The Renditions Quartet

The Oxyrhynchus Hymn is the oldest surviving Christian hymn with both lyrics and musical notation, dating to the late third century (around 250 AD). It was discovered in 1918 on a garbage dump in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, among thousands of papyri that included Christian arrest warrants and records of churches being shut down, clear evidence that this hymn was written and sung during a time of persecution. And yet, its theology is an incredible example of bold and public theological resistance.

The “O” hymn clearly names and praises the Trinity nearly 75 years before the Council of Nicaea, which again defies the notion that the Trinity is a Nicene development rather than early Christian orthodoxy. This places advanced Christian theology not in a later European context, but in an early African one.

Scholars are quick to point out the hymn’s Greek language and meter. The Oxyrhynchus Hymn assumes worship actually happens: people singing together, breathing together, with different voices joining in as part of a group, rhythm carrying theology through the body. This is music as communal devotion, not performance for spectators. Its call-and-response sensibility, its understanding of praise as something enacted, and its fusion of sound and worship reflect long-standing traditions, especially in the Nile Valley, where spirituality, movement, and music were never separated.

🎶Let the world be silent,
Let the luminous stars not shine,
Let the winds and all the noisy rivers die down;
And as we hymn the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Let all the powers add "Amen, Amen!"
Empire, praise always, And glory to God,
The sole giver of good things, Amen, Amen.🎶

Great Gospel Singing at the True Gospel Baptist Church on Saturday, September 13!
We will be there along with some great groups!