The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Edinburgh, the Most Rev Leo Cushley, Edinburgh City Organist Dr John Kitchen, author Ian Bradley and former Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca are all on the programme for this year’s Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts.

Taking place between August 10-16, this will be the sixth edition of the festival run by the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation. The seventeen events include worship, performances of music and poetry, exhibitions, guided tours and a film screening.

Dr Williams will be the guest preacher at the festival’s opening Sung Eucharist in St John’s Episcopal Church, while Archbishop Cushley will be the guest homilist at the closing service, in St Michael and All Saints Church.

Ian Bradley will speak on ‘The Spiritual Resonances of Musical Theatre’, with songs from shows such as The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables performed by the Schola Cantorum of St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral.

The 375th anniversary of the Scottish Metrical Psalter will be celebrated by an event including four newly-commissioned settings of the psalms. A separate event will tell the story of the Scottish Psalter through a multi-media presentation.

The highly successful competition for young composers of sacred music, established in 2024 will be repeated, along with a new competition for young poets of religious poetry.

Full details of all events and competitions are available on the festival website, www.edinburghsacredartsfestival.org,and tickets can be booked through the Fringe Box Office on the Royal Mile, call 0131 226 0000 or email www.edfringe.com