Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
Search Presbyter Records
Search Evidence Records
Print:
ID
ER 1998
Ambrose of Milan (Italy) in his work "On repentance" says that Christ conceded the power to remit sins to the Apostles, and from the Apostles this power was transferred to the priestly office. Composed in Milan ca 386-390.
Book 2
 
Commenting on Heb 6:4 whether this passage, as the Novatianists claim, proves that sins cannot be remitted by repentance.
 
II.12. Possem quidem etiam illud dicere ei, qui hoc de paenitentia dictum putat, quia, quae inpossibilia sunt homini, possibilia sunt apud deum, et potens est deus, quando vult, donare nobis peccata, etiam quae putamus non posse concedi, et ideo quod nobis inpossibile inpetratu videtur, deo donare possibile est. Nam et inpossibile videbatur, ut peccatum ablueret aqua. Denique Neman Syrus lepram suam mundari per aquam posse non credidit. Sed quod inpossibile erat, fecit deus esse possibile, qui tantam nobis donavit gratiam. Similiter inpossibile videbatur per paenitentiam peccata dimitti: concessit hoc Christus apostolis suis, quod ab apostolis ad sacerdotum officia transmissum est. Factum est igitur possibile, quod inpossibile aestimabatur.
 
(ed. Faller 1955: 168-169)
Book 2
 
Commenting on Heb 6:4 whether this passage, as the Novatianists claim, proves that sins cannot be remitted by repentance.
 
II.12. And indeed I might also say to any one who thought that this passage spoke of repentance, that things which are impossible with men are possible with God; and God is able whensoever He wills to forgive us our sins, even those which we think cannot be forgiven. And so it is possible for God to give us that which it seems to us impossible to obtain. For it seemed impossible that water should wash away sin, and Naaman the Syrian [2 Kings 5: 10-14] thought that his leprosy could not be cleansed by water. But that which was impossible God made to be possible, Who gave us so great grace. In like manner it seemed impossible that sins should be forgiven through repentance, but Christ gave this power to His apostles, which has been transmitted to the priestly office. That, then, has become possible which was impossible.
 
(trans. De Romestin 1896: 346)

Place of event:

Region
  • Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia
City
  • Milan

About the source:

Author: Ambrose of Milan
Title: On the penance, De paenitentia, On the repentance, Concerning repentance
Origin: Milan (Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
In the treatise on repentance Ambrose of Milan polemicise against the views of the Novatians concerning the power of the Church to remit sins. The Novatian schism arised in 251 in the aftermath of the persecution of Decius. Its followers claimed that the lapsi, Christians who denied their faith during persecution, cannot be readmitted to communion. The schism have taken a firm root both in the East and West and its traces can still be found in the 5th century. Otto Faller noticed that the treatise does not mention the repentance of the emperor Theodosius in 390 and suggested that the treatise was written earlier. Moreover, there are noticeable similarities between "On the repentance" and the "Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam" which was written in 386. According to Faller (1955: 63*-64*) then, the treatise was written between 386 and 390.
Edition:
O. Faller ed., Sancti Ambrosii opera pars septima. Explanatio symboli. De sacramentis. De mysteriis. De paenitentia. De excessu fratris. De obitu Valentiniani. De obitu Theodosii, Coprus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 73, Wien 1955, 117-206
R. Gryson ed., Ambroise de Milan, La pénitence, Sources Chrétiennes 179, Paris 1971
 
English translation:
H. De Romestin trans., Ambrose, Concerning Repentance, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 10, ed. P. Schaff and H. Wace, Buffalo 1896
Bibliography:
J. Romer, Die theologie der Sunde und der Busse beim hl. Ambrosius, Sankt-Gallen 1968
R. Marchioro, La prassi penitenziale nel IV secolo a Milano secondo s. Ambrogio, Rome 1975

Categories:

Ritual activity - Reconciliation/Administering penance
    Theoretical considerations - On priesthood
      Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1998, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1998
      Record by: Marta Szada
      last edited: 2020-09-11 15:18:49
      Contact
      Privacy policy
      FAQ
      About the project
      Team