This book opens with a rather bald summary of the history of the Byzantine empire from 330 to 1453, concentrating on the problems of periodisation and repeating the misleading term ‘Dark Ages’ for the seventh and eighth centuries. It continues with a clearer explanation of the different areas of churches, their furniture and decoration and the symbolism of the liturgy. The substantive core of the book highlights the major churches of the capital, Constantinople, New Rome, founded by Constantine the Great, and of three cities that can claim the same epithet. Here Nicholas Patricios catalogues and illustrates sixty-nine monuments which represent the dominant styles of religious architecture and art from the fourth to the fifteenth century throughout the Orthodox world. The basic church forms, from the basilican to the cruciform plan, are outlined, as well as their development that spread Constantinopolitan designs to most other Byzantine centres. Since members of the ruling dynasty and wealthier patrons of monasteries concentrated on building in the capital, their highly creative activities dominated the earlier periods. The intense destruction of the crusader and Venetian capture of Constantinople in 1204 prompted increased construction in alternative centres of power that included Thessaloniki, Mystras and Mount Athos. After the Palaiologan dynasty had restored Byzantine control at the centre, during the late period from 1261 to 1453, these three capitals became even more important and proved exceptionally rich in artistic terms. Each here receives a full description of its major churches, their significance in architectural terms, with numerous colour illustrations of both exterior and interior decoration, though the quality of the photographs leaves much to be desired. Some readers may query whether Mount Athos was really a Byzantine capital, but this section, the longest of the book, provides an extremely useful guide to monuments often inaccessible to visitors. Through the physical setting of the monasteries, the plans of their churches and the symbolism of their decoration in fresco, sculpture and icons, the significance of the Holy Mountain and its role in sustaining Orthodox spirituality is amply illustrated. This section would have benefitted from the important analysis of fortifications, towers and monastic structures by Slobodan Ćurčić, Architecture in the Balkans: from Diocletian to Süleyman the Magnificent (New Haven 2010). Although Sacred architecture is more of a catalogue than a serious art historical survey, it will be a useful guide to a wide range of Byzantine churches, especially for those unfamiliar with Greek Orthodox building traditions.