“This is a superb book. Gillhammer writes with great sensitivity and imagination, skilfully demonstrating how over many centuries the rituals and songs of the liturgy have shaped and given voice to the deepest emotions of human experience. Insightful, accessible and often moving, this book is a wonderful guide to the liturgy, its rich history and its lasting influence on modern culture.”

Eleanor ParkerLecturer in Medieval English Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford, and author of Winters in the World

“A beautiful book that gives voice to our deepest human need for ritual and meaning. Through scripture, art, music, poetry and liturgical theology, Cosima Clara Gillhammer retells the story of Christian worship through sign and symbol, affirming the place of the liturgy in the modern world and as a gift that continues to shape our culture and our imagination.”

Victoria JohnsonDean of Chapel, St John’s College, Cambridge

“The rituals of Christian liturgy have survived the centuries, Cosima Clara Gillhammer believes, because they express something central to human experience, having a powerful effect on believers and non-believers alike. Indeed, she claims, the liturgy stands at the very centre of the cultural history of the West. Yet nowadays this fact is appreciated only by a relatively small number of believers, while for most people it stands as a well-kept secret. Gillhammer seeks to share that secret broadly. Her admiration of the vast body of art and thought generated by the essentials of Christian ritual is conveyed with great success. This attractive and elegantly written book is well-designed for non-specialist readers, and richly deserves wide interest and appreciation.”

Alastair MinnisDouglas Tracy Smith Professor Emeritus of English, Yale University, and Professor Emeritus of Medieval Studies and English, University of York