Available From UC Press

A cultural history of how Christianity was born from its martyrs.
 
Though it promises eternal life, Christianity was forged in death. Christianity is built upon the legacies of the apostles and martyrs who chose to die rather than renounce the name of their lord. 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 have even shaped the Christian conception of time, with each day of the year celebrating the death of a saint. From Roman antiquity to the present, by way of medieval England and 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.

Kyle Smith is Professor of Historical Studies and the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. An award-winning teacher, he is the author or coauthor of four other books about Christian saints and martyrs.

“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

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

"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

"Cult of the Dead is vivid, readable, and often witty. Taking the reader on a journey from the time of Christ to the seventeenth century, it shows the intimate engagement with death at the heart of Christianity."—Mary Wellesley, author of The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts

"Masterfully presented. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the significance of pain, torture, and death in the construction of Christian communities from the time of the apostles to the Protestant Reformation."—Kristina Sessa, author of Daily Life in Late Antiquity