Everyone’s heard the expression, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Few, however, know that the adage owes its origin to two doctors of the Church: St. Ambrose and Saint Augustine.
In the thirty-sixth of his catalogued Epistles, St. Augustine wrote to a friend named Casulanus concerning the matter of fasting, a practice much more common in the early Church than it is now. Scripture exhorts us to fast, but does not tell us when or how often to do so, therefore, the Church regulates this matter by establishing a prescribed minimum for us. At St. Augustine’s time, however, practices differed from place to place. Casulanus wondered what to do when he traveled: take up the practice of the locale in which he found himself, or keep his home customs wherever he went? St. Augustine had a ready answer for his friend. St. Monica, Augustine’s mother, had wondered the same thing years before, when her son was still a catechumen. Not being able to answer her, he consulted St. Ambrose on the matter, who gave this answer: “What else can I recommend to others than what I do myself. . . When I am here [Milan] I do not fast on Saturday; but when I am at Rome I do: whatever church you may come to, conform to its custom, if you would avoid either receiving or giving offense.”
After a bit of verbal evolution, we have the expression in its popular form: “When in Rome . . .”
