Synagogue set on fire by the crowd led by the bishop; Theodosius relinquishes demanding its reconstruction under pressure from Ambrose of Milan

At Callinicum, on the Euphrates, a crowd led by the city's bishop set fire to the synagogue. Theodosius, informed of the matter, ordered what Roman law prescribed: that the bishop rebuild it at his own expense and that the guilty parties be punished.

Ambrose, bishop of Milan, opposed this by letter, then from his pulpit in the presence of the emperor: he held it inadmissible that a bishop should build a place of Jewish worship, and declared himself ready to personally assume responsibility for the fire. Theodosius yielded and withdrew his order.

The significance of the episode extends beyond the event itself: until then, imperial law had protected synagogues as lawful property, and this protection had just been publicly defeated by episcopal authority. Later codes would continue to forbid the destruction of synagogues, but also to forbid the construction of new ones.