Our first ever episode of Matters of Life and Death kicks off a short series on coronavirus. Today we take a lightning tour through the history of the church, going all the way back to the Roman Empire, to try and see how Christians have responded to times of plague in the past. What might we have to learn by looking back at times when the world was, as today, convulsed by a devastating virus? Is there wisdom to glean from the way believers in previous generations have acted during pandemics? And why might we interpret these moments of crisis differently today?