament, and the church's life
eyes of faith, in order that, when they ob- that gives to all three one and the same
serve the events of scripture and the events identity, each at a different level of perfec-
of their own lives, they see beyond the tion, but none is ever rendered outmoded or
temporal to the eternal, "which is not appre- useless.22
hended by the eye, but is discerned by the So, for Ambrose, the Old Testament
mind and spirit."18 provides a wealth of types or figures that
Biblical history, for Ambrose, is, as a help illumine for the neophytes what the
whole and in every possible subdivided sacrament of Baptism has meant, and how it
part, the outward and visible sign of the has such great effects upon them. Three of
inner and spiritual reality of God's saving these Old Testament prefigurings of Bap-
will and work in Jesus Christ. The history tism he holds together as a single point: the
of salvation narrated in scripture is salva- creation out of chaos, Noah and the flood,
tion because the historical events are the and the parting of the Red Sea (Ambrose, p.
bearers of the saving event. And it is by the 318). At the beginning of creation in Gen-
liturgical celebration of the sacraments of esis 1, we read how the Spirit of God moved
Baptism and Eucharist that the church is over the waters; those waters are the waters
given by God a window into this deeper of Baptism, in such a way that as the Holy
reality.19 The church's liturgy, and the Spirit moved upon and so worked a new
sacraments celebrated in that liturgy, thus creation upon those primeval waters, so
provide the interpretive key to understand- now does the Holy Spirit move and work in
ing scripture, while scripture provides the these baptismal waters to work the new
fundamental context in history for under- creation of regeneration. In the story of the
standing liturgy and sacraments. flood, we read in Genesis 8 how Noah sent
This sense of reflection and reciprocity out two birds from the ark, a raven and a
forms the basis for Ambrose's vision of the dove, to test the state of the flooded-out
coherent unity of salvation history, includ-
ing the church's role within it. While exter- 17
nally, history makes no progress or im- Mazza, 15.
18
Saint Ambrose, "On the Mysteries," in
provement from age to age, in the underly- A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-
ing mystery of God'splan of salvation, each Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church,
stage of history moves from the lesser to the Second Series, Vol. X: St. Ambrose: Select
greater, from relative obscurity to relative Works and Letters (Grand Rapids, MI:
clarity, in relation to the revelation of God William B. Eerdmans, reprint, 1979), 319.
19
Mazza, 22-23.
and his salvation, so that the plan of salva- 20
Mazza, 25-26.
tion that begins as a faint sketch is increas- 21
Mazza, 33.
22
ingly filled in and given color and definition Mazza, 38.
290
world; the raven did not return, but the dove of the Song of Solomon. For Ambrose (who
returned with an olive branch in its mouth, stands here in a long line of tradition), the
a sign that the flood had receded and life had Song of Solomon is the typology par excel-
begun again on earth. So it is also with lence of the life of the Christian in commun-
Baptism (p. 318). Israel's exodus through ion with Christ, the loving relationship be-
tween bride and bridegroom, lover and be-
loved.
For Ambrose, the Song of Solomon
F
illustrates the exchange that takes place in
or Ambrose, progressive steps between Christ and the
baptized (pp. 321-22). The newly baptized
the Song of are made beautiful and clean by the wash-
ing of Baptism. Christ, seeing this new
Solomon illustrates the beauty of his church, rejoices in it, and
sends the dove of his Holy Spirit upon it, so
exchange that takes that the eyes of the faithful become the eyes
of the dove (Song 4:1), seeing now with the
place between Christ Spirit and not with the flesh. So endowed,
and the baptized. the baptized now take on the virtues of life
lived in the Spirit, and shed the vices of their
sins; the baptized can now "offer to Christ
the parted Red Sea completes the picture of the mystic faith and the grace of good liv-
Baptism by referring to the continual regen- ing, which speak of the cross of the Lord
erating and renewing power of Baptism. Jesus." Receiving this sacrifice of faith and
The Old Testament provides eloquent good works, Christ calls his bride, the bap-
testimony to the christological center of tized, to his side, "because, renouncing the
Baptism and to the precise nature of Bap- world, she passed through things temporal
tism as being united to the cross of Christ and passed on to Christ." In return, the
and the atonement worked on the cross. The baptized in the church, "delighted with the
story from Exodus 15, where the people of gifts of grace," reach out to attain the full-
Israel in the wilderness come to Marah for ness of the mysteries of the faith, "and to
water but find the water there bitter and consecrate all her affections to Christ," so
undrinkable, the solution to which is God's that by the devotion and faithfulness of her
command to Moses to throw a piece of affection "her spouse [Christ] may be in-
wood in the water and so make it sweet, cited to ever richer love for her" (p. 322).
shows exactly the power of the cross in And Christ indeed responds with this bound-
Baptism: just as Moses made the brackish less, ever-deepening love, placing himself
water good to drink by casting in the wood, as the seal upon his bride's heart and so
so in Baptism the priest makes common increasing infinitely in her the good works
water "sweet for the purpose of grace" by of faith and love that are the source of her
proclaiming the Lord's cross over the font beauty in his eyes. The Eucharist is the
(p. 319). aphrodisiac of this love, the food that Christ
But undoubtedly Ambrose's favorite gives his bride to strengthen her love and so
Old Testament text for the exposition of the continue her progress in grace (p. 325). The
sacramental life of faith was the poetic book church guards this sacred food of love jeal-
291
ously, for it is the garden of her delights, the historical-critical method has reduced
grown fruitful and lush where its roots "have the typological method of the Fathers to a
dipped... in the water of the sacred spring" curiosity of the past. The biblical exegesis
of Baptism, so that it abounds "with the of the Fathers is treated as a strictly histori-
fruitfulness of the Gospel" (p. 325). Christ cal source of information; that is, it can be
the Lord is delighted with the closed and useful for informing us of what a particular
devoutly cultivated garden of the church's Father of the church might have thought,
Eucharist, and comes to dwell there with his but it cannot be of use in our modern exege-
beloved, the baptized, and enjoy with them sis of the same text of scripture. The method
the mutual pleasures of his holy love (p. of the Fathers illumines the thought of the
325). Fathers; but the historical-critical method
What Ambrose has done in his has so convinced us of its superiority as a
mystagogical homilies is to produce an- way of uncovering the meaning of a biblical
other sort of world of meaning for his neo- text, that any other method is ruled out as
phytes: not Chrysostom's moral world of "uncritical" and so simply passe to the
meaning, but what might be called a "cul- church.
tural" world of meaning. For Ambrose, We have examined the sermons of two
Baptism and Eucharist create the church as of the great Fathers of the church, then, in
the culture, the social and interpersonal order to question this assumption so taken
world, of the Christian, shaped by its own for granted by so many professional biblical
particular structures of relationships, ac- exegetes today. The historical-critical
countability, authority,andtradition.23 What method enjoys the same nearly-universal
the neophyte is initiated into in Baptism is a application in the church today as did the
new social order, a new culture, a new typological method in the 4th century. But
family, and so a new way of living within the difference in result is remarkable. While
that new world. the typological method provided a sort of
conceptual unity to the Patristic church even
We have spent considerable time exploring while allowing for significant differences,
the mystagogical homilies of Chrysostom the historical-critical method has produced
and Ambrose, and their typological method, fragmentation. For the historical-critical
because all of this is so alien to our religious method has succeeded in distancing the
world today. The Christian world in the church from its scriptures precisely by ren-
West, from Reimarus in the mid-18th cen- dering the scriptures unintelligible except
tury to the present, has been steadily won to trained experts in the history, language,
over to an entirely different style of biblical culture, and beliefs of the centuries and
exegesis, usually called "the historical-criti- peoples spanned by the Bible, experts whose
cal method," which has replaced the typo- training is in the skills of disassembling and
logical method of the Fathers and their atomizing the text of scripture in order to
heirs. Indeed, the historical-critical method discover the true meaning hidden in the
has made a point of criticizing the typologi- issues of authenticity, authorial intent, philo-
cal method of the Fathers by emphasizing sophical and cultural influences, and the
their lack of scientific rigor and analytical writer's own religious experience. The
precision, their lack of any truly historical
perspective, and their lack of critical dis-
tance from the text of scripture. In doing so, 23
Mazza, 14.
292
untrained reader of the Bible is warned exegesis of the Fathers becomes instructive
against the oversimplification of reading for us today, not merely as a historical
for the plain sense of the text, and then is left curiosity, but as relevant interpretation of
with bits and fragments of the text so scru- scripture.
tinized and analyzed that their original co- For, as we have seen in Chrysostom
herence is lost amid all the pieces of the and Ambrose, the Fathers interpreted scrip-
puzzle. ture by scripture, but also interpreted scrip-
And yet, as any professional interpreter ture by its application to the Christian life,
of scripture can testify, the situation cannot and perhaps more importantly, interpreted
end there. We must preach and teach the the life of the Christian by its correspon-
scriptures as a coherent whole, not as mis- dence to scripture. In doing this, the Fathers
cellaneous form-critical fragments. But the sought a unity, not just in scripture, but
historical-critical method provides no guid- between scripture and the Christian life, as
ance for reassembling the unity of scripture; a dynamic whole held together, not by ab-
indeed, the historical-critical method is op- stract principles of exegesis, but by the
posed in principle to the idea of the unity of church's own experience of herLord'spres-
scripture. And so the preacher and teacher ence in Baptism and Eucharist. Baptism
has had to invent or intuit his or her own way changes things, for the Fathers, and scrip-
of finding the unity of scripture after his- ture provides the language and description
torical criticism has laid the pieces at her or and set of mental images that illuminate
his feet. We should not be surprised, then, what that change looks like in the lives of
that the results have produced more of the believers. Receiving the Eucharist makes
personal and political agendas of the inter- you different, and scripture gives the frame-
preters than the theme of grace and redemp- work for how to live with that difference.
tion of the Bible. For the Fathers, the scriptures belong
And yet, we cannot pretend as if the to the church, and the life and experience of
historical-critical method had never been the church determine what the scriptures
developed; indeed, we would not want to do mean. And at the heart of the life and
so. We have benefited inestimably in our experience of the church are the sacraments
knowledge and insight from the critical of Baptism and Eucharist. These sacramen-
work done in textual, historical, linguistic, tal rites provide the context for interpreting
and cultural studies of scripture. Our under- scripture, while in turn scripture provides
standing of the Bible and of the faith is the language for speaking about these sac-
richer and better for it.24 The problem is not raments. And from that union of scripture
that the historical-critical method is in use; and churchor dare one say, of scripture
the problem arises when it displaces all and traditionthe Fathers derived their im-
other methods, and comes to be seen as an ages and metaphors and language for de-
end in itself, the final step in the process of scribing and encouraging the Christian life.
interpreting scripture. That it cannot be that The Fathers did not need to invent or intuit
is demonstrated by the fact that all preach-
ing and teaching is compelled somehow, in 24
some way, invented or intuited, to go be- One need only think of the doors
opened in the Lutheran-Catholic dialogues in
yond it, to return the coherence and whole- understanding eucharistie sacrifice or ministry
ness to the text and to link the text to the or especially justification by the use of
lives of Christians. It is at that point that the historical-cri deal study of scripture.
293
their own "method" or "system"; they found
T:
it given to them in the convergence of the
liturgy and the Bible.
The convergence and union of liturgy he Fathers
and Bible, scripture and tradition, text and
church, is what we must retrieve from the sought a unity,
heritage of the Fathers. For this is the
logicaland indeed, doxologicalgoal of
not just in scripture, but
the interpretation of scripture. Which is not
to say we must abandon historical criticism.
between scripture and
Rather, we must put the historical-critical the Christian life.
work in its proper place: as the middle term,
the middle step, in the process from first
becomes more obvious that the world we
reading of the Bible to announcing the Good
live in is a post-Christian one, and that we
News in the Bible. The results of historical-
cannot take for granted any longer that our
critical research is not what we proclaim;
culture will be shaped by Christian morals,
but the results of historical-critical research
values, and virtues. Such was also the
are exciting new insights into what indeed
world as the ancient Fathers would have
the Bible first proclaimed, intended to pro-
described it, so perhaps it is time that we
claim, meant by its original proclamation,
listen again to them for how to live in it.
which provide perspectives on the Bible
that the ancient Fathers of the church never
had. 25
There are several movements in
But the commentaries and homilies of contemporary theology and philosophy in this
the Fathers provide us with equally valu- direction. They include the cultural-linguistic
able insights and perspectives with regard theory of George Lindbeck, The Nature of
to what to do with a text in the church, Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Post-
liberal Age (Philadelphia: Westminster Press,
among Christians, as the Word of God ad- 1984); the canon-criticism approach of
dressed to us here and now. This legacy of Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old
the unity of scripture and the unity of the Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia:
church with its scriptures is what we must Fortress, 1979); much of the narrative-
rediscover in systematic and explicit ways theology movement, e.g., Why Narrative?
Readings in Narrative Theology, ed. Stanley
if our preaching and teaching is to be faith- Hauerwas and L. Gregory Jones (Grand
ful to both scripture and church, and if our Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1989); the
preaching and teaching is to keep the church hermeneutical philosophy of Paul Ricoeur,
faithful to both scripture and tradition. e.g., the essays collected in The Philosophy of
Moreover, it is what we must recover if the Paul Ricoeur: An Anthology of His Work, ed.
Charles E. Reagan and David Stewart (Boston:
idea of the formation of the Christian life is Beacon Press, 1978), or his magnum opus,
to make any sense and is to have any rel- Time and Narrative, 3 vols. (Chicago:
evance to scripture and church as its forma- University of Chicago Press, 1984). The
tive principles, its world of meaning, its explicit turn to the Fathers was vigorously
cultural system and structure of language advocated by Jean Danielou (n. 4) and Henri
de Lubac, The Sources of Revelation (New
that sets the Christian life apart from life in York: Herder and Herder, 1968), among many
the world.25 This may be an insight we are other Catholic theologians, and has long been
ready to appropriate only now, as it daily the theme of Eastern Orthodox liturgy.
^ s
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About ATLAS:

LE STYLE ORAL DU DE SACRAMENTIS DE SAINT AMBROISE
PAR
CHRISTINE MOHRMANN
Parmi les rsultats que la science patristique des dernires

annes a pu enregistrer, on peut considrer comme un des plus
importants la restitution saint Ambroise du trait De Sacramentis.
Depuis le seizime sicle l'authenticit du De Sacramentis a t
mise en doute x, aussi bien par les rformateurs que par des savants
catholiques, comme le cardinal Bona, Dom Ceillier e.a. Les
Mauristes se sont galement prononcs contre l'attribution du
trait saint Ambroise. Ce n'est qu' la fin du X l X m e sicle
qu'on va reprendre le dbat et que des savants qui font autorit
se sont prononcs pour l'authenticit du trait. F . Probst a propos,
en 1893, de voir dans le De Sacramentis un rapport stnographique
de sermons prononcs par l'vque de Milan 2. Dom G. Morin
aprs avoir propos le nom de Nictas de Remesiana a, dans
une publication parue en 1928, attribu le trait saint Ambroise 3.
Toutefois ce n'est qu'aprs deux tudes indpendantes l'une de
l'autre, et parues presque en mme temps, pendant la guerre, l'une
en Autriche, l'autre en Grande-Bretagne, qu'on peut dire que
l'authenticit a t dfinitivement prouve. Il s'agit ici de l'article
du P. 0 . Faller, intitul: Ambrosias, der Verfasser von De Sacra-
mentis, paru dans la Zeitschrift fur Katholische Theologie, 64,
1940, p . 1 ss. et 81 ss., et de la publication de Dom R. H. Connolly,
intitule: The De Sacramentis a Work of St Ambrose, Oxford 1942.
L'examen du style, des citations bibliques et de la pense montrent
qu'on ne saurait attribuer le trait qu' Ambroise lui-mme. MaL->
le De Sacramentis n'est pas une uvre littraire, ni mme un
1
Erasme, dans son dition des uvres de saint Ambroise, parue
Ble en 1529, considre le De Sacramentis comme un trait authentique.
2
Die Liturgie des vierten Jahrhunderts und ihre Reform, Munster 1893,
p. 232 ss.
3
Jahrb. f. Liturgiewiss. 8, 1928, p. 86 ss.
LE STYLE ORAL DU DE SACRAMENTIS DE SAINT AMBROISE 169
travail publi par saint Ambroise: ce sont des sermons catch-

tiques qui ont t crits par un tachygraphe. De cette manire on
est revenu, l'aide, il est vrai, d'arguments nouveaux, la thse
de Probst.
Le De Mysteriis qu'on avait autrefois considr comme la source
du De Sacramentis est une publication littraire et officielle sortie
de la prdication catchtique d'Ambroise, tandis que le De
Sacramentis nous donne un compte rendu, pris directement ou bien
par un auditeur quelconque, ou bien par un tachygraphe attitr.
Le De Mysteriis omet tout ce qui avait trait la disciplina arcani.
Mais, part ces omissions, on a l'impression que saint Ambroise
a puis dans le rapport de ses sermons catchtiques quand il a
rdig le De Mysteriis.
On comprendra que le De Sacramentis une fois restitu saint
Ambroise on s'y soit intress plus que jamais. Le dveloppement
des tudes liturgiques des dernires annes attire d'ailleurs l'attention
des savants sur ce document unique pour l'histoire de la liturgie.
A peu prs simultanment la concidence semble de rgle pour
les publications sur le De Sacramentis ont paru deux traductions
annotes des deux traits en question. La premire est une reprise
d'une publication de l'anne 1919, mais qui a t foncirement
remanie la lumire des tudes rcentes sur les deux traits:
St Ambrose On the Sacrements and On the Mysteries, translated by
T. Thompson, edited with Introduction and Notes by J. H. Srawley,
London, S.P.C.K., 1950. L'autre a paru dans la srie Sources
Chrtiennes: Ambroise de Milan, Des Sacrements, Des Mystres,
texte tabli, traduit et annot par Dom Bernard Botte, Paris, Les
ditions du Cerf, 1950. Chacun de ces livres offre un expos du
problme de l'authenticit et M. Srawley aussi bien que Dom
Botte s'associent aux conclusions de Faller et de Connolly. M.
Srawley a pu profiter des conseils personnels et des matriaux non
encore publis de feu Dom Connolly. Dans son introduction il
discute non seulement le problme critique et la liturgie de Milan,
mais il parle aussi amplement de la doctrine eucharistique expose
dans les deux traits. Dom Botte, de son ct, aprs un expos
du problme critique, met surtout en valeur leur aspect liturgique
et catchtique, tout en s'occupant de problmes de critique
textuelle. Les deux introductions se compltent donc dans un
170 CHRISTINE MOHRMANN
certain sens. A juste titre Dom Botte souligne le caractre

traditionnel de la catchse baptismale, telle qu'elle nous est
parvenue par la voie du De Sacramentis. De cette manire la
question des sources de saint Ambroise, si souvent mal traite,
devient tout autre chose qu'un problme littraire: c'est en effet
en tout premier lieu un problme liturgique. L'auteur a parfaitement
raison quand il dit qu'il faudrait, pour l'lucider, commencer par
recueillir tous les vestiges de l'ancienne catchse baptismale. Je
voudrais ajouter cela qu'on ne devrait pas se borner aux sources
littraires", c'est--dire aux sources crites, mais qu'il faudrait

aussi examiner tout ce que l'art figuratif nous apprend sur ce sujet.
Ce qui rend le livre de Dom Botte particulirement prcieux, c'est
le texte nouveau, tabli d'aprs une douzaine de manuscrits.
Comme l'auteur l'avoue lui-mme, ce n'est pas un texte dfinitif
qui nous est prsent ici: celui-ci doit tre donn par le P. Faller
pour le Corpus de Vienne et il nous a t promis depuis longtemps
Mais le texte provisoire qui nous est donn ici est en progrs
considrable sur celui des Mauristes.
Dom Botte a propos aussi une lgre modification de la thorie
dfendue pour la premire fois par Probst, selon laquelle le De
Sacramentis est constitu de sermons crits par un tachygraphe.
Selon Dom Botte il est tout aussi probable que saint Ambroise
crivait ses sermons catchtiques tout d'abord rapidement et que
notre trait contiendrait donc des projets de sermons rdigs par
Ambroise lui-mme. C'est surtout le caractre du dernier sermon
{De Sacr. VI) qui lui a inspir cette ide: ,,Ce qui me fait penchei
pour cette solution, dit l'auteur, c'est que le dernier sermon est
visiblement inachev". Il est vrai que les dernires pages de notre
trait sont d'un caractre un peu diffrent et que la fin en est
abrupte. On pourrait trouver ce fait bon nombre d'explications:
un tachygraphe peut avoir t distrait, ou il peut avoir perdu
une partie de son rapport.
Mais l'existence de ces tachygraphes est-elle prouve? Comme
Dom Botte l'observe juste titre, nous n'en savons rien. On pourrait
aussi poser la question de savoir si Ambroise lui-mme a fait
prendre ses sermons par un tachygraphe, ou si des auditeurs
quelconques ont pris, de temps en temps, les sermons de l'vque,
qui tait un prdicateur fameux. Dans le cas analogue de saint
Augustin, l'un et l'autre procd est attest 4. Il me semble que

pour Ambroise il faut galement compter avec les deux possibilits.
En tout cas il est trs peu probable, mon sens, que nous ayons
affaire ici des notes prparatoires de saint Ambroise. Le caractre
trs spcial de la langue et du style du trait rend la thse du
tachygraphe extrmement plausible. En effet, le style du De
Sacramentis est typiquement un style oral. J'estime qu'un auteur
qui crit rapidement ce qu'il a l'intention de dire ne saurait
mme s'il le voulait imiter d'une manire si parfaite le style
oral. Ce que nous avons ici, c'est vraiment de la langue parle,
avec les ,,tics" de l'orateur, avec ses petites habitudes dont il est
peine conscient, avec les rptitions et les omissions qui sont
caractristiques d'un discours improvis, mais qu'on n'crit pas,
mme dans quelques notes htives.
C'est sur ce caractre spontan de notre texte que je voudrais
attirer l'attention l'aide d'un certain nombre d'exemples, car ce
problme n'a pas seulement son importance pour l'interprtation
et l'apprciation de notre trait, mais il est aussi extrmement
intressant en lui-mme du point de vue linguistique.
Il convient d'abord de prciser le caractre tout spcial de la
langue et du style du De Sacramentis et de poser en principe qu'il
ne s'agit pas ici d'un document en langue populaire. Le vocabulaire
est celui de la langue cultive, il est assez conservateur, beaucoup
plus conservateur que celui des sermons de saint Augustin. Ce
caractre se rvle mme dans de petits dtails. Pour en donner
un seul exemple : nous trouvons dans notre trait 28 fois l'expression
hoc est, deux fois id est. Or, on sait que hoc est appartient la
langue cultive et littraire, id est la langue courante et plutt
populaire. Dans un texte vulgaire comme la Peregrinatio Aetheriae
id est se trouve 130 fois, hoc est 4 fois 5 . Dans les sermons de saint
4
Voir Roy J. Deferrari, St. Augustine's Method of composing and
delivering sermons, Am. Journ. of Philol. 43, 1922, p. 97 ss. et 193 ss. ;
Mohrmann, Die altchr. Sonderspr. in den Senn, des hl. Augustin I, Nijniegen
1932, p. 21 ss.; id., Sint Augustinus'' rehn voor het Volk, Utrecht-Brssel
1948, p. XIV ss.
5
Voir E. Lfstedt, Sprachlicher Kommentar zur Peregrinatio Aetheriae,
Uppsala-Leipzig 1936, p. 91 s.
Augustin, id est est de beaucoup le plus frquent. Mais l'aristocrate

qu'tait Ambroise restait fidle son hoc est distingu.
Le systme syntaxique du De Sacramentis est sans doute trs
libre, mais on ne saurait le qualifier de vulgaire; il est notamment
trs diffrent de celui de la Peregrinatio Aetheriae, du dbut du
cinquime sicle. Et si la syntaxe de notre trait prsente un certain
nombre de licences" auxquelles on s'attendrait peine chez un
auteur comme saint Ambroise, ces particularits appartiennent
toutes au style oral, la langue parle d'un homme cultiv. En
mme temps elles sont en relation troite avec le caractre mme
de la catchse, qui exige, plus encore que les sermons prononcs
devant la communaut des fidles, une forme simple et limpide.
Quand saint Augustin donne un spcimen de catchse dans son
trait De catechizandis rudibus (il s'agit ici d'une catchse prive
et non pas d'une initiation liturgique), il le fait dans une langue
qui possde ces mmes qualits 6 . Ambroise lui-mme dit, dans son
De Isaac 7, 57, qu'un docteur doit se mettre, si cela est ncessaire,
au niveau des gens simples. Mais il y a plus: la catchse exigeait,
un plus haut degr que n'importe quelle autre prdication, un
contact intime entre le prdicateur et l'auditeur. Elle emploie une
espce de sermocinatio, de dialogue. L'auditoire ne doit pas tre
passif, ce qui explique, dans notre trait, la frquence fatiguante
des questions. Ce procd est le plus simple pour faire participer
l'auditeur la dmonstration. Dans les sermons de saint Augustin,
il est utilis constamment, et peut-tre faut-il compter l avec une
certaine influence exerce par la diatribe cynique. Le P. Faller
a montr, il est vrai, que saint Ambroise a toujours eu une
prdilection pour la question, mais ici elle revient assez souvent
pour donner l'impression d'tre un ,,tic" de l'orateur. Il serait
peine concevable que saint Ambroise, crivant rapidement, en
et formul un si grand nombre: ce sont des choses qui chappent
un orateur, mais qu'il n'crit pas.
Les questions manent donc du caractre direct du style
d'Ambroise, qui cherche constamment le contact avec ses auditeurs.
Elles constituent pour ainsi dire un lment du dialogue entre
prdicateur et auditeur. Mais le dialogue, le style parl qui va

Voir Mohrmann, Sondersprache, p . 17 et p . 173 de cet article.
au-devant de l'interlocuteur est marqu par beaucoup d'autres

traits caractristiques: nous en retrouvons plusieurs dans notre
trait.
Il y a tout d'abord la parataxe sous ses formes diverses. Les
phrases se dtachent, la juxtaposition prsente les membres de
l'expos l'un ct de l'autre. Dans le De Sacramentis on trouve
des spcimens frappants de ce style oral. On peut y signaler un
relchement extrme du systme de la phrase. Il y a d'abord le
refoulement de la construction hypotactique par excellence: la
proposition infinitive. Celle-ci doit faire place, comme dans tous
les textes tardifs, des propositions subordonnes avec conjonction,
dont la trs haute frquence est remarquable. C'est, il est vrai,
une tendance qui se manifeste dans toutes les uvres d'Ambroise.
Il semble mme qu'avec l'ge cette prfrence s'accentue. La
proportion de la proposition infinitive par rapport la proposition
subordonne avec conjonction semble tre, dans les uvres
d'Ambroise en gnral, de 5 2. Dans un discours aussi tudi que
la Consolatio Valentiniani, mais qui est un texte destin tre
parl, cette proportion est mme de 2 1 7 . Ces chiffres sont trs
remarquables quand on les compare p. ex. l'usage de saint
Augustin. Pour la Cit de Dieu, la proportion est de 18 1, pour
les Confessions, de 5 1, pour les sermons, de 2 1 8 . Pour l'tude
de notre problme, les proportions du trait De catechizandis rudibus
sont particulirement intressantes. Dans la premire partie, o
saint Augustin donne des indications pour la catchse, la proportion
est de 11 1, mais dans le spcimen de catchse qu'il insre dans
son trait, elle est de l 2 / 3 1. On voit donc se dessiner, mme dans
une catchse crite, la tendance la simplicit 9 . A la lumire
de ces donnes, les calculs que j'ai faits pour le De Sacramentis
deviennent particulirement loquents: on y trouve 1 proposition
infinitive pour 2 propositions subordonnes avec conjonction. La
frquence de ce type de proposition dpasse donc de beaucoup non
seulement celle qu'on note dans les autres uvres de saint Ambroise,
mais aussi celle des sermons de saint Augustin et de sa catchse.
7
Voir Thomas A. Kelly, Sancti Ambrosii Liber de Consotatione Valen-
tiniani, Washington 1940 (Patristic Studies LVIII), p. 100.
8
Voir Mohrmann, Sondersprache, p. 13 s.
9
Voir ib., p. 17.
Quant aux conjonctions, on voit qu'Ambroise emploie 25 fois

quod, 22 fois quia, 2 fois ut, 1 fois quoniam. Quoniam, qui est
vulgaire et biblique, ne se trouve qu'une seule fois, devant une
citation biblique. Quia tait plus populaire que quod et trs usuel
dans le latin des chrtiens; c'est la conjonction priviligie des
sermons de saint Augustin. Quod tait la conjonction le plus
distingue.
Un trait caractristique de la langue parle est la juxtaposition
pure et simple des membres de l'nonc. M. Marouzeau a donn,
Trait de Stylistique latine2, Paris 1946, p. 288 ss., des spcimens
intressants de cette juxtaposition, tirs de la conversation des
affranchis dans la Cena Trimalchionis de Ptrone; il en a signal
d'autres de Trence, des satires d'Horace et de Juvnal etc.
M. Havers a fait l'observation trs exacte, Handbuch der erklrenden
Syntax, Heidelberg 1931, p. 23, que dans ces cas c'est l'intonation
qu'incombe la tche d'exprimer la subordination. Notre trait en
prsente des exemples frappants, ainsi IV, 4, 15: lussit dominus
factum est caelum, iussit dominus jacta est terra, iussit dominas
facta sunt maria, iussit dominus omnis creatura generata est. Ou avec
un et, I I , 7, 20: dixisti : credo, et mersisti. Mais la juxtaposition de
phrases courtes, sans aucune subordination, qui laissent tout
l'intonation du sujet parlant, la mimique et au contact de
l'orateur avec son auditoire, nous la trouvons surtout dans le
rcit. On pourrait citer la paraphrase suivante de 4 Reg. 5, 114
(I, 5, 1314): Neman ergo leprosus erat. Puella quaedam ait uxori
illius : dominus meus, si vult mundari, vadat in ter ram Israhel et
ibi inveniet eum qui possit ei lepram tollere. Dixit illa dominae suae,
uxor marito, Neman regi Syriae, qui eum quasi acceptissimum sibi
misit ad regem Israhel. Audivit rex Israhel quod missus esset ad
eum cuius lepram mundaret et scidit vestem suam. Tunc Helisaeus
propheta mandat ei : quid est quod scidisti vestem quasi non sit deus
potens qui mundet leprosuml Mitte ilium ad me. Misit ilium, cui
advenienti ait propheta: vade, descende in Iordanem merge et sanus
eris. Ou I I , 2, 6: venu dominus noster Iesus Christus ad piscinam,
multi aegri iacebant. Et facile ibi multi aegri iacebant ubi unus
tantummodo curabatur. deinde ait ad illum paralyticum : descende.
Ait Ule : hominem non habeo. Il s'agit ici du type le plus l-
mentaire de rcit, qui nous rappelle le spcimen de rcit simple et
LE STYLE ORAL DU D E SACRAMENTIS DE SAINT AMBROISE 175
populaire donn par le Rhetor ad Herennium, IV, 11, 16: nam

istic in balineis accessit ad hune. Postea dicit : hic tuus servus me
pulsavit. Postea dicit Uli : considerabo. Post Ule convicium fecit et
magis magisque praesente multis clamavit. Ce style est caractris
par deux choses: la parataxe et le style direct, qui donne
l'impression d'une certaine navet.
Le style du De Sacramentis est un style trs expressionniste, qui
supprime les liaisons et tout ce qui est d'une importance secondaire,
pour ne garder de l'nonc que l'essentiel. C'est un procd qu'on
trouve galement dans l'ancienne comdie 10 . On pourrait citer
comme spcimen caractristique I, 2, 4: Venimus ad fontem,
ingressus es, unctus es. Considera quos videris, quid locutus sis
considera, rpte diligenter. Occurrit tibi levita, occurrit presbyter.
Unctus es quasi athleta Christi, quasi luctam huius saeculi luctaturus,
professus es luctaminis tui certamina. Qui luctatur habet quod speret :
ubi certamen, ibi corona. L'nonc est limite aux lments strictement
ncessaires et concrets. Le verbe est mis en relief n , quand il s'agit
d'exprimer une action, ou il est absent, quand une ide gnrale
est formule 12. Chaque fois l'orateur s'est born aux lments
essentiels, la syntaxe est trs rudimentaire : ici encore c'est
l'intonation et la diction de l'orateur qui remplacent les moyens
syntaxiques. Il rsulte de ce procd un relchement gnral de la
structure syntaxique, mais en mme temps un droulement de la
phrase qui est extrmement plastique. Cette allure dcousue et
plastique en mme temps se manifeste de manires diverses: dans
la parenthse, comme I, 4, 12: caeterum qui per hune fontem transit,
hoc est a terrenis ad caelestia hic est enim transitus, ideo pascha,
hoc est transitus eius, transitus a peccato ad vitam, a culpa ad gratiam,
ab inquinamento ad sanctificationem qui per hunc fontem transit,
non moritur sed resurgit. Ici encore c'est l'intonation qui maintient
l'unit de la phrase, dont l'unit syntaxique est interrompue 13.
Mme observation faire propos de l'anacoluthe, surtout de ce
type d'anacoluthe o la notion dominante est place en tte dans
10
Voir Marouzeau, Stylistique latine, p . 231.
11
Voir p . 176.
12
Voir p . 175 s.
13
Voir H a v e r s , Handbuch der erklrenden Syntax, p. 27; Marouzeau,
Stylistique latine, p . 242 ss.
170 CKiSilNL MOHRMANN
le nominatif 14 , comme I I , 7, 21 : sanctus apostolus Petrus, posteaquam

in passione domini lapsus videretur infirmitate conditionis humanae,
qui ante negaverat, postea ut ilium lapsum abolerel et solverei tertio
interrogatur a Christo si Christum amaret. Le nominatif en tte
de la phrase est parfois repris par un pronom: qui manducaverit
hoc corpus, fiet ei remissio peccatorum et non morietur in aeternum
(IV, 5, 24).
Ce style expressionniste et plastique, qui met en relief ce qui
domine dans l'esprit du sujet parlant, se manifeste aussi dans la
position initiale du verbe, qui est extrmement frquente dans
notre trait 15. On sait que la position initiale du verbe fait en latin
figure d'exception et ce titre elle fixe l'attention du destinataire
de l'nonc. M. Marouzeau a montr que dans les cas les plus nets
la position initiale semble confrer au verbe une valeur prminente,
le mettre en relief; toutefois il ne faudrait pas croire qu'il en soit
toujours ainsi: l'antposition du verbe, en tant qu'infraction
l'ordre banal, apparat parfois comme un moyen de rompre
l'quilibre de l'nonc et de signaler ainsi le caractre exceptionnel
de la phrase 16. Dans le trait De Sacramentis l'antposition du
verbe confre presque toujours une valeur prminente au verbe,
c'est--dire qu'elle met en relief l'action verbale comme telle. Des
sries de phrases courtes verbe initial dcrivent le droulement
de la solennit liturgique, ainsi I I , 5, 14: Venu sacerdos, precem
dicit ad fontem, invocai patris nomen . . . . utitur verbis caelestibus ;
V, 1, 3: Tangit ergo sacerdos calicem, redundat aqua in calice, salit
in vitam aeternam, et bibit populus dei qui dei gratiam consecutus est
(avec chiasme la fin de la phrase); IV, 2, 5: Sequitur ut veniatis
ad altare. Coepistis venire, spectarunt angeli, viderunt vos advenientes ;
I I , 6, 16: Venisti ad fontem, descendisti in eum, adtendisti summum
sacerdotem, levitas et presbyterum in fonte vidisti (avec chiasme
la fin).
A ct de cette mise en relief de l'lment verbal on constate
une prfrence analogue pour l'accentuation de l'lment nominal,
14
H a v e r s , G l o t t a 16, p . 112 ss. ; M o h r m a n n , G l o t t a 2 1 , p . 33 ss.
15
Voir W . Kroll, G l o t t a 9, p . 112 s s . ; Marouzeau, R e v u e des E t . lat. 15,
p . 275 ss.
16
R e v u e des E t . lat., /./., p . 307.
par la voie de la phrase nominale pure 17. C'est encore un cas de

syntaxe rudimentaire qui ne manque pas de force d'expression.
On pourrait citer I, 2, 4: ubi certamen, ibi corona ; I I I , 2, 11 : Omnes
quidem sancii evangelistae, omnes apostoli praeter proditor em omnes
sancii ; VI, 2, 6: Accipe aliud, quia quemadmodum spiritus in corde,
ita etiam Christus in corde.
Dans la haute frquence des questions, dans le relchement
gnral du systme de la phrase, dans la technique du rcit avec
sa succession de phrases paratactiques et son style direct, dans la
mise en relief tantt du verbe, tantt de l'lment nominal, dans
tout cet assemblage d'lments libres et rudimentaires se manifeste
le caractre spontan de ces discours improviss et saisis sur la
bouche mme de l'vque de Milan. On pourrait facilement
multiplier les exemples, car chaque phrase du trait reflte cette
spontanit et cette vivacit qui est la marque distinctive de la
langue parle que nous prenons ici sur le fait. Le De Sacramentis,
texte important comme source thologique et liturgique, est aussi
un document extrmement intressant de ce latin courant et vivant
qui se drobe sans cesse notre observation.
ij meg en, 40 Sint Annastraat.
17
Voir pour le caractre de cette construction trs ancienne: Meillet,
MSL 14, p. l s s . ; Schrijnen, Collectanea, Nijmegen-Utrecht 1939, p. 86 s.;
Marouzeau, La phrase verbe tre en latin, Paris 1907, p. 167 ss. ; Id.,
Stylistique latine, p. 214 ss.; Mohrmann, Vigiliae Christianae 1, p. 172 ss.;
L. Hjelmslev, Le verbe et la phrase nominale. Mlanges Marouzeau, Paris
1948, p. 253 ss.
12
^ s
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R e a l ? r e s e n c e . S p i r i t u a l ? r e ê ^ u e 57
Christ in the sacrament.21 See, no longer in shadows . . but in truth

radiating light . . . ace to face . . . find you in your sacraments.22
In emphasizing the experiential, Ambrose seeks to build faith in his
hearers. Enumerating scriptural accounts of Gods miraculous power
(perhaps Ambroses most favored rhetorical strate^), Ambrose as-
serts that what the Christian experiences through the sacraments is
greater still:
If that which you so wonder at is but shadow, how great must that
be whose very shadow you wonder at. See now: what happened
in the case of the fathers was shadow. . You recognize now that

which is the more excellent, for light is hetter than shadow, truth
than a figure, the Body of its Giver than the manna from heaven.2*
Ambrose then launches into the theme that would eventually

play a pivotal role in later controversies: the conversion of nature (na-
tura) that occurs in the eucharist. Before examining Ambroses use
of , it will be helpful to say a quick word about Ambroses mo-
tivation to talk about a conversion of the elements in the first place.
Mystagogical preaching, rather than functioning primarily as theolog-
ical argument, sought to draw neophytes into experiencing through
faith the m ysteries-th e spiritual realities that underlie the perceived
elements and outward rituals.^ w h y would Ambrose, who tended
to avoid innovation and speculation in even his dogmatic treatises,
use this sacred and private context as an opportunity for theological
creativity? The context reveals his purpose in bringing up eucharistie
conversion: the p^torally-minded Ambrose is anticipating and an-
swering the doubts of those who see only bread and wine and ques-
tion its value, or who think the eucharist compares unfavorably with
the manna showered from the heavens.25
21 Edward j. Kdmartin, The Eucharist in the West: History and Theobgy, ed. Rob-
ertj. Daly (Collegevllle, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1998), 17-18.
22 Ambrose, De apologia prophetae David I.I2.58 (CSEL 32/2.339.18-340.5),
translated in Kilmartin, Eucharist in the West, 18; Ambrose, De mysteriis, V.27; PL
16:397b-c; NPNFX, 320321.
23 Ambrose, De mysteis, YIII.49; PL 16:405a-b; NPNF X, 323-324 (translation
modified).
24 Satterlee, Method ofMystagogical Preaching, 2-4.
25 Ambrose, De sacramentis, rv.iii.9; PL 16.438a. All references to English transa-
tions of this text, denoted by De sacramentis followed by a page number, are drawn
58 Anglican Theological Review
Recognizing that the unassuming appearance of the sacramen-
tal elements might undermine the spiritual nature of the experience
for new believers, Ambrose employs three strategies to prove that
the bread and wine are better than even the outwardly impressive
miracles of the o ld Testament: (1) showing how the o ld Testament
examples are symbols (figura) of the eucharistie reality; (2) emphasiz-
ing the power of Christs word in all things, from the act of creation to
the efficacy of the sacraments;26 and (3) asserting that by the power
of Christs word the very nature (natura) of the sacraments is changed
(1
c onvertere, mutare) into Christs body and blood, effective and pres-
ent for the believer.
Thus, Ambroses emphasis on real presence remains in keeping
with his Western tradition. His only innovation here is to borrow the
language of conversion from Greek theologians.^ Some interpreters
see Ambrose as initiating a new concept of conversion by separat-
ing typolo^ (antitypa) from his discussion of Christs eucharistie
presence.26 ethers see Ambrose as a bit of a bungler, with his par-
tial ^ ^ op riation of Eastern concepts resulting in a warped version
of metabolic (metabol) conversion.26 Still others see Ambrose as
hopelessly inconsistent. Moreover, Ambrose has subsequently been
claimed, quite anachronistically, as a source for the realist concep-
tion of Christs presence, over against ffie symbolist approach of
Augustine, an interpretive tendency especially erident during ffie
Reformation, w h ere does this leave us? We have seen Ambroses pas-
toral motivation in introducing ffie notion of conversion; we now turn
to his term inlo^ te clarify his meaning.
from Srawley and Thompson, St. Ambrose: On the Mystenes and the Treatise On the
Sacraments by an Unknown Author.
26 ^ seph M. Powers, Euchanstic Theology (Nework: Herder and Herder, 1967),
1.
27 SrawJey and Thompson, St. Ambrose, xxxiv-xxxv; William Ledwich, Baptism,
Sacrament of the Cross: Looking Behind St. Ambrose, in The SacHfice o f Praise:
Studies on the Themes ofThanksgiving and Redemption in the Central Prayers ofthe
Eucharistie and Baptismal Liturgies, ed. Bryan D. Spinks, Bibliotheca Ephemerides
Liturgicae (Bome: Edizioni Liturgiche, 1981), 199-214, 200.
28 Srawley and Thompson, St. Ambrose, xxxv-xxxvi; Mazza, Celebration ofthe Eu-
charist, 150-151.
29 Kilmartin, Eucharist in the West, 15, 18, 21-22; Max Thurian, The Mystery of
the Eucharist, trans. Emily Chisholm (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing,
1981), 32-44.
R e a l P r e s e n c e , S p ir itu a l Pr e se n c e 59
Key Terms in Am broses Eucharistie Theology
Two terms are especially fruitful for understanding Ambroses
concept of conversion in connection with Christs real presence in the
eucharist: natura andîgwra. In the passages in which Ambrose de-
scribes elemental conversion, those which pair mutare or convertere
with natura are die most controversial. Their interpretation rests
upon the meaning of natura as the object of the conversion process.^
For example: shall not the word of Christ, which was able to make
out of nothing that which was not, be able to change (mutare) things
which already are into what they were not? For it is not less to give a
new nature to things than to change them (mutare naturas).31
Usually this conversion of nature is taken to mean a transforma-
tion at the elemental level. However, nuances in Ambroses usage
of foe word natura complicate this simplistic interpretation. Some-
times a change in nature refers to a complete riansformation, as in
foe case of Moses rod turning into a serpent; yet, Ambrose clarifies
that fois does not illustrate the kind of change that takes place in the
eucharist, but rather the fundamental principle that grace has power
over nature.^ A change in nature can also refer to a limited modifica-
tion, as in foe case of the bitter water in the river Marah; foe water
remains water, but its (quality miraculously changes.^ Ambrose also
notes that sometimes things miraculously take on a quality contrary to
their usual nature. For example, though iron normally sinks in water,
Elisha caused an iron axe head to float.34 This change presumably did
not entail foe transformation of the axe head into something else, but
rather of its qualities relative to the water.
The sheer variety ofellustrations may indicate that Ambrose him-
self has no definite sense of what he means by a change in nature.
Certainly, his primary purpose is to show that grace is more power-
ful than nature.35 et, it remains possible that Ambrose intends a nu-
ance of natura that indicates a certain kind of ehange-perhaps at
foe level of relatedness (as in the case of the iron axe head relative to
30 Tonzig, St. Ambrose on Reai ?resence, 136-137.

31 Ambrose, De mysteriis, IX.52; PL 16:407a; NPNF X, 324.
32 Ambrose, De mysteriis, IX.51; PL 405c-406a; NPNF X, 323.
33 Ambrose, De mysteris, IX.51; PL 405e^06a; NPNF X, 323.
34 Ambrose, De mysteriis, IX.51; PL 16.406b; compare Ambrose, De saeramentis,
IV.iv.18.
33 See Ambrose, De mysteriis, IX.52; PL 16:407a; NPNF X, 324.
the water). Take the speeêally eucharistie example othis nuance in
Desacram entis:
I told thee of the word of Christ, which acts so that it can change
and alter the appointed forms of nature. Then when the disciples
of Christ endured not his saying, but hearing that he gave his flesh
to eat and gave his blood to drink, they turned back. . . . Accord-
ingly, lest others should say this, feeling a shrinking from actual
blood, and that yet the grace of redemption might remain, there-
fore thou receivest the sacrament in a similitude, but truly obtain-
est the grace and virtue of the nature.^
Furthermore, Ambrose views the bread and wine as remaining

even after the consecration, indicatingthathe is :really tailring about
a conversion of the elements per se, but rather the process through
which the bread and wine become appropriate vehicles ofsacramen-
tal action.^ In short, Ambrose uses natura in a variety ofways, includ-
ing a sense that allows for a change in the eucharist that occurs at some
level of reality beyond either appearance or substance. Luisa Tonzig
argues that Ambrose should be read as a forerunner not of transub-
stantiation but of transignification, in which the change is less about
the substance underling the accidents, and more a matter of the be-
lievers experience of the person of Christ, intimately communicated
through the eucharist; Christs person and work are made sacramen-
tally present to the conscience of the faithful.^ This view accords well
with Ambroses pastoral emphases and mystagogical preaching.
With an isolated examination of natura, ambiguities remain; but
Ambroses use of the term figura sheds additional light.^ The usage
offigura in theological Latin can be narrowed down to three catego-
ries: (1) a type or prefiguring of a future reality; (2) the external
appearance of something; and (3) a sign of an invisible reality.^
Ambrose most often uses the term in keeping with the first meaning,
with figura indicating how the sacraments were prefigured in the
Old Testament.^ Thus, Ambroses use offigura in direct reference
36 Ambrose, De sacramentis, l.i.3; PL 16:454d-455a; D e saeramentis, 129-130.

37 Tonzig,St. Ambrose on Real Presenee, 144.
33 Tonzig,St. Ambrose on Real Presenee, 143.
39 }ohanny, L Eucharistie, 103.
40 Tonzig,St. Ambrose on Real Presence, 148.
41 Tonzig,St. Ambrose on Real Presence, 149-153.
R e a l ? r e ê ^ c e , S p i r i t u a l ? r e s e ^ c e til
to the eueharist likely 0110ws the âme nuance, with the eucharist
functioning in turn as an antitypa of Christs death.42
The question is whether Ambroses use ofigura is truly meaning-
ful in the face ofhis apparent movement toward elemental conversion
language. The two concepts seem to he incompatible, especially in
light of the later eucharist conflicts in the West. Enrico Mazza con-
eludes that Ambrose, attempting innovation, appropriated an incom-
plete notion of conversion from the Greeks, leading to a disconnect
within Ambroses thought b e ^ e e n typological thinking on the one
hand and his sudden shift toward elemental conversion on the oth-
er.43 Gther scholars interpret Ambroses use of terms like similitude)
and^ U as little more than leftover concepts, overshadowed by his
move toward e ^ ^ - c o n v e r s i o n language and a realist conception of
Christs eucharistie presence.44
However, this critique assumes the later development of outright
opposition betiveen realist and symbolist approaches. Ambrose prob-
ably did not envision such a sharp disjunction.45 To see his empha-
sis on real presence and eucharistie conversion on the one hand and
the eucharist as figura or similtudo on the other as inconsistent or
contradictoty is probably anachronistic. Ambroses use of symbolist-
sounding language, far from opposing the reality of Christs presence,
rather indicates the way by which Christs presence is being realized
for the believer, shifting the emphasis from the physical elements of
bread and wine to the efficacy of the sacrament.45 Indeed, figura
for Ambrose sometimes seems to express a reality that is more real
than the physical and risible. The reality of Christs presence is not
merely compatible with the description of Christs body and blood
as figura, but perhaps even intensified.4 Ambroses use of figura
should not be allowed to fade into the background; retaining its signif-
icance in his understanding of Christs eucharistie presence provides
42 Tonzig, St. Ambrose on Real ?resenee, 154; Johanny, LEucharistie, 103. Am-
brose. De sacramentis, IV.v.21; PL 16.443b; De saeramentis, 113.
43 Mazza, Celebration ofthe Eucharist, 152-154; Kilmartin, Eucharist in the West,
21 -
44 Roch A. Kereszty, Wedding Feast ofthe Lamb: Eucharistie Theologyfrom a His-
torical, Biblical, and Systematic Perspective (Chicago, 111.: Hillenbrand Books, 2004),
119; William R. Crockett, Eucharist: Symbol ofTransformation (Collegeville, Minn.:
Liturgical ?ress, 1990), 96-98.
45 Crockett, Eucharist, 98.
46 Tonzig, St. Ambrose on Real Presence, 145.
47 See also Johanny, LEucharistie, 103.
a helpful corrective to the tendency to read too much into his conver-
sion language.48
Final Remarks on Am broses Doctrine ofEucharistic Presence
Ambroses eucharistie theology, though often riewed simplisti-
cally as a forerunner to ^nsubstantiation, is best riewed from the
perspective of his mystagogical purpose in De m ysteis and De sac-
ramentis and his deeply pastoral character. His language of conver-
sion, though perhaps derivative and somewhat inconsistently applied,
effectively engenders faith and draws believers into a deeper expert-
ence of Christs presence in the eucharist. To read Ambroses work as
a major shift into a new trajectory leading inevitably to transubstan-
tiation is to misunderstand his use of words like natura m dfigu ra,
and illegitimately to superimpose a sh a^ disjunction between the
symbolic and the real on Ambroses teaching. Though some tension
betiveen the concepts is present in Ambroses thought, this does not
necessarily manifest incoherence or indecision. For Ambrose, both
the conversion of natura and the characterization of the eucharist as
figura speak to the same reality: Christs presence, experienced truly
by the believer.
Cranmers Doctnne o fc h r is ts Eucharistie Presence

With this understanding of Ambroses notion of Christs eucha-
ristic presence, we are now ready to examine Cranmers thoughts on
the same subject. I first describe the ^rcumstances that contextualize
Cranmers doctrinal evolution, and then provide a provisional synop-
sis of his mature understanding of Christs eucharistie presence.
Cranmers Doctrinal Evolution
As the Archbishop of Canterbuty during the reigns of Henry
VIII and Edward VI, Cranmer is undeniably a monumental figure
in the story of the English reformations^ His central role in the for-
mation of both foe doctrines and liturgical tructures of the Church
of England and his martyrdom during Mary Is reign have ensured a
48 Johanny, L Eucharistie, 104; ^D nald, Paideia and Gnosis, 254.

49 Basil Hall, Cranmers Relations with Erasmianism and Lutheranism, in Thom-
us Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar ed. Paul Ayris and David Selwyn (Woodbridge,
Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 1993), 3-37; Davena Da^s, An Examination ofThomas
Cranmers Doetrine of the Eucharist, Arc 17 (1989): 18-30.
R e a l ? r e s e n c e . Sp ir it u a l ? r e s e n c e 63
near eenstant stream of literature dedicated to examining his life and
doctrines.
Cranmers importance in the Church of Englands early doctrinal
controversies can he traced back to 1527, when he became one of
a team of Cambridge dons recruited by Thomas Wolsey for general
diplomatic serviced Quickly establishing himself as a promising mi-
nor diplomat, Cranmer even gained an audience with Henry VIII
in }une of 1527. More importantly, Cranmer became a key player
in Hentys annulment proceedings. By 1529, he was recognized as
a leading advocate of the Kings case, thereby securing the Kings
favor, establishing the trajectoiy of his career, and ensuring his lasting
prominence.
Yet, Cranmer seems not to have been obviously disposed for the
roles thrust upon him. According to one biographer, although Cran-
mer was accounted a man of personal charm, an erudite scholar, a
theologian of liberal a p a t h i e s , his suitability for leadership was
(questionable at best for his views were ever apt to be indeterminate
and to shift with the company in which he found himself. ^1 Despite
the early enthusiasm of the academic-turned-diplomat in aiding the
Kings pursuit of an annulment, Cranmer was eventually thrust into a
conspicuous position for which he was strangely unfit, and forced to
take definite, public positions on extremely controversial issues.^ Ad-
ditionally, the political exigencies Cranmer faced throughout his ca-
reer often interrupted his active theological development, sometimes
for years at a time, leading to gaps in our knowledge of Cranmers
gradually changing thoughts. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the
evolution of Cranmers doctrine of the eucharist has been notoriously
difficult te pin down.
Cranmers earliest understanding of eucharistie presence was an
unreflective doctrine oforanubstantiation a view he later described
as amounting to cannibalism . During his time at Cambridge,
50 See Diarmaid ^ eC u lleeh , Thomas Cranmer: A Life (London: Yale University

?ress, 137 - 34 . , (6
51 Anthony c. Deane, The Life o f Thomas Cranmer Archbishop o f Canterbury
(London: S em illan , 12 ,(27. See aiso Theodore Maynard, The Life of Thomas
Cranmer (Chicago, 111.: Henry Regneiy, 1956), xi, 35-36.
52 Deane, Life ofThomas Cranmer, 3-4; see also Maynard, Life ofThomas Cran-
mer, xii, 16.
53 Eugene K. McGee, Cranmer and Nominalism, The Harvard Theological He-
view 57, no. 3 (1964): 189. See also MacCulloch, Thomas Cranmer, 12, 182; and
Cranmer experienced with the school itself a move away from medi-
eval scholasticism; between 1511 and 1516 Cranmer shifted perma-
nently to a hfelong devotion to the new learning and the systematic
study of theology.54 This early foundation in Erasmian-influenced
dedication to language-based scripture study and a critical but appre-
ciative approach to patristic sources energized Cranmers su b se g e n t
theological work.55 However, he did not begin significantly to rerise
his eucharistie doctrine until sometime later.
Between 1529 and 1533, Cranmers career had something o f a
medieval wandering scholar dimension; he floated between Cam-
bridge and Waltham, working as a tutor and enjoying the hospitality
of various friends.55 However, Cranmer had already come to the at-
tention of Henry VIII as a useful academic ally in the matter of his
sought-for divorce. Cn the strength of the good impression Cranmer
had made at court, Henry began to send him overseas with various
delegations.^ This set in motion a remarkably rapid rise from the
mists of donnish obscurity to the bright light of royal favour, cul-
minating in 1533 with Cranmers ascendancy to the Archbishopric of
Canterbury.55
It remains unclear exactly how Cranmer came to entertain seri-
ous doubts about ttansubstantiation. w hat is clear, however, is that
Cranmer eventually began to differentiate between transubstantia-
tion and real presence, moring away from the former but continu-
ing to hold to some version of the latter for quite some time.59 Early
in his career as Arehbishop, Cranmer certainly retained his traditional
riewpoint. Cne of his first official actions as Archbishop testifies to his
continued embrace offiransubstantiation: faced with the unpleasant
prospect of prosecuting 0 Erith for unorthodox riews of ffie eu-
charist a situation Cranmer had ffie misfortune of inheriting along
Peter Newman Brooks, Thomas Cranmers Doctrine of the Eucharist (New York:
Seabuty Press, 112 ,(65.
54 Hall, Cranmers Relations with Erasmianism and Lntheranism, 6; Peter
Newman Brooks, Cranmer in Context (Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 1989), 1-2;
O e ^ e , Life of Thomas Cranmer, 19; McGee, Cranmer and Nominahsm; and
Cyril c. Richardson, Zwingli and Cranmer on the Eucharist (Evanston, 111.: Seabury-
Western Theological Seminary, 1949).
55 Hall, Cranmers Relations with Erasmianism and Lutheranism, 11.
56 Brooks, Cranmer in Context, 8.
57 MacCulloch, Thomas Cranmer, 34-36; Brooks, Cranmer in Context, 9.
58 Brooks, Cranmer in Context, 16. MacCulloch, Thomas Cranmer, 82-88.
59 Jasper Ridley, Thomas Cranmer (Oxford: clarendon Press, 1962), 169.
R e a l ? r e s e n c e . Sp ir it u a l ? r e s e n c e 65
with his new role as Arehbishop he ultimately had Frith burned at
the stake. In a letter to Nieholas Hawkins, Cranmer states that he
repeatedly attempted to persuade Frith to reeant, finding his denial
of Christs corporal presence in the eucharist notably erroneous .
As late as 1537, Cranmer remained sharply critical of O eolam padius
and Zwinglis denials of Christs vera presenta (true presence) in the
eucharist. His concern was based largely on the conriction that some
version of real presence was explicitly taught by the early church
fathers, and the thought of the church being in error for so long dis-
turhed him.61
But by 1538, there were clear indications that Cranmer, though
preserring a notion of real presence, had begun to question transub-
stantiation, going so far as to admit to Thomas Cromwell in a letter
that he found the anti-transubstantiation teachings of Adam Damplip
somewhat persuasive.^ Some argue that at this point and for sev-
eral subsequent years, Cranmer went through a vaguely Lutheran
phase in his eucharistie theology, during which he remained strongly
opposed to Zwinglian intei^retations even as he left behind the Ar-
istetelian metaphysical eategories that funded the doctrine of tran-
substantiation.63 The fact that Cranmer presided in 1538 over the
execution of John Lambert for denying real presence, and at least
half-heartedly opposed the ratification of The Six Articles of 1539
on points related to the language of transubstantiation provide evi-
dence that Cranmer continued to hold to real presence in some
sense, but not transubstantiation, by 1538-1539 .
The initial movements of the final phase in Cranmers evolving
view on eucharistie presence are nearly impossible te determine.
60 Thomas Cranmer, Miscellaneous Writings Letters o f Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr 1556, ed. John Edmund Cox (Camhridge: The
University Press, 1846), 246; MaeCulloeh, Thomas Cranmer, 101.
61 HalJ, Cranmers Relations with Erasmianism and Lutheranism, 24-25; Mac-
Culloeh, Thomas Cranmer, 180-181.
62 Cranmer, Miscellaneous Writings and Letters, 375-376. 8ee also Hall, Cran-
mers Relations with Erasmianism and Lutheranism, 25-26; MacCulloeh, Thomas
Cranmer, 182-183; Ridley, Thomas Cranmer, 168-170.
63 Brooks, Thomas Cranmers Doctrine ofthe Eucharist, 12, 21-37. See also Mae-
Culloeh, Thomas Cranmer, 181-182.
64 Ridley, Thomas Cranmer, 176, 182-183; Hall, Crmmers Relations with Eras-
mianism and Lutheranism, 25-27; and j. 1. Packers introduetion to Thomas Cran-
mer, The Work of Thomas Cranmer, ed. G. E. Duffield (Philadelphia, Pa.: Fortress
Press, 1965), xvi.
Cranmers own testimony indicates that Nicholas Ridley played an im-
portant role in his shift from real presence toward an increasing ten-
dency to speak of a kind of spiritual presence an especially shocking
transition when one remembers that Cranmer had played no small
part in the executions of eleven people conricted of denying real pres-
ence.^ Cranmer appears to have been seriously considering this final
step as early as 1546, the year before Henry VIIls death; however,
the ever-cautious Cranmer remained nearly mute on the subject until
the following year. Fascinatingly, on August 24, 1546, Henty VIII,
in a meeting with Admiral Claude dAnnebaut at which Cranmer was
present, flirted with the idea of abolishing the mass and replacing it
with a communion serrice, as a diplomatic move geared toward con-
solidating certain political g a in s t The Jtings proposal shocked Cran
mer to no end (a fact he revealed in a private letter to Ralph Morice);
perhaps this incident led to Cranmers eventual receptirity to Ridleys
disputations.^
Cranmers involvement in the parliamentary proceedings of De-
cember 1547 are taken by many to bespeak a final break from any
doctrine of real presence, with the clear affirmation of a purely me-
mnria] notion of the oblation and sacrifice of Christ in the mass.ee
Yet, debate remains as to the timing and nature of Cranmers shift
especially in light of inconsistencies such as the ambiguous Catechis-
mas, published in 1548, in which he seemed to espouse real presence,
with the bread and the wine described in no uncertain terms as the
veray bodye and veray blode of Christ. Although such incon-
sistencies served critics (notably Stephen Gardiner) very well in the
disputes o ^ b s e q u e n t years/* it should be remembered that the text
of the 1548 Catechismus was based largely on an earlier Latin work
Cranmers involvement in its translation and compilation remains
difficult to certain . According to Diarmaid MacCulloch, Far
65 MacCulloch, Thomas Cranmer, 354-355; Ridley, Thomas Cranmer254- 252 .

66 MaeCulloeh, Thomas Cranmer, 352-353.
67 Ridley, Thomas Cranmer, 254-255.
68 MaeCulloeh, Thomas Cranmer, 35?; Ridley Thomas Cranmer, 255-256.
69 Cranmer, Miscellaneous WHtings and Letters, 150.
70 Thomas Cranmer, Catechismus, that is to say, a shorte instruction into Chris-
tian religion fo r the synguler commoditie and profyte o f children and yong people
(London: Nyeolas Hyll, 1548), ccxxxv.
71 Hall, Cranmers Relations with Erasmianism and Lutheranism, 32-33.
72 Hall, Cranmers Relations with Erasmianism and L^heranism, 33; M^'Cull-
och, Thomas Cranmer, 38?, 300-^01.
R e a l P r e s e n c e , Sr ir it u a l P r e s e n c e 67
from attesting to Cranmers continuing belief in the eucharistie real
presence, the fiasco of the 1548 Catechismus should be counted as
strong eridence that by summer 1548 Cranmers eucharistie th eo lo ^
had decisively crossed the Rubicon. *Even so, the text in question
prorided fodder for Cmnmers theological and political opponents.
In any case, in the Prayer of Consecration in the 1549 prayer
book Cranmer revealed a definite preference for the language of
thanksgiving and anamnesis over the medieval notion of a placatoty
sacrifice, shifting the focus toward the sacrifice of Christ on the cross,
who made there (by his one oblation of himself once offered) a full,
perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins
of the whole world.74 Yet even this work was deemed unacceptable
by the reform-minded, thanks especially to Gardiners underhanded
praise of its structural similarity to the Catholic canon. Its moderate
tone ensured revilement from all sideswhich surely faetored into
Cranmers desire to clarify his position in A Defence ( 5 /
Cranmers Final Eucharstic Doctrine
Debate about the nature and timing of Cranmers doctrinal evo-
lution notwithstanding, A Defence is uteversally recognized as the
culmination of Cranmers development in the matter of eucharistie
doctrine. This works character as Cranmers final say on the matter
holds true despite Cranmers wavering and recantation in the final
months of his life (followed nearly immediately by a recantation of
his initial recantation) events which should be understood as a sepa-
rate issue.76 Its writing was motivated by Gardiners A Detection o f
the D e a ls Sophistry,77 and was in turn answered by Gardiner, calling
forth yet another refutation from Cranmer, followed by two further
c h a n g e s . A Defence was written originally in English and ran te
73 MacCullach, Thomas Cranmer, 391.

74 c. w. Dugmore, The Mass and the English Reformers (London: S em illa n ,
1958), 133; and Cranmer, Miscellaneous Wntings and Letters, 136.
75 Rrooks, Cranmer in Context, 70; Davis, Examination of Thomas Cranmers
Doetrine of the Eueharist, 20-21.
76 See MaeCulloeh, Thomas Cranmer, 554.
77 Stephen Gardiner, A Detection ofthe Deuils Sophistre Wherwith He Robbeth
the Vnlearned People, ofthe True Byleef in the Most Blessed Sacrament ofthe Aulter
(London: John Hereford, 1546); Arthur James Mason, Thomas Cranmer (London:
Methuen & Co., 1898), 133.
three editions w ithin the year oits ^ b lication .^ A French transa-
tion appeared the next year, followed hy a Latin edition in 553.
A Defence has five sections, reflecting foe major aspects of foe
eucharistie debate: (1) a positive statement of foe true and cathohc
doctrine of the eucharist; (2) a rebuttal of tran^stantiation; (3) an
account of foe correct understanding of Christs eucharistie presence;
(4) regarfong foe eating and drinking of Christs body and blood; and
(5) an argument for a reused understanding of the oblation and sacri-
fice of Christ, in which Cranmer argues against the notion of Christs
repeated sacrifice in the mass, suggesting instead that foe communi-
cants should offer themselves as sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving
to God.79
Two major concepts undergird Cranmers eucharistie theolo^.
The first is belief in foe Reformation doctrine of justification by faith
alone, based solely on Christs completed work. This seems to have
been the dri^ng force behind Cranmers re^sion of foe medieval pla-
catoty notion, as seen in the final section ofA Defence. The second is
Cranmers notion of the sacraments as ^risible words communicating
Christ to our eies, mouthes, handes and al our senses, just as preach-
ing communicates Christ to our ears.^ Cranmers intent is clear:
the purpose of the eucharist, as with evety sacrament, is to nourish foe
spiritual life of the believer, engendering a deep sense of foe reality of
Christs work in and for foem -*
Cranmer emphasizes repeatedly a kind of spiritual (though not
real) presence of Christ in the eucharist: For figuratiuely he is in foe
breade and wyne, and spiritually he is in them that worthyly eate and
drinke the bread and wyne, but really, (anally, and corporally he is
onely in heauen, frome whence he shall come to iudge foe quycke
and deade.82
Note that for Cranmer there is a twofold presence of Christ in
the eucharist: thefigurative presence, which he sees as a signification
added to the bread and wine by Christs words; and foe spiritual pres-
ence, which is only a reality for those that worthyly eate and drinke,
78 Davis, Examination otThomas Cranmers Doctrine othe Eucharist, 21.

79 Darts, Examination oThomas Cranmers Doctrine of foe Eucharist, 22.
80 Cranmer, A Defence, 10.
R e a l P r e s e n c e , Sp ir it u a l P r e s e n c e 69
by which Cranmer is referring te the recipients dispesitien of faith in
the reality e f Christs work on his or her behalf.83
This subjective aspect to the spiritual presence of Christ and
its efficacy for spiritual nourishment is distinctive of Cranmer. He
clearly espouses something more than pure Zwinglian memorialism
Cranmer insists on the spiritual presence of Christ for those who par-
take in faith, and repeatedly references the spiritual nourishment de-
rived from partaking of the eucharist in a worthy manner. And yet,
while Peter Brooks asserts that Cranmers doctrine is essentially Cal-
vinist or Bucerian, Cyril Richardson argues that Cranmer is neither
Calvinist nor Bucerian precisely at the cardinal point of sacramental
theolo^: in a manner much more Zv^nglian than Brooks is inclined
to admit, Richardson believes Cranmer rejects ^rticipation in the
substance of Christ.84
Cranmers Appropriation o f Ambrose

This brings us finally to the primary question of this paper: what
is the nature and quality of Cranmers appropriation of Ambrose in his
articulation of Christs presence in the eucharist?
Cranmer and the Fathers
Cranmers confident use of the fathers in A Defence is striking.

Indeed, his forceful appropriation of the fathers in A Defence ac-
counts for some of the more serious charges brought against Cran-
mer in 1554 during the disputation on the mcharist, ranging from
corruption of the patristic texts to evil translating and purposeful
misuse.85 A campaign to discredit Cranmers learning climaxed with
his examination at Oxford, where an assembly of supposed scholars
condemned him as unlearned, unskilful, [and] impudent.88
83 G. w. Bromiley, Thomas Cranmer: Theologian (Oxford: Oxford University

?ress, 1956), 76.
84 Cranmer, A Defence, 66. See alse Cyril c. Riehardson, Rertew: Thomas Cran-
mers Doctrine ofth e Eucharist by Reter Brooks, Anglican Theological Review 47,
no. 3 (Spring 1965): 312; Brooks, Thomas Cranmers Doctrine o f the Eucharist,
70-71; and Gordon E. Pruett, A Protestant Doctrine ofth e Eucharistie Presence,
Calvin Theological Journal 10 (1975): 142-174.
85 John Eoxe, The Acts and Monuments ofjohn Foxe, ed. George Townsend, vol.
VI (London: Seeley, Burnside, & Seeley, 1843-9), 4604 6 1 , 4 6 0 467.
86 Foxe, Acts and Monuments, 436.
Such an assessment is hardly fair, and has largely been discred-
ited.87 However, little has been done to assess the quality of Cran-
mers usage ofthe patristic sources, though some have noted Cranmers
tendency to downplay realist language in his translations and inter-
pretations.^ Certainly Cranmers work falls squarely within a much
larger trend, evident both on the continent and in England. With the
rise of the new learning, coupled with the eagerness ofth e reform-
ers to multiply their precursors and of Catholics to demonstrate the
perpetuity and apostolic origin of their beliefs and practices, the six-
teenth centuty was a veritable storm of polemically-loaded patristic
investigation.^
Cranmers gradation toward E ra^ am influenced new learn-
ing ensured that he had both the disposition and the abilities required
for patristic study. He stocked his libraty with the most up-to-date
editions of patristic sources. He regarded his library as a theologi-
cal arsenal he was no bibliophile. He wanted his books new with
their margins clear so that annotations could be made in them. *In-
deed, Cranmers scholarly engagement extends to an awareness ofthe
then-current debates surrounding Ambroses authorship of rays-
tenis and De saeramentis.92 Rather than referring to patristic writ-
ers as fathers, Cranmer, in good medieval scholastic fashion, calls
them authors and their texts authorities, in a manner too consis-
tent to be unintentional.^ His usage speaks of a special regard for
the ancient authors (over the m odem i) coupled with a desire to avoid
nuances of church-sanctioned authority inherent in terms like fath-
era and even doctora. In any case, Cranmers position on foe fathers
authority was fundamentally ?rotestant: Cranmers authorities are of
weight only in so far as they conform to the properinterpretation ofthe
scriptures.^
87 Walsh, Cranmer and the Fathers, 229.

89 WiJliam F. Haaugaard, Renaissance Fatristie Scholarship and Theolo^ in
Sirteenth-Centuty England, The Sixteenth Century Journal 10, no. 3 (1979): 37-60,
40. See also Walsh, Cranmer and the Fathers, 232.
90 Quantin, The Church ofEngland and Christian Antiquity, 26.
92 See Cranmer, Defence, 63.
93 Quantin, The Church ofEngland and Christian Antiquity, 26; Walsh, Cranmer
and the Fathers, 237.
94 Walsh, Cranmer and the Fathers, 238. Compare Quantin, The Church ofEn-
gland and Christian Antiquity, 26.
The Role o f Ambrose in Cranm ers A Defence
Although Augustine is the patristic writer that looms largest in
Cranmers work, Ambroses place is not insignificant. A Defence men-
tions Ambrose twenty tim es.^ The use of Ambrose in reformers eu-
charistic polemics was hardly u n ^ e c e d ^ te d -e d itio n s of Ambroses
works had been abundantly av^lable since the late 1400s, and Zwingli
made extensive use of Ambroses De sacramentis in a 1523 effort to
demonstrate the nn-uniform ity of early church liturgies.^ Cranmer
himself, unsurprisingly, made use of the most recent (and most re-
liable) critical edition of Ambroses works: the four-volume edition
prepared by Erasmus in 1527.97
Instances of Ambroses appearance in A Defence can be divided
into iwo categories: either he is marshaled in support of Cranmers
own riews, or else he is mentioned as a case study of (what Cranmer
sees as) Papist misuses of ancient texts, o f the toênty mentions of
Ambrose in A Defence, seventeen relate specifically to De mysteriis
and De sacramentis; these mentions appear in four groups.
In foe first group, Cranmer simultaneously refutes foe Papists
interpretation of key Ambrosian texts and provides his own alternative
interpretation. Within the context of his broader arguments against
tinsubstantiation, Cranmer points out that although Ambrose does
declare the alteration of breade and wyne into the body and bloud
of Christe, the change he describes is not such that the nature and
substance of bread and wine be gone, but that through grace, there is
a spirituall mutation by the mightye power of God.98 Much in keep-
ing with our analysis of Ambroses doctrine above, Cranmer contends
that the main thrust of Ambroses argument is the active power of
God, spiritually present and effecting spiritual changes. He bolsters
this interpretation by pointing out, quite rightly, that Ambrose himself
uses the illustration of the change wrought in a human by baptism: if

96 Irena Backus, Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer and the Church Eathers, in The
Reception ofthe Church Fathers in the West: From the Carolingians to the Maurists,
ed. Irena Backus, vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 630.
97 Ambrose, Divi Ambrosii Episcopi Mediolanensis Omnia Opera, ed. Erasmus
Desiderius (Basileae, Switzerland: j. Erobenius, 1527); Walsh, Cranmer and the Ea-
thers, 235, fn. 24; Jan den Boeft, Erasmus and foe Church Eathers, in The Recep-
tion ofthe Church Fathers in West: From the Carolingians to the Maurists, ed.
Irena Backus, vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 565.
Ambrose is being at all eonsistent, a change 0 nature could not mean
a change of substance.^
In the second cluster of Ambrose quotations, Cranmer translates
and quotes two passages from Ambrose at length.100 Examining the
illustrations Ambrose uses to prove that grace is of more force than
nature, Cranmer demonstrates again that Ambrose is not positing
a substantial change.101 Rather, Ambrose insists that Gods power is
capable of changing things natural qualities such that, though they
remain substantially themselves, they behave in unusual ways. The
water of the Red Sea, though remaining water, stood up like a wall
te let the people of Israel pass through; like^ se, the ]ordan River
temporarily ceased flowing according te its regular pattern. None of
these examples indicate a ubstantial c h a n g e . R a t h e r , Ambrose is
making a point about the power of God, with the rhetorical goal of
engendering faith in the hearers, convincing them that the simple
bread and wine can become the means by which they become nour-
ished by Christ spiritually. Cranmer then calls forth three additional
examples from De sacramentis IV: the change undergone by a human
when regenerated by Gods power involves no change of substance;
the Incarnation of Christ is likewise a change wherein no substance
perishes; and Anally, though the water of baptism remains water, the
power of the Holy Spirit comes upon it so as te cause true spiritual
transformation in foe baptized.100
In the third group of Ambrose quotations, Cranmer shifts his ar-
gument to an emphasis on plain grammar and definitions: Ambrose,
he notes correctly, repeatedly refers to the saeraments as simili-
tudes, significations, and figures of foe body and blood of Christ.
What can this mean, Cranmer asks, but that the bread and wine is
not really and corporally foe very natural substance of the flesh and
bloud of Christ, but that the bread and wyne be similitudes, mysteries
and representacions, rignifications, sacramentes, figures and signes of
his body and bloud?104 Here, Cranmer cites with approval the idea
that in partaldng of foe eucharist, we become partakers of grace and
99 Cranmer, Defence, 26-27.

100 Cranmer, A Defence, 41-43.
101 Cranmer, Defence, 41
2
vertue and Christs true nature, that is, his godly substanee.*^
This not only proves again that Cranmer was hardly Zwinghan, but
even suggests he was closer to the Calvinist view of eucharistie pres-
ence than interpreters such as Richardson have been inclined to
admit.
In the fourth and final group of Cranmers appeals to Ambrose,
we see a continued emphasis on grammatical rtraighriorwardness.
Citing Ambroses assertion in De sacramentis IV that at the words of
consecration the bread becomes Christs body, Cranmer points out
that, in addition to the fact that Ambrose demonstrably was not refer-
ring to a substantial t^ sform ation, the word consecration simply
means a kind of setting apart for a particular purpose: Consecration
is the separation of anye thing from a prophane and wordely vse, vnto
a spirituall and godly vse.*^ Armed with this simple definition, Cran-
mer states that when common water is taken for the use of baptism,
it may rightly be called con secrated -it has been set apart for a holy
use. The case with the onsecration of the bread and wine is no differ-
ent, to Cranmers way of thinking: consecration implies no mutation
of substance, but rather a change of use or purpose.
Concluding Remarks
Far from merely hijacking Ambrose for his own polemical pur-
poses, Cranmer in A Defence uses Ambrose in a manner both circum-
spect and appropriate; indeed, his interpretation of key Ambrosian
texts prefigures some of the best recent interpretations of the same.
Furthermore, Cranmer gives due attention to Ambroses use of key
terms, drawing on their immediate context in order to gain a feller
uderstanding of Ambroses intentions and rhetorical goals. It even
seems that Cranmer and Ambrose shared a similar disposition and
m ofe/atiom both sincerely desired to help their hearers approach fee
sacraments with an attitude of faith in fee power and presence of
God. In Cranmers eyes, Ambrose was not an obstacle to be explained
away. Rather, Ambroses feeology may have factored positively into
Cranmer own stance. Evidence abounds that Cranmer attitude to-
ward patristic sources in general was one of measured respect, and
his attitude toward Ambrose and Ambroses eucharistie doctrine is no

74 Anglican E cological Review
exception. The persistent confusion surrounding Cranmers under-
standing of Christs presence in the eucharist may well he assuaged
by seeing how Cranmers position was deeply grounded in his own
interpretation of the church fathers, including Ambrose. Accordingly,
despite Cranmers doctrinal shifts and inconsistent term inlo^, a sur-
prisingly steady emphasis on Christs effective spiritual presence in
the eucharist can be detected in Cranmers writings, emerging espe-
cially in A Defence. This consistent sensibility becomes visible against
the backdrop of Cranmers careful appropriation of Ambroses De
mysteriis and De sacramentis.
ATR/97.1
Evelyn Underhill and the Virgin Mary

C a r o l H . Po s t o n *
Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) was a guiding light in Anglican

spituality in the twentieth century, and her best-known works,
Mysticism (1911) and Worship (1936) are still read and studied
today. A prolific wntertheologian, poet, novelistshe is fire-
quently anthologized. Her early life and writingsthose under-
taken before she became an actively-committed member of the
Church ofEngland in the 1920sare, with the exception of Mys-
ticism, less well-known. This article examines the early works that
treat the Virgin Mary, and explain how that subject may have in-
fluenced the pacifism she later embraced. A feminist reading of
those early works also suggests biographical links to her care
for souls, or spitual direction, and to her ownfamily. The duti-
ful child of somewhat remote and distant parents, herself in a
childless marnage, Underhills spitual nurture by way ofMary
helps explain both her spitual growth and her role as a spitual
directorio others.
Evelyn Underhills sueeess as a prolific British writer on mysti-

cism, spiritual formation, worship, and religion in the first three de-
cades of the twentieth century has occasioned much discussion about
how a woman of her time, class, education, and upbringing could
have made her mark in a field which, throughout the preceding cen-
turies, had been dominated hy professional male theologians, she was
largely self-educated, with a hrief three years away as a teenager at a
* Carol H. ?oston is ?rotessor Emrita o English, Saint Xarier University, chi-

cago. She is the editor of Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication ofthe Rights ofWoman
in the Norton Critieal Editions series (1975, second edition 1988); ofWollstonecrafts
Letters Wrtten dung a short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (Uni-
versity of Nebraska ?ress, 1978); and the principal author of Reclaiming Our Lives:
Hope fo r Adult Survivors of Incest (Eirtle, Brown, 1989). Her most recent book is
The Making ofa Mystic: New and Selected Letters ofEvelyn Underhill (University of
Illinois Press, 2010), the first such collection of Underhills correspondence since the
wartime edition hy Charles Williams, and the only one with scholarly annotation.
75
76 Anglican Theological
middling Warding school in Folkestone and two years of courses in
botany and h ito ty a t what was then Kings College for Women in Lon-
don, and was baptized and confirmed by conventional but not espe-
cially religious parents in the Church of England. Underhill might
more predictably have been headed toward an upper-middle class
ladys life in Edwardian England, complete with servants, house, and
a solicitor husband with a social circle, presiding over a tea table, a
brood of children, and the charity bazaars for which her mother had
trained her. Yet at her lifes end not only was she an experienced and
well-lcnown spiritual director; she had also served as religious editor
of the r e j e t a b le Spectator, had published more than thirty-nine
books and N u m erab le articles and poems, had helped to spearhead
the rerival of religious retreats in the Established church, and had
developed intellectual and friendly relationships with a range of theo-
logians and scholars. According to Michael Ramsey, Underhill had
done more than anyone else to keep the spiritual life alive in Angli-
canism in the bewildering years betiveen the wars.* To this opinion
of the redoubtable former Archbishop of Canterbuty, a present-day
theologian, Todd Johnson, has added that Underhill had helped to
form a foeological synthesis using foe Spirit that is more at home in
our age than her own, which reflected the mind of a woman years
ahead of her time.^
But that promise was not erident in her young life. At boarding
school she dutifully attended fourch and spoke ligfoheartedly in let-
ters to her mother about the walties, foe sermons by the Reverend
Russell Wakefield, vicar at Sandgate and later Rishop of Birmingham.
By the end of the centuty, now in her twenties, she had developed an
interest in the Roman Catholic Church, owing to her many visits to
Italy as well as her close friendship with Ethel Ross Barker, a Girton-
educated iêllectual who also felt the pull of Roman Catholicism. To-
gether they attended retreats at a Franciscan convent in Southampton
and made friends with the Mother Superior, but while Barker finally
was converted, Underhill remained behind, ostensibly because she
could not accept the tenets of Pascendi Gregorii, ?ius Xs papal encyc-
lical condemning Modernism in the church. That Roman Catholicism
1 Michael Ramsey, foreword to Christopher Armstrong, Evelyn Underhill: An In-

troduction to Her Life and Wntings (Crand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing,
1975), 10.
2 Todd Johnson, The Three Faces of Evelyn Underhill, in foe Evelyn Underhill
Newsletter 7 [1997]: 3.
E v e l y n U n d e r h i l l a n d t h e V ir g in M ary 77
was the magnet for her engagement in relgûs orthodoxy is made

elear in her novis and in many of her early letters from Italy, where
she made nearly annual visits with her mother after 1898. They refleet
a lively young womans voraeious appetite for new seenes and plaees,
a hunger fed by her exposure there to medieval and Renaissance Ital-
ian art and a warm-blooded spirituality that must have seemed far
removed from the deeorous Anglican praetiees of her girlhood.
Underhills flnal deeision to remain an Angliean does not negate
the fact that early in her life she held a surprisingly intimate view,
one by no means typical of many Anglicans then or now, of the pro-
tective motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Maty. That view, I believe,
contributed to her basic Christian foation. There may well be
deeply rooted personal reasons for her growing interest in, and ac-
knowledgment of, the place of Maty in spiritual devotion. In addition,
that relationship was a linchpin in her early formation as a Christian
spiritual director in what she called her care for souls. Biographical
peculation about childrearing comes up not only with her lifelong
love of cats over children, but her seeming indifference to traditional
expectations of a woman of her class and her apparent aloofness te
children.^ Her interpretation of motherhood, since her own mother
appears to have been somewhat remote and she herself was childless,
would come to fruition in her mature understanding of sacrifice that
characterized her later years. Indeed, the question of Underhills at-
traction to the Virgin remains profoundly theological and is bound
up in her ideas of the Incarnation, of Christian sacrifice, and, I would
submit, her later embrace of pacifism at the end of her life.
Despite her wide travels and her early interest in Roman Catholi-
cism, Underhills fealty to Maty remains surprising for a woman ofher
nationality, class, and time. Her childhood friend and future husband
Hubert 8tuart-Moore, who was to pursue a career as a solicitor special-
izing in maritime law, confessed discomfort with her religious interest
and worries about her possible conversion. We do not know whether
Huberts views were finally responsible for quenching her early at-
traction to Rome, but those views certainly reflected a longstanding
suspicion among Anglicans about what was disparagingly termed
3 In correspondence to a Iriend during the bomhing o World War II, she wrote
0 being asked to teach religious Jmowledge to a class o30 boys & girls l i to 14!
Quite an experiment for me I know nix about teaching children! See The Making
of a Mystic: New and Selected Letters ofEvelyn Underhill, ed. Carol Poston (Urbana,
111.: University Illinois Press, 2010), 331.
Mariolatry. John Henry Newman rem aned uncomfortable with the
more Italianate forms of Marian devotion even after his intellectual
acceptance of her place in the doctrine of the Incarnation, and con-
fessed his discomfort as late as his Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864): Such
devotional manifestations in honour of our Lady had been my great
crux as regards Catholicism; I say frankly, I do not enter into them even
now; I trust I do not love her the less, because I cannot enter into them.
They may be fully explained and defended; but sentiment and taste do
not run with logic: they are suitable for Italy, but they are not suitable
for England.^ A sense of remoteness from the Vatican hierarchy was
likewise evident among certain English families (the Old Catholics)
whose loyalty to Rome had persisted throughout the period of the
Elizabethan settlement butwho also exhibited a c^m cteristic English
suspicion of all things Italian, a suspicion aggravated by the rise of the
!^tramontane party in the Roman church and the declaration of papal
infallibility at the Vatican Council of 1870. Finally, English middle- and
upper-middle class aî-Catholicism had been fueled at mid-centuty
by Irish iraigration , particularly into the Midlands. The converts
were not as numerous as some had feared in the wake of Newman
much-publicized defection, but English distrust of Rome, if inflated,
was by no means felly assuaged in all quarters.
The seminal idea of sacrifice, that quality of surrender and char-
ity that underlies fee mystical life, was to penetrate all of Underhills
theological works, beginning in the first decade of her writing career.
After her highly successful first novel, The Grey World (1904), the
theme of sacrifice is particularly evident in feree works: The Mira-
cles o f Our Lady Saint Mary (1906); a second novel, The Lost Word
(1907); and The Spiral Way (1912), which follows closely upon her
first major (and still enduring) work. Mysticism (1911). This decade
was also marked by her marriage to Hubert in 1907. This remarkably
fertile period comes at a time when Underhill had not settled her
reliôus commitments and was not affiliated with any church or in-
stitution. She was dealing intellectually and creatively with a complex
of ideas that remained fresh and urgent for the rest of her life, as will
be evident when we turn briefly te Worship (1986), The M ystery of
Sacrifice (1987), and several late essays on pacifism.
4 }ohn Henry Newman, Apologia Fro Vita Sua, Being a History of His Religious
Opinions, ed. Martin j. Svaglie (Oxford: clarendon, 1967), 176-177.

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Activitatea exegetic i pastoral-liturgic a Sfntului Ambrozie al Mediolanului

Sfntul Ambrozie al Mediolanului este un martor major al secolului al IV-lea

Om cu o cugetare nalt, cu o origine strlucit, cu pricepere n ale obtii,

Intensa activitate pastoral, social i politic a Sfntului Ambrozie al

Rescrierea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu n inimile credincioilor

Propovduirea i explicarea Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu erau vzute de Sfntul

Eu sunt luat de la tribunalul judectoresc; a trebuit s schimb legtura de

patristique, vol. 6: Hilarie de Poitiers, Ambroise, Ambrosiaster, ditions du Centre national de

Sfnta Scriptur hrana zilnic a sufletului

Sfntul Ambrozie este un martor major al secolului al IV-lea pentru rolul i

Avnd n vedere c nu este posibil s urmm cu precizie o ordine cro-

1. Hexaemeron (Exameron)83 cuprinde ase cri, alctuite din nou

II. Scrieri moral ascetice

Activitatea literar a Sfntului Ambrozie nu se rezum doar la explicarea

Dac ns a fi perfect (vorbesc numai pentru a da un exemplu, cci n

n a doua carte, Sfntul Ambrozie a scris cu precdere despre ceea ce este

Este evident deci, c trebuie a ine dreapta msur n artarea drniciei,

III. Scrieri dogmatice

Scrierile dogmatice ale Sfntului Ambrozie au, de asemenea, un scop

1. De fide ad Gratianum Augustum libri quinque (Cinci cri despre credin

B. Explicarea Sfintelor Taine:

1. Explanatio symboli ad initiandos (Explicarea Simbolului de Credin

1. De excessu fratris (Despre moartea fratelui [Satyrus])248, scris

Aceeai scrisoare adresat episcopului Sabinus de Placentia este foarte

Activitatea exegetic a Sfntului Ambrozie are un caracter profund pasto-

i acum Se preumbl prin rai (Facerea 3, 8), cnd eu citesc Sfintele

Mntuitorul Iisus Hristos este singurul interpret al Sfintei Scripturi, uni-

SUMMARY: Scriptural Piety reflected in Saint Ambrose

Saint Ambrose of Mediolanum is a major witness of the fourth century

Pr. tefan Zar

Este autor al volumului Taina Cununiei n teologia

CONCORDIA JOURNAL/MAY 1981 109

CONCORDIA JOURNAL/MAY 1981 111

CONCORDIA JOURNAL/MAY 1981 113

The ATLA Serials (ATLAS) collection contains electronic versions of previously

Mystagogy and Mystery

As a buzzword, mystagogy has had quite a resurgence of popularity

Mary Ann Clarahan

HOW HAS THE C H R I S T I A N T R A D I T I O N UNDERSTOOD

Mystagogy and Mystery

Mary Ann Clarahan

Mystagogy and Mystery

WHAT CLUES DO WE GET FROM THE MYSTAGOGUE

SUMMARY: Scriptural Piety reflected in Saint Ambrose