Letter 49

From: Ambrose, Bishop of Milan To: The clergy and people of Vercelli Date: ~396 AD Context: A lengthy letter to the troubled church at Vercelli providing detailed guidance on the election and qualities of a bishop, combined with a strong defense of clerical celibacy and monastic discipline. Ambrose to the church at Vercelli — greetings in the Lord. I have written to you before about your need for a bishop. Now I must write again, with more specific guidance, because the problems in your church have not lessened but grown. You need a bishop who combines three things: personal holiness, doctrinal soundness, and administrative competence. This combination is rarer than you might think. Many men are holy but cannot govern. Many are learned but lack the common touch. Many are efficient administrators but have no prayer life. You need all three, because the bishop's office demands all three. On the question of clerical continence: I know this is controversial, but I will not soften the teaching. Those who serve at the altar should live lives of continence — not because the body is evil, but because the demands of the ministry are total. The man who is divided between family and flock will inevitably shortchange one or both. I point to the example of the blessed Eusebius [Eusebius of Vercelli, d. 371, the first Western bishop to combine the monastic life with the episcopal office], who was your founding father in both senses. He showed that a bishop could live as a monk — and that the monastery was not a retreat from the world but a school for service in it. I do not impose this as a new rule; I recall it as an old one. The apostle Paul wished that all might be as he was — undivided in their devotion (1 Corinthians 7:7). Not all can accept this, and I do not condemn those who cannot. But for those who seek the episcopal office, the standard must be higher than for the laity. Choose wisely, Vercelli. The bishop you elect now will shape your church for a generation. Make certain he is the man God wants, not merely the man some faction prefers. Farewell in Christ.

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