In the midst of this riot came Ambrose, a brilliant man who knew Greek-- which few of the Latin speakers did at the time-- and the Old Testament. He convinced the crowds to listen to him, where he spoke of the need for calm and a fair process. Just as he was wrapping up his speech the crowd began shouting, "Ambrose-- bishop!" Ambrose's eyes grew wide-- he didn't want the position of bishop! Heck, he wasn't even baptized yet! So he ran away, and hid in a friend's house. But the people soon found him and insisted that he be bishop. Soon the Emperor in Constantinople got involved and told Ambrose to be bishop. So Ambrose submitted and within a week he was baptized and made head of the church in Milan. Once he became bishop, he surrendered all of his wealth for the sake of the church and the poor.
Ambrose was a smart teacher and he was later named one of the four Latin doctors of the church. Augustine, when still an unbeliever, heard Ambrose teach one day and determined that perhaps Christian preachers weren't stupid after all.
But Ambrose truly made his mark by enduring through the calamitous times, keeping the peace and retaining his convictions. He was a Trinitarian, and he made sure that the various churches under his care were Trinitarian, but he also kept the peace. When the Arian empress Justinia tried to close down all of his churches, he kept them open, even, at times by barring the doors from mobs that tried to take over church buildings.
No matter which way the world went, Ambrose stuck by his convictions, and remained faithful to God and to God's peace. He never harmed another, but remained true to them and to God.
