Letter 50009: I wrote to you recently about the siege of the basilica.

From: Ambrose, Bishop of Milan To: His sister Marcellina Date: ~386 AD Context: A second letter to Marcellina providing further details of the basilica confrontation, including Ambrose's sermon to his besieged congregation and the discovery of the relics of Saints Gervasius and Protasius. Ambrose to his beloved sister. I wrote to you recently about the siege of the basilica. Let me now tell you what followed. While we were besieged in the church, I preached to the people, explaining from Scripture why we must not yield sacred things to those who profane the faith. The congregation was calm but resolute. Children asked their parents why we could not go home. The elderly sat through the night without complaint. The solidarity of that congregation was itself a sermon more powerful than anything I could have said. Then a remarkable thing occurred. The Lord revealed to me the resting place of the holy martyrs Gervasius and Protasius [two early Milanese martyrs whose existence had been forgotten until Ambrose claimed to discover their relics]. We exhumed their bodies from beneath the floor of the church of Saints Nabor and Felix, and the signs that attended this discovery were unmistakable. A blind man, Severus, known to all the city, touched the bier and his sight was restored. The Arians scoffed, of course. They always scoff at what they cannot explain. But the people saw, and their faith was strengthened. We translated the relics with great honor to the new basilica, and the whole city processed with us, singing. It was a day of triumph — not for me, but for the martyrs who had lain forgotten and now bore witness again to the faith for which they died. The court has grown quieter since. Even Justina cannot easily fight against the testimony of the dead raised to honor. I tell you these things, sister, so that you may rejoice with us and give thanks to God, who vindicates his servants in his own time and his own way.

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