Chromatius of Aquileia and the Making of a Christian City offers the English-speaking world an introduction to two underappreciated areas of study: Aquileia, the third largest city in Italy in late antiquity, and its bishop Chromatius, whose life and works have only reemerged in the 1960s with the happy discovery of sermons and tractates that could be firmly attributed to him. Previous scholarship on the city and its bishop has largely focused on Chromatius's efforts at Christianizing Aquileia and the surrounding areas. McEachnie's book builds on these earlier studies but focuses on how Chromatius “conveyed to a broad audience his attempt to shape Christian and Roman identity in Aquileia” (10). McEachnie relies mostly on Chromatius's Sermons because, as he rightly observes, these were delivered on regular occasions and in a style that would be suitable for a general audience. Chromatius's success, judged in part by the expanding number of churches in the city, and his particular interpretation of Christianity for his contemporaries make McEachnie's book a welcome addition to studies on the development of late ancient western Christianity.

Chapter 1 is an overview of the city of Aquileia, based in part on history and in part on the archaeological finds from Aquileia. There is much new for the English-speaking reader to discover here. Chapter 2 focuses on Chromatius's interactions with the leading figures of the age, including Rufinus, Jerome and Ambrose. Chapter 3 explores the ways in which Chromatius applied the label of “heretic” to Christians whom he wanted to denigrate. Attacks on Arians were useful for this bishop as he strove to assert his role as “the arbiter” of true Christianity in Aquileia. Chapter 4 focuses on Chromatius's use of rhetoric of the “barbarians.” In opposition to Jews, the “barbarians” could be converted and hence saved. Chapter 5 extends this discussion of Chromatius's views of the Jews of Aquileia, showing how this bishop even linked contemporary Jews with the murder of Christ, an influential idea emblematic of growing Christian intolerance. Chapters 6 and 7 look more widely at Chromatius's efforts to realize Christianity in Aquileia through its buildings and institutions. Chromatius's focus on charity was intended to inspire donors to help support the sacralization of certain spaces, with specific efforts aimed at wealthy, elite women. A brief conclusion summarizes McEachnie's work and argues that the rhetoric of this bishop reflected but also shaped not just the lived spaces of the city, as manifested through its new churches, but also institutionalized rituals and patterns of patronage that advanced his specific version of Christianity in Aquileia.

In many ways, this book tells a familiar story of the Christianization of the Roman Empire in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. The mechanisms for the spread of religion, and in particular the denigration of Jews, can be found in other cities, as in Antioch under Chrysostom or in Milan under Ambrose, whose influence on Chromatius is well known. More discussion of how Chromatius fits within this larger context is a desideratum. But I appreciated how clearly and succinctly McEachnie conveyed Chromatius's particular role and his views as he applied them to Aquileia. So, for instance, chapter 4 presents a fascinating contrast between the rhetorical definition of “barbarian” by Chromatius as opposed to the use of the term by other Christians, like Jerome, who also drew on preexisting stereotypes to at times cast barbarians as “wolves” and half human traitors (see Jerome Letter 123.16–17, discussed by McEachnie 88) . And in sharp contrast to the conventions found in contemporary, classicizing works, like that of Ammianus Marcellinus or the pagan historian Eunapius, Chromatius's “barbarian” is completely defined by religious choice; hence if the “barbarian” accepts the right kind of Christianity—not Arianism—he can become a true “Roman.” But McEachnie's discussion of Chromatius's rhetoric raised more questions for me. Why did Chromatius, whose city was so vulnerable to attack by these same “barbarians,” adopt this position? What more can we say about his motivations? And the impact of his views? Did other bishops follow his lead? Can we trace influences on Chromatius? To answer these would require a much wider net, but they are worth considering.

Chromatius's efforts at building up the Christian communities of the city appears successful, judged from the expanding number of Christian churches in the city under his watch. But McEachnie's discussion of the material evidence from Aquileia is not fully satisfying. There are a number of newer studies from excavations in the city that would have helped fill out his picture of the city. So, for example, new excavations in an area of the port of Aquileia support discussions of the city's multiethnic nature and economic importance (S. Groh, “Richerche sull'urbanistica e le fortificazioni tardoantiche e Bizantine di Aquiliea,” Aquileia Nostra [2011]: 154–202) . More troubling is the author's reiteration (28–35, 112–114, 135–139, 172) of his identification of the Basilica di Monastero as a synagogue. Although introduced as only a possible identification, by the end of the book it is treated as if it were a fact. So, for example, at 135–139, the inscriptions from the site are identified as being those of Jewish donors and the space is simply described as “the synagogue of Aquileia” (135). That there were Jews in Aquileia and that they had synagogues is certain. However, there are no Jewish symbols or defining formulae from this set of inscriptions to make the identification of these as Jewish donors a certainty. The patterns found are intriguing, but just as easily, this could have been a collegium for Greek-speaking easterners. In fact, the absence of religious symbols suggests this interpretation.

McEachnie's Chromatius was a man of his time. Through his sermons, he aimed to divide Christians from Jews and even “barbarians”. His aim, according to McEachnie, was to assert his authority over the city and to extend the proper worship of Christianity as he defined it. But beyond church building, what kind of influence did Chromatius have? McEachnie's focus on the incorporation of new rituals offers one important way to proceed that would deepen our understanding of Chromatius's impact on fifth century western Christianity. This is a story that remains to be told, but McEachnie's work provides one key building block for future exploration of this bishop and his legacy.