Sounds for a New World

by Assistant Professor of Religion Philip Abbott, Philip Abbott

2026 · Oxford University Press

In Sounds for a New World, Philip Abbott explores how late ancient Christians envisioned themselves as participants in the worldwide retuning effort, harmonizing the Classical world to the new Christian reality. Rejecting the sounds of traditional Greco-Roman and Persian cultures, Christians advocated a variety of sonic practices to realize their grand retuning endeavor, including shouting, singing, silent meditation, chanting, and even belching.