These collected perspectives, spanning the breadth of Church history and tradition, bear witness to the widespread conviction that art communicates spiritual truth and draws people closer to God.
At Christian Arts UK, we seek to connect with this broad tradition, refresh it for a new audience, and embellish it in our own distinctive way. (N.B. The saints from whom we quote reflect our ecumenism, and none of them should be taken as an endorsement by CAUK of a specific doctrinal stance).
QUOTES
Pope Benedict XVI
"Art is capable of making visible our need to go beyond what we see, and it reveals the thirst for beauty, for the infinite."
Pope Francis
"Art and faith are not separate; they belong together. Art must open the doors to the transcendent."
St. John Damascene
"The artist is the hand of God. Through matter, we can perceive the spiritual."
St. Augustine of Hippo
"He who sings prays twice."
St. John Chrysostom
"Nothing so uplifts the soul, gives it wings, sets it free from the earth… as the melodies of sacred song and psalm."
N.T. Wright
"The arts are not a luxury. They are a test of the Church's health. They are the highways to the heart."
Martin Luther
"I would gladly see all arts, especially music, in the service of Him who gave and created them."
Francis Schaeffer
"The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars."
St. Gregory of Nyssa
“The universe is an instrument played by the Divine Hand… all creation dances to the rhythm of His will.”
Fr. Alexander Schmemann
“Creation is not mute: it sings, it speaks, it reveals. It is a cosmic liturgy.”
St. Maximus the Confessor
“Creation is a song. Every part of it sings its own note in praise of the Logos who sustains it.”
St. John of Kronstadt
“The Church is the fountain of art and beauty, for in her Christ is glorified with splendour, and souls are adorned with grace.”
Søren Kierkegaard
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Music… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.”
St. Augustine of Hippo
“The world is a great hymn to the Creator, composed of beauty and order and rhythm.”
St. Isidore of Seville
“Music is so naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it even if we so desired… It has the power to shape our soul.”
John Calvin
“The heavens resound with God’s glory as if creation were an instrument, tuned to sing the praises of its Maker.”