Hymnody of the Early Church
by Stacey Gleddie
2004
Music informs us about the intention and the emotion of our context. What movie would be complete without the tension of music drawing the audience towards greater involvement? There has never been a civilization that has not made use of music: whether as a tool for teaching, a method of retaining history, or as an outlet for poetic emotion. Within the Jewish and Christian faiths, which hold God as creator, music takes on a much richer meaning. Pfatteicher states: "The Lord made humanity a beautiful breathing instrument after his own image, God's harp by reason of the music, God's pipe by reason of the breath of the Spirit, God's temple by reason of the Word, so that music should resound, the Spirit inspire, and the temple receive it's Lord". Music has always held a certain measure of importance in Jewish and Christian faith, and played a significant role in the development of the early church. This paper intends to prove that the cultural context of the early church impacted the churches hymnody in: the absorption of popular ideas into hymnal content; an increased need for the didactic use of hymns within the church; and the type of hymns and utilization of music required to speak back into popular culture.
Music was an important facet of Jewish worship practice, and the lack of instrumentation in the music of the early church, as opposed to the instrumental practices of Jewish worship, is a result of the cultural context of the early church. There is ample evidence of the importance of music in the worship of the early church. Wilson-Dickson discusses the description that Egeria, a Spanish nun, wrote of her pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the early fifth century: "Egeria stresses the importance of music, particularly the thread of psalm-singing which runs through all she describes". Wilson-Dickson goes on to stress the connection between the musical worship of the Jewish tradition, and the growing traditions of the early church, suggesting the connections between Jewish and Christian worship practices were so strong that Jewish cantors who were converted to Christianity were often asked to use their gifts in a similar manner in Christian worship services. However, the early church moved away from the Jewish tradition of employing instrumentation during worship, a decision made in response to the cultural context of the early church. Wilson-Dickson states that: "Christians assiduously distanced themselves from the immoral aspects of the societies that persecuted them, above all from the Roman". Many instruments were associated with pagan worship practices, and were therefore seen as unacceptable for use in the church. Jerome condemned the use of instruments in worship, going so far as to say that no Christian maiden should even know what a lyre or a flute is. A large part of the reaction against the use of instruments in worship was aimed at maintaining purity in Christian worship. The early churches non-use of instruments in music was a result of the need to set themselves apart from their cultural context.
The early church, being aware of the didactic power of music, often utilized hymns to teach doctrine, and their cultural context increased their need for didactic hymns. The challenge of determining the doctrine of the church, and then spreading that doctrine in order to promote unity, brought about the first significant growth in hymn writing. Controversies over doctrine sparked hymn writing in many instances , and Church and Mulry state that: "By the beginning of the 2nd century, the intimate relationship between hymnody . . . and the specifics of Christian theology and practice was already well established". As the church began to grow rapidly, there was a dire need for correct teaching of new converts, especially within Roman society, in which pluralism was valued. Often, new converts to Christianity were required to wait years before baptism in order to ensure that they had a clear understanding of, and commitment to the Christian faith. The need for correct teaching of new converts increased as persecution began to be a reality in the church. It was absolutely necessary not only for new converts to understand what they were committing to, but also for the church to be assured of the commitment of new converts, in order to limit back-sliding in the face of persecution. One of the earliest Christian hymns: "A Hymn to the Saviour", was written primarily to instruct new converts on Christian doctrine. Many more hymns were written both to instruct new converts, and to inform Christians of basic doctrine of the church. These types of instructional hymns were necessary for the training of new converts, and the strengthening of the church to withstand persecution. The rapid growth of the church and cultural context of pluralism and persecution resulted in the writing of many didactic hymns.
The persecution of the early church prior to Constantine's rule had a tremendous impact on the content of hymns; as the church utilized music to both inspire Christians to bravery, and to express a longing for deliverance. Many early hymns have a strong emphasis on the suffering of Christ, and the glory of following Christ into death. Ignatius, one of the earliest recorded martyrs, is credited with a hymn in which he speaks of Christ as: "genuine life in the midst of death" and "first subject to suffering, then beyond it". The significance of these lines grows clearer in the light of Ignatius' own pleading not to be saved by his supporters from following his Saviour into death. This passion for the ultimate imitation of Christ is a theme that is often repeated by other writers. In a hymn attributed to Hippolytus, Christians are exhorted to bravery in the face of persecution: "Away with your fears of dying: the death of our Saviour has freed us from fear. Death played the master: He has mastered death." As persecution of the church became more harsh, hymns became both an expression of the encouragement and strength that the church needed to stand firm in its belief, and an avenue to plead for release from suffering. Synesius prays in one of his hymns for: "A life not troubled by earthly fear". Moreover, an Easter hymn attributed to Hippolytus pleads: "stretch out your strong hands over your holy church . . . defend, protect, preserve them, fight and do battle for them". The persecution the church suffered produced hymns of exhortation to follow Christ bravely into death, as well as hymns expressing fear and the longing for an end to persecution, as the church struggled to reconcile their faith with their cultural context.
For a time, the rule of Constantine brought the longed for end to the persecution of the early church. With the patronage of the state, however, came a certain level of state influence in the church. Gonzalez states: "During most of his political career, Constantine seems to have thought that the Unconquered Sun and the Christian God were compatible." Constantine's views undeniably had an effect on Christians under his rule. Church and Mulry assert that: "Popular theology . . . informs the hymnists. Most striking is the common motif of the sun, especially as a metaphor for Christ". References to Christ such as: "Pour on our way, O Sun Divine, Thy holy truth with rays serene" highlight the influence of Constantine's rather unorthodox theology on the hymnody of the early church. Constantine's rule elicited a certain level of state influence in the church, which resulted in the inclusion of sun imagery in hymnody, an inclusion of contextual elements in hymnal content.
The hymns of the church after Constantine were influenced not only by the practices of Constantine himself, but also by those who opposed what the church had become under Constantine. In the exchange of persecution for patronage, not all Christians saw a positive change in the life of the church. Many felt that the church was becoming too worldly, and monasticism became popular largely as a response to the opulence of the church under Constantine, a response that prompted not only a mass migration to the desert, but a new wealth of hymns. The rise of the monastic movement was concerned with purity and the pursuit of holy living, an emphasis that is pronounced in the hymnody of the early church. The words of Synesius: "Keep my heart in purity" are echoed time and again in a myriad of ways. Saint Hilary prays: "That in the acts of common toil which life demands from us each day, we may, without a stain or soil, live in thy holy laws always", and Saint Ambrose: "Lord, let our tongues be free from blame, nor utter words of guilt or strife; lift up our eyes from deeds of shame, and all the vanities of life". These types of hymns played an important role in the life of the church, speaking into the early church's growing culture of wealth and greed in a new way, and maintaining an emphasis on right living. The cultural context of increased prosperity in the church during Constantine's rule created a monastic response in which hymns were influential in speaking back into popular culture to encourage purity and right living in the face of opulence.
One of the most significant influences of hymnody in the early church is found in the battle against heresy, best illustrated by the fight against Arianism. The writing of hymns was by no means restricted to those who closely followed the doctrine set out by the councils. Many hymns were written in response to heretical teachers who attempted to spread their own doctrine through the use of hymns. The fight against Arianism is the clearest example of the hymnodic battle against heresy in the church. Arius argued that Christ was not co-eternal with the Father, but the first of His creatures. The Arians, among other heretics, sought to spread their doctrine through hymns. To spread his teaching, Arius wrote several hymns such as the following: "We praise him as without beginning, because of him who has a beginning. And adore him as everlasting, because of him who in time has come to be. He that is without beginning made the Son a beginning of things originated; and advanced him as a Son to himself by adoption. He has nothing proper to God in proper subsistence, for he is not equal, no, nor one in essence with him. Wise is God, for he is the teacher of wisdom." For Arius and his followers, hymnody became a very effective way to spread doctrine. It was so effective, in fact, that some hymn writers felt that the only way to effectively combat the Arian hymns was to write hymns of their own that were faithful to Nicene doctrine. Liderbach suggests that: "Whereas the early Christian hymns indeed offer praise to a Christ who is Saviour, Redeemer, and the pinnacle of humanity, they also suggest, even if they do not explicitly express it, that Christ is to be imagined as much more than a human being". After the rise of Arianism, however, the content of hymns became much more explicit in regards to Christology. Ambrose repeatedly refers to Christ as the Father's "sole-begotten Son" in his hymns, thus refuting the Arian idea of adoption of the Son by the Father. The hymn stating: "Behold, the God of ages comes and taketh flesh of humble clay; man's Maker man's poor form assumes", refutes the Arian idea of Christ as existing only within time as the first of God's creatures, and affirms the Nicene doctrine of Christ's deity through the expression of His oneness with God the Creator. The writings of Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Basil also explicit in combating the idea of Christ as a creature: "When he, who was before the worlds our God, became a child". Earlier hymns were also added to in order to stem the flow of heresy: In the Gloria Patri the final phrase of "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end" was added after the Arian controversy, in order to promote the Nicene doctrine of Christ as eternal. Heretical teachers, such as Arius, often attempted to utilize hymns to spread their teaching, and many hymns were written in order to defend the true faith, speaking back into popular culture, and bringing unity to a church often divided by heresy.
As the church continued to expand, there came a division not based on heresy, but on a combination of political and cultural differences. Many barbarian nations were poised to tear down the civilization of the Roman Empire, and Islam was rising in the East. Islam's expansion resulted in the geographical severing of the Eastern capital of Constantinople from those Christians who still considered Rome to be the capital of the Christian world. As a result, the Eastern Church came under almost unceasing pressure by Islam, which had a profound effect on the Trinitarian doctrine of Eastern hymns. Clendenin states that because of Islam, Eastern Christians were "on the defensive theologically: the doctrine of the Trinity led to charges of tritheism". The influence of this cultural context can be seen in Eastern hymnody's tendency to stress the unity of the Trinity, rather than the individuality of the members of the Godhead. Saint John Chrysostom, in one of his many sung liturgical compositions, writes: "Let us love one another, that we may with one mind confess Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the consubstantial and undivided Trinity." Athanasius, in a similar style, reminds Eastern Christians: "we worship one God in Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance . . . And so in all things, as has been said, the unity in Trinity, and Trinity in unity is to be worshiped." The cultural context of the Eastern Church caused the emphasis on the unity of the Trinity found in Eastern hymnody, as the Eastern Church struggled with the Islamic charge of tritheism and sought to speak back into their cultural surroundings.
This stressing of the unity of the Trinity is not as pronounced
in the Latin hymnody of the Western Church. Although the unity of the Trinity
is definitely reflected in Latin hymnody, there is more of a focus on the
individual persons of the Godhead, and how they fit together. Latin hymnody
makes frequent reference to the Trinity, and many Latin hymns end with a direct
affirmation of the Trinity, such as: "To God the Father be the praise,
And to his sole-begotten Son, And to the Blessed Comforter, Both now and while
all time shall run"; and "Holy Church throughout the world confesses
you the Father, infinite in majesty, your true and only Son, the venerable,
the Spirit, too, who assists us". Although these common endings to Latin
hymns often include a statement such as 'three in one", the fact that
there are some that do not speak of the unity of the Trinity, indicates that
there was not as much concern over this aspect. The Trinitarian emphasis in
these hymns "stems from the ongoing Christian polemic against pagan and
Jewish critics, and also from the 4th century theological controversies concerning
the nature of the Godhead". The church in the West was more concerned
in differentiating themselves from Jews and pagans by establishing the individuality
of the Godhead, and was also freer to hash out doctrinal concerns within itself
without as much criticism from outside sources. The Western church, responding
to its cultural context of relative freedom, was able to more fully explore
the nature of the Trinity in its hymnody.
The separation of the East and the West also had an effect on the thematic
nature of hymnody. The barbarian invasions of the West left education firmly
in the hands of the church, and the Western church was "obliged, for
its self-defence, to insist on the need for unity and uniformity of belief".
Nichols even goes so far as to say: "The Western church is more liable
to tolerate heretical opinions on the ground of the need to preserve the unity
of the body, at least so long as such opinions are not too publicly canvassed".
Whether or not this is the case, the fact remains that this need for complete
unity made itself known not only in the doctrine of the church, but in it's
hymnody. Western hymns express the need for church unity and a universal church
much more frequently than do Eastern hymns. Statements such as: "Holy
Church throughout the world confesses" are common in Western hymnody.
Also, Western hymns employ the plural of the first person (we, us, our) more
frequently, emphasising the unity of belief. The Western Church, in response
to a cultural context that required unity of faith, expressed the desire for
unity in its hymnody.
Eastern thought, on the other hand, was much less focused on unity and more open to the mystery of faith, and freedom of thought. Runiciman asserts: "Eastern Christendom grew up in countries imbued with the Hellenistic spirit. It's cultural background and its common language was Greek and it inherited the old Greek delight in speculative thought . . . the Church there developed in an atmosphere where everyone, layman and priest alike, was interested in theological discussion". Unlike the Western Church, the Eastern Church valued individual thought, and this is reflected in the use of the first person singular (I, me, my), which is found more frequently in Eastern hymns. The Eastern enjoyment of individual thought in speculation and argument is also evidenced in the love of the mystery of God that is apparent in the hymnody of the East. Greek hymns speak repeatedly of the profound mystery of God: "Let my songs speak of the hidden source of created things"; "for now I seek to draw nigh to the most pure mysteries!"; "What mind can probe your secret? No mind at all can grasp you . . . What mind's affinities with heaven can pierce the veils above the clouds?". The Eastern emphasis on celebration of mystery is almost absent in Western hymns, which stress instead the need for a uniform belief. The different cultural and political contexts of the Western and Eastern Churches resulted in different emphases in Western and Eastern hymnal content: the West focusing on unity, and the East on celebration of the mystery of God, and freedom of individual thought.
Hymnal content and the use of music in the early church
were profoundly influenced by the cultural context of the early church; as
many church fathers responded musically to persecution, state influence, and
surrounding people groups, utilizing music to teach, encourage, plead for
purity, spread doctrine and fight heresy. Hymnody played an important role
in the early church, serving as a meeting place for culture and doctrine,
and giving the early church a medium through which to speak into it's culture
context. Music and culture are inextricably linked, each culture producing
it's own musical style and content as it responds to the political, economic,
and social facets of it's own context.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Church, F. Forrester, and Terrence J. Mulry eds. The Macmillan Book of Earliest
Christian Hymns. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1988.
Clendenin, Daniel B. Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994.
Fassler, Margot, and Peter Jeffery. "Christian Liturgical Music from the Bible to the Renaissance." In Sacred Sound and Social Change: Liturgical Music in Jewish and Christian Experience, vol. 3, ed. Lawrence A. Hoffman and Janet R. Walton, 84-123. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992.
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Present Day. vol.1, Peabody MS: Prince Press, 2001.
Leichtentritt, Hugo. Music, History, and Ideas. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1961.
Liderbach, Daniel. Christ in the Early Christian Hymns. New York: Paulist Press, 1998.
Nichols, Aidan. Rome and the Eastern Churches. Collegeville MIN: The Liturgical Press, 1992.
Pfatteicher, Philip H. The School of the Church: Worship and Christian Formation. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1995.
Runiciman, Steven. The Eastern Schism. London: Oxford University Press, 1955.
Ryden, E. E. The Story of Christian Hymnody. Rock Island ILL: Augustana Press, 1959.
Savas, J. Savas. The Hymnology of the Eastern Orthodox Church. U.S.A., 1983.
Stuart Smith, Jane, and Betty Carlson. Great Christian Hymn Writers. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1997.
Wilson-Dickson, Andrew. A Brief History of Christian Music. Oxford: Lion Publishing, 1997.
Great Commission Worship & Arts Center