Saints by Simon Yarrow

This is a fairly academic but interesting look at the saints.  Yarrow studies the origins of the saints, different types of saints and their sanctification and canonisation.  He explores the role that St Paul played in the history of the saints in great depth.

I found the section of the book about the section of the book about the Reformation the most fascinating part.  Here, Yarrow writes about Erasmus who criticised pilgrimage, the cult of saints and the veneration of relics under the guise of an erudite fool.  He discusses the drastic solution to idolatry of iconoclasm, or the breaking of images, a practice that was unfortunately pretty widespread during the Reformation and the 39 Articles of the Anglican church.

This is worth reading if you are interested in the saints or for an assignment about their history.

I received this ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.