El De viduis, de Ambrosio, y el De bono viduitatis, de Agustín

Abstract

The article addresses the figure of Widows in the ancient Church, making a brief summary of the literature that exists on them in the Pre-Nicene era, particularly the Apostolic Traditio, the Didascalia Apostolorum, the Ecclesiastical Constitution of the Apostles (also known as Canons of the Apostles, Egyptian Apostolic Constitution), showing that in the Pre-Nicene Church (1st-2nd centuries), widows were inserted into an ecclesial coetus. Subsequently, the article focuses on Ambrose’s De uiduis, highlighting how the Bishop of Milan inserted the widow into the Church’s life of his time, particularly underlining the works of charity they carried out, stressing their possible work in the reconciliation of women. Later, the treatise of Saint Augustine De bono uiduitatis is addressed, highlighting the role of charity that they exercised within the Church of Hippo, as well as their interaction and integration with the Consecrated Virgins and the Married.