Lost in Wonder

This book examines the Christian liturgy as a visible manifestation of divine revelation, expressed through ritual signs, sacred space, imagery, sound, and poetic form. Treating the liturgy not merely as a set of texts or actions but as a total environment, it considers how architecture, iconography, and music shape the Church’s encounter with revealed truth.

Aidan Nichols explores how the liturgy communicates meaning through beauty and symbol, and how this revelation invites a creative human response. Drawing on examples from Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Anglicanism, he shows how Christian worship has historically generated a rich cultural inheritance, capable of sustaining serious art, architecture, and music.

The book concludes with a synthetic vision of the unity of religion, cosmology, and art, arguing that Christianity possesses an inherent capacity to inspire high culture. By rooting artistic expression in worship and revelation, the liturgy becomes not only an act of praise, but a formative force shaping civilization itself.

About the Author

Aidan Nichols, O.P., is a Dominican friar, theologian, and prolific author known for his work on liturgy, theology, and Christian culture. He has written extensively on Catholic doctrine, aesthetics, and the relationship between worship and intellectual life, with a particular interest in the Western and Eastern Christian traditions. His scholarship combines theological rigor with a strong appreciation for the role of beauty in the life of the Church.