This book, by two of the best scholars of Christian Antioch, collects all the textual and archaeological evidence for churches in Antioch in late antiquity (pt i), sets out the different phases of church building in the city (pt ii), and assesses the use and function of the churches (pt iii). The scope is thus historical and not art historical. The reason is that Wendy Mayer and Pauline Allen are interested in clarifying the specific context of sermons of John Chrysostom and Severus, which, in turn, provide the bulk of the literary evidence used in this book. Although, then, ancillary in nature, the book has many merits. The detailed discussion in part i of the sources and the publication of photographs of most relevant archaeological objects and sites provide future generations with an excellent starting point. The most important new finding here is the fundamentally different interpretation of the layout (and hence use) of the church of Babylas. Part i will in particular be of great help to the French scholars working on the Lexicon topographicum antiochenum. The limits of the focus on Antioch show most clearly in part ii. Because building policies are shaped by an interaction between the imperial and local levels, it may be difficult to judge precisely to what extent Antioch is unique or representative of wider developments when one does not systematically look at imperial policies across the empire or at how other cities developed in the same period. While the same problem sometimes occurs in part iii, this part offers important reconsiderations of some of our traditional concepts and distinctions. The difference between a martyrium and a church was not as clear-cut as sometimes supposed. The idea of a cathedral is rendered dynamic, much on the lines of our current thinking about late antique imperial palaces: the cathedral is where the bishop is, a fact that does not exclude the possibility that he might be more usually at one particular place. Throughout the book, Mayer and Allen have a keen eye for the complex situation in Antioch with its different Christian groups competing for churches. As such, it is also a social study of the Church of Antioch. In sum, this is a most welcome work that by combining the detailed study of the evidence with attention to the social context sets an example for much-needed similar endeavours for other major cities of the empire.