The Beginnings of the Cult of Relics
This innovative study shows how Christian attitudes to martyrs swiftly and dramatically changed in the mid-fourth century. It examines when and why Christians began to believe in the healing, protective, and divinatory power of the bones of the martyrs, and to look for physical contact with them.
Robert Wisniewski is Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Warsaw. His research focuses on religious changes in Late Antiquity, with particular attention to the cult of saints, divination, clergy, and demons.