Despite the appellative Chrysologus, ‘Golden-Worded’, studies on Peter, Bishop of Ravenna (ad 430–450), as well as on the diffusion of his thought through the translation into English of his speeches have been gaining prominence only during the last few decades. M.'s volume is an excellent and successful proof of this. Following in the footsteps of G. Ganss and W. Palardy, excellent translators of the Sermons of Peter Chrysologus, M. presents a selection of 38 sermons, accurately translated and organised according to a precise theological aim, presented in the first of the two parts of the volume.

In the first part, ‘Introduction’, M. gives two important pieces of information that enable readers to discover the preaching of the bishop of Ravenna. The first chapter, ‘Life and Times’, is dedicated to the essential and accurate presentation of the political and ecclesial context found by Peter as bishop of Ravenna, a town that was all but marginal in the history of the Roman Empire and of the Church. Surely, there are references to the imperial family and historical events, while, however, the exceptionality of the town of Ravenna, which, thanks to its particular geographical position, was to be a place of convergence of different cultures and sensibilities, is taken into account. In reconstructing the context and in presenting Peter's biography, M. pertinently highlights an important aspect of the Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis written by Andreas Agnellus (c. 805–after 846), Peter's biographer. The intention of the medieval hagiographer is to legitimise Ravenna, through the bishop, with reference to Rome and Constantinople.

Rightfully, M. makes it clear that in order to understand fully the significance of Chrysologus’ preaching, it is necessary to know the historical-political situation and, especially, the relations of the Bishop with the imperial family, without, however, neglecting to grasp the essential theological characteristics of the fifth century. This century was still characterised by controversies of Christological nature, such as the Council of Ephesus (431), Nestorius and the monophysite Eutyches, who addressed this bishop of Ravenna, as proven by the letter of the latter (here on pp. 14–15). Analysing the characteristics of the 183 sermons that have come down to us, M. gives indications regarding the collections, the sources, the style of preaching and their main contents.

In Chapter 2, ‘Theological Themes’, M. ‘highlights four pivotal themes found dispersed throughout Peter's sermons’ (p. 19) in order to appreciate better the richness, theological scope, formative efficacy and originality of Chrysologus’ narratives. M. shows clearly the hermeneutic originality of the theology of the bishop of Ravenna by developing these four themes: the centrality of the category of imago Dei; the yes of Mary and Peter's subsequent Christology; the effect of the incarnation, the divinisation of the human person and several images used by the preacher of Ravenna to evoke such mystery; and finally, the fourth theme concerns the Church as locus deificandi. In the concise and well-documented presentation of these cardinal themes, the effort to show the intrinsic human dignity, connected to both the creative and the redemptive act of God, should be appreciated. God the Creator who assumes the human nature in the Son, convinces us of the intrinsic value of humanity itself which, though marked by fragility and sin, does not lose its own dignity. It could be shown even more strongly how the efforts to overcome every form of Christological Docetism resounds in the same anthropological definition, just as the firm and constant defence of Christ's divinity against Arian reductionism also succeeds in placing human dignity in the limelight. The incarnation of the Word is not read by Peter as a degradation, or as an apparent reality, but rather an admirable exchange, by virtue of which the order of relationships is re-established.

The thematic path reconstructed by M., after dealing with the major themes of the Christian faith, arrives at proposing a not at all negligible ecclesiological perspective, where the categories of deification, of mystical union and of mystical body recognise a certain shift of the primacy of charity. Rightfully, this important aspect of the pastoral activity of the Bishop of Ravenna could not be overlooked: in a town marked by profound social imbalances, where the nobility and the wealthier class struggled to bring about a reform that would allow the emancipation of the poorest, Peter returned several times to speak of the poor Lazarus of the Gospel. The aim is to promote a mentality of sharing wealth rather than condemning it, in the awareness that accumulated wealth distorts the very order of God and, more radically, His action towards mankind. Where God did not hesitate to exchange his own wealth for human poverty, the rich man is often criticised for his indifference to the cry of the poor and needy. It is interesting to note – and it would be worth exploring even further – the socio-political concern of Chrysologus’ preaching. The Bishop, an eloquent preacher, is an authoritative voice for the building of a polis of solidarity, an alternative to the policies of greed, which characterises the epigones of the Roman Empire. In this regard (but it would be well beyond the aims of M.) it would be interesting to examine the socio-political value of the Bishop of Ravenna in relation to texts such as, for example, Sallust's De coniuratione Catilinae, where the causes of the crisis of the Empire are investigated and greed and ambition are identified as the real reasons for its decline.

Part 2, with its chapters ‘The Incarnate God and Mother Mary’; ‘Jesus: Tempted, Teacher and Thaumaturge’; ‘Passion, Crucifixion and the Victory of Easter’; ‘Church, Creed, and the Communion of Saints’, allows the reader a direct encounter with Chrysologus’ preaching. The translations of 38 sermons are presented neither according to the order of CCSL 24 and 24A, the critical reference text, nor according to a hypothetical chronological order, but rather in the thematic order mentioned in the first part. Though the thematic itinerary and the order of reading the sermons offered here to English-speaking readers is more than legitimate and well justified, it is appropriate to remember that other sequences could also be considered and, consequently, other reading perspectives: for example, one could start from the Resurrection, rather than from the Incarnation, thus following the itinerary suggested by the liturgical year. Or one could dwell more on the biblical pericopes analysed by Chrysologus or identify other themes. The different options for selecting the sermons to be translated as well as for the order in which they are presented show, on the one hand, the richness of Peter Chrysologus’ texts, yet, on the other hand, it should warn against the risk of using them to give flesh to an already predisposed framework. This certainly is not the case with the attempt of M., who, in presenting this selection, succeeds in identifying a respectful logic that corresponds to the texts themselves. After engaging with this selection, interested readers will surely feel encouraged to work on the texts in order to study their rhetorical structure and their effectiveness, to examine other significant themes and to try to search for the originality of Peter Chrysologus, who is attentive to the problems of his time, while inspired to read the remaining sermons.

The translation is well done, careful to maintain the complex rhetorical form proper to the Latin of Peter. M. points out some pertinent translation choices. The volume ends with a useful critical apparatus, bibliography and indexes of names and of scriptural citations.