This study argues that we can interpret narrations of rhetorical performances as a reflection of the process of transformation and adaptation in Late Antiquity, a changing and dynamic period in which institutions and culture became increasingly Christianized. Our knowledge of the adaptation of secular rhetoric to early and late antique Christian discourse has advanced in recent decades but studies of the relevance of rhetorical deliveries in a Christian context are still lacking. How did Christian preachers and bishops respond to their audiences' desire for flamboyant and bombastic oratory?...