Lately I have been learning more about the late roman empire and one of the things that sort of jumped out at me was how incredibly central Saint Ambrose was to the late 4th century. He created an incredible precedent for church power over secular power and in many ways set the stages for the quasi-theocracy that the catholic church functioned as for more than a millenia afterwards.
Specifically what I was wondering about is what effect it would have if Ambrose died trying to solve the succession crisis in Milan (where he IOTL was hailed as bishop) perhaps by having the almost riot at the time turn into an actual riot before he gets a chance to speak, and him then getting caught in the ensuing violence.
His death would mean a worsening of the situation in Milan and quite possibly on an imperial scale as the compromise candidates that could work the same way Ambrose did are few and far between. Another aspect would be that the Nicean Creed would lack one of its greatest proponents which would mean a more even split between the various creeds. Further, Saint Ambrose played an incredibly large part in the reigns of Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius.
So What If Saint Ambrose Died Early?