The historical development of Western music, visual art,
​iconography, poetry, drama, and architecture is deeply linked to the theology, culture and worship of the Christian Church, and some of greatest works of art of all time owe their inspiration to the Christian faith. All these arts continue to play a highly significant role in the life of the Church, and increasingly artists, theologians, philosophers, and churches are re-discovering the profound resonance there can be between faith and art. The Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts in the Fringe was established in 2018 as an annual celebration of this relationship.

The 2020 Festival, organized under the auspices of the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation, will run from 16th to 22nd August, 2020. Highlights will include:

Sir James MacMIllan, composer 
"Composing Sacred Music for a Secular World"

Cole Bendall and the Reid Consort
MacMillan Misere & Pizetti Messe de Requiem

Malcolm Guite, poet
“The present moment of the past: Christian poetry as perpetual renewal”

John P KItchen, Edinburgh City Organist
"The Art of Hymns"

Rt Revd Ian Paton, Bishop of St Andrews
"The Beauty in Vestments"

Les Shankland and Coro Vincenza
Vivaldi Gloria
Bach Cantatas

Helen White, Prince's Foundation for the Traditional Arts
Exhibition
"The Art of Illumination"


Keep abreast of the 2020 programme 

St Vincent's Chapel Stockbridge

​