This concise study is a fine demonstration of how sermons can reveal trends in religious devotion. The church dedication sermons, which were written mainly between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, indicate multifaceted definitions of the term ‘ecclesia’. In one sermon written by Albert the Great (d. 1280) the ‘Church’ is defined as the Virgin Mary, the material Church (‘Ecclesia materialis’), the soul (‘Ecclesia singularis’) and the heavenly mansions. Most of the sermons examined dwell to some degree on the spiritual importance of the actual structure of medieval churches. For example, Pelbartus de Themeswar (d. 1504) preaches that it is within churches that prayers are heard more clearly; where the support of angels and saints can be more readily secured; and where individuals will gain indulgences. In a sermon by Jacobus de Voragine (d. 1298) it is stated that the physical church is a ‘locus amabilis’ for the devout Christian. There Satan trembles at the angelic host and saints, at devout prayers, at the cross and at the eucharist. Although these sermons were written in the first instance to bless churches, the preachers directed a good deal of their preaching to the community witnessing the event. In this regard, while the dedication of the physical church was the apparent subject of the preaching, the sermons reveal that the dedication was also meant to transform the souls of those attending the service. Through the ritual of the dedication, both the ecclesia materialis and the ecclesia singularis were to become a holy place. The preacher Johannes Nider (d. 1438) states that the souls of the congregation would be transformed into temples of God. It is with the recurrent theme of the ecclesia singularis that Horie underlines the significance of the function of these sermons. She concludes that medieval preachers' constant emphasis on the church of the soul from the twelfth century onward indicates the development of a trend of a rather ‘individualized spirituality’ rather than a focus on communal worship. The examination of these sermons is complemented by the inclusion of six appendices: appendix 1 lists the names of all the preachers mentioned in the study and their chronology; appendix 2 catalogues all the incunable sermon collections used in the study; appendix 3 records all the dedication sermons listed in Johann Baptist Schneyer, Repertorium der lateinischen Sermones des Mittelalters für die Zeit von 1150–1350; appendix 4 provides a table which outlines the dedication rite as described in the Pontificale romanum; appendix 5 gives a transcription of the dedication rite from the Pontificale romanum (Rome 1497); and appendix 6 contains twelve dedication sermons that are most representative of the genre. Horie's examination of dedication sermons is a useful study that clarifies the myriad meanings of ecclesia. It at once underlines the central role that medieval churches played as sites of both communal and individual worship.