Abstract
In the context of Ambrose's understanding of God's revelation and human knowledge of God, the concept of 'secret' and 'mystery' plays a key part. The paper analyses the term arcanum, one of the words used for this concept, in the corpus of Ambrose's work.
The research argues that, for Ambrose, the expression is a meeting place of the Classic and Christian tradition, of religious knowledge and the knowledge confided by friends, of the divine essence and human interior, of the Word-Bridegroom and Church-Bride. The object of this arcanum is Christ of the Nicene faith, God and man and this faith is indispensable for the knowledge of the mystery of God.
This understanding of the 'secret' may change our understanding of the disciplina arcani, the ancient ecclesiastical custom to keep silence regarding Christian mysteries. Possible inspiration of Ambrose's thought on the subject is suggested both to the world of science and the recent documents of the Catholic Church.