About

In this innovative cultural history, Kyle Smith shows how a devotion to death has shaped Christianity for two thousand years. For centuries, Christians have cared for their saints, curating their deaths as examples of holiness. Martyrs’ stories, lurid legends of torture, have been told and retold, translated and rewritten. Martyrs’ bones are alive in the world, relics pulsing with wonder. Martyrs’ shrines are still visited by pilgrims, many in search of a miracle. Martyrs even shaped the Christian conception of time, with each day of the year celebrating the death of a saint. Ranging from Roman antiquity beyond the Protestant Reformation, Cult of the Dead tells the fascinating story of how the world’s most widespread religion is steeped in the memory of its martyrs.

Praise

“With sly wit, subtle humour, agile prose and empathetic imagination, Kyle Smith narrates the growth of one of Christianity’s defining traditions.” —Times Literary Supplement

“A brilliant, entertaining, and accessible account of the history of martyrdom. Invaluable for anyone interested in understanding the Christian faith.” — Bart D. Ehrman, author of Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

“This book is a delight to read. Buy a copy for yourself, and perhaps one for your favorite uncle too, at your local bookstore.” — Journal of Early Christian Studies

“An elegant and enlightening book.” — Elizabeth A. Castelli, author of Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making

“The great accomplishment of Smith’s book is that it manages to both revel in the macabre appeal of the martyrs, and, at the same time, take the Christian cult of the dead sympathetically and seriously.” — Reading Religion

“Sheer erudition.” — Commonweal

“A sweeping tour through the history of Christianity that makes the familiar seem fresh and dramatically brings to life the remarkable connections across time and space that constitute the Christian story.” — Kyle Harper, author of The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire