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Building the Body of Christ: Christian Art, Identity, and Community in Late Antique Italy. By Daniel C. Cochran. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2020. xxvii + 267 pp. $110.00 hardcover.

Intriguingly, both call attention to the non-Roman origins of the concept. Despite the “sheer variety” of sources that deal with the sack of Rome in 410, Bjornlie observes that there is scarcely a peep from Roman sources—a silence that speaks volumes (258). Similarly, Arnold notes that, although both of the hagiographies he studies (the Life of Epiphanius of Pavia and the Life of Severinus of Noricum) depict widespread devastation, neither seems to think that the Roman Empire had ceased to exist in the fifth century. Both chapters have a decidedly post-modern approach, with Bjornlie advocating that the “grand narrative” of Rome’s fall be replaced by “a mosaic of highly individualized human narratives” (274) and Arnold concerned with “representations of the past” (281). In a concluding chapter, Noel Lenski reflects on the contribution of each chapter and poses questions to promote future research. Van Dam, he notes, stands out as an “early leader in the application of sociological and anthropological theory to the history of Late Antiquity” (301). The thoughtfulness of the authors and the range of their contributions testify to the enduring impact of Van Dam’s scholarship.