Death and rebirth was of vital importance to early Christians in late antiquity. In late antiquity, death was all encompassing. Mortality rates were high, plague and disease in urban areas struck at will, and one lived on the knife's edge regarding one's health. Religion filled a crucial role in this environment, offering an option for those who sought cure and comfort. Following death, the inhumed were memorialized, providing solace to family members through sculpture, painting, and epigraphy. This book offers a sustained interdisciplinary treatment of death and rebirth, a theme that early Christians (and scholars) found important. By analysing the theme of death and rebirth through various lenses, the contributors deepen our understanding of the early Christian funerary and liturgical practices as well as their engagement with other groups in the Empire.

The popular optics review manual, Last-Minute Optics: A Concise Review of Optics, Refraction, and Contact Lenses, has been revised and updated into a Second Edition. This unique resource boils down the overwhelming subject matter of clinical optics and refraction, helping the ophthalmologist cover the essentials in a single review manual. The content is based upon the practical experience of two clinically active experts who lecture on ophthalmic optics around the world. This updated Second Edition by Drs. David G. Hunter and Constance E. West includes new questions added to selected chapters and a new chapter covering refractive surgery, as well as a key chapter that helps you evaluate patients with symptoms related directly to optical or refractive concerns. The complex concepts of optics are revealed in easy-to-understand explanations enhanced by simple illustrations. Last-Minute Optics, Second Edition allows you to test your knowledge while increasing your understanding of optics. Designed in a clear, concise, question-and-answer format, this book allows for self-assessment and a chance to test your understanding before you read the answer. Features of the Second Edition: • Written in a light and approachable style to make optics accessible and understandable • Unique question-and-answer format allows for self-assessment while studying to identify areas where more work is needed • Perfect for limited study time • Includes real-life examples that are clinically relevant • Numerous practical tips to help enhance clinical practice • Includes 223 questions and answers Whether you’re an ophthalmologist, ophthalmic technician, resident or student, reviewing the optics facts and concepts is easier with Last-Minute Optics: A Concise Review of Optics, Refraction, and Contact Lenses, Second Edition.  

Marriage, Celibacy, and Heresy in Ancient Christianity is the first major study in English of the 'heretic' Jovinian and the Jovinianist controversy. David G. Hunter examines early Christian views on marriage and celibacy in the first three centuries and the development of an anti-heretical tradition. He provides a thorough analysis of the responses of Jovinian's main opponents, including Pope Siricius, Ambrose, Jerome, Pelagius, and Augustine. In the course of his discussion Hunter sheds new light on the origins of Christian asceticism, the rise of clerical celibacy, the development of Marian doctrine, and the formation of 'orthodoxy' and 'heresy' in early Christianity.