A.D. 381 heretics, pagans, and the dawn of the monotheistic state ( PDFDrive )

faith, they issued a law on 23 January 386 confirming that those who supported
the creed laid down by Constantius II at Rimini and Seleucia, and subsequently
at Constantinople in 360 - in other words the Homoian faith - should be
guaranteed the freedom of assembly. The wording of the law made it clear that
this was an affirmation of existing rights, not the creation of new privileges. Any
‘tumult’ against this law would be treated as treason. It was decided that the
emperor himself would hold a major service at Easter in early April, and nine
days before the feast a court official approached Ambrose with a formal request
to use the Basilica Nova, the city’s cathedral. If there were any disturbances,
Ambrose himself would be held accountable. Ambrose had to be careful, and he
responded by claiming that Church tradition did not allow a priest to hand over a
church. The court countered by reiterating its earlier demand for the Basilica
Portiana, and occupied the building, which was soon decorated with the imperial
insignia.
Ambrose could not be seen to be instigating any opposition, and so it was that
a ‘spontaneous crowd’ swarmed off to the Basilica Portiana. Troops were
dispatched by the court to guard the entrances, with orders that they should let
people in but not out again in the hope that they would eventually capitulate if
left without food. Preaching in the cathedral, Ambrose skilfully portrayed
himself and his own faith as under siege, and roused congregations not to open
demonstration but to quiet resistance within both basilicas. He proclaimed that if
he was attacked in any way, he would be a martyr. However, he remained
exceptionally vulnerable, even more so when news came through that those
protesting inside the Basilica Portiana had taken down the imperial hangings and
had damaged them in the process. This could be construed as a direct insult to
the emperor and liable to be punished severely.
In the event, it was the court that gave way. Many of the soldiers sent to the
Basilica Portiana were Nicenes and susceptible to Ambrose’s insistence that they
would be betraying their faith before God. Some even deserted their posts. The
court simply could not risk a refusal to obey orders or a massacre of Ambrose’s
supporters if they did stand firm. In addition, an ominous letter arrived for
Valentinian from Maximus intimating that the young emperor would only
survive in power if he supported the Nicene faith, which Maximus had already
adopted. Valentinian gave in. The troops were withdrawn by the court and an
uneasy calm descended on Milan. Ambrose was still subject to any direct
enforcement of the law of 23 January, but his manipulation of the situation had
been masterful.