The role of the bishops in Late Antiquity is examined and analysed by an important and international cast of contributors.

Late Antiquity witnessed a major transformation in the authority and power of the Episcopate within the Church, with the result that bishops came to embody the essence of Christianity and increasingly overshadow the leading Christian laity. The rise of Episcopal power came in a period in which drastic political changes produced long and significant conflicts both within and outside the Church. This book examines these problems in depth, looking at bishops' varied roles in both causing and resolving these disputes, including those internal to the church, those which began within the church but had major effects on wider society, and those of a secular nature.

"The volume includes chapters well worth reading on topics of interest to scholars of Church history, religious studies, Late Antiquity, and relations between Church and State…. The various authors offer some interesting insights and new perspectives." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"There is much here of value for students and scholars alike, particularly through the Spanish in?uence that permeates the collection ... Visigothic Spain has rarely received the same attention in English-language scholarship as Francia or Ostrogothic Italy, and it is the great merit of this edited collection that it makes recent Spanish research on Late Antiquity available to a broader audience." - Journal of Roman Studies

"Mentioned" - Classical Journal