Originally published at crisis magazine
The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor, on December 7. By liturgical standards, he’s important. Not only is his an obligatory memorial (i.e., you have to celebrate it), but it’s an obligatory memorial in Advent.
Saints—especially saints of the early Church—were often the subjects of classical art. Great painters often depicted them, and especially signature moments from their lives, in their paintings.
One of those great painters depicting a great saint was the master of Flemish Baroque, Peter Paul Rubens. His subject was St. Ambrose. The specific painting I have in mind is “St. Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius,” which Rubens painted around 1615 and which today is held by the famous Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. (Rubens’ student Anthony van Dyck produced a similar painting which hangs in London’s National Gallery.)
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The painting depicts St. Ambrose barring the way to Emperor Theodosius as the latter sought to enter the Cathedral of Milan. We need something of the backstory.
St. Ambrose was the great fourth-century bishop of Milan. A major reason he was chosen for that See was his opposition to the Arian heresy,
