St. Ambrose, where art thou?

As Archie Bunker might say, "Mister we could use a man like Saint Ambrose again!"

In AD 380 the Roman Emperor Theodosius made belief in Christianity mandatory by decree. Theodosius took for granted the close relationship between his own will and God's. The emperor was thought of as a "demigod" who represented God on earth.

St Ambrose wrote to Emperor Theodosius in the year AD 390: “I cannot deny that you have a zeal for the faith, and that you fear God, but you have a naturally passionate spirit which becomes un-governable when you are excited. I call on you to repent. You can only atone for your sin by tears, by penitence, by humbling your soul before God. You are a man, and as you have sinned as a man so you must repent. No angel, no archangel can forgive you. God alone can forgive you, and He forgives only those who repent.

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