Hymns are “important in the history of ideas, the formation of culture, and the inner life of individual readers,” J. R. Watson reminds us in this time when the disciplines of hymn writing and singing ...

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The Greek hymnos refers to a song of praise similar to the ode, and in the Christian tradition in the Middle Ages, these are predominantly in Latin. Vernacular hymns arise early in the Reformation and ...

John Rippon was a renowned English hymn writer and singer, best known for his contributions to Christian music in the 18th century. His collection, Rippon’s Hymns, became widely popular, particularly ...

The 27 worship songs that have made the hymnal cut time and again. There are many ways to identify the most lasting or best loved hymns among American Protestants. But what would we find by looking at ...

Many people think they know the story of the hymn,"Amazing Grace." The commonly accepted narrative presents its composer, John Newton, a young English captain of a late 18th-century slave ship, as a ...

1. What is your favorite hymn from “The Golden Age of Hymns”? (See the Contents for some still-popular candidates.) What makes this hymn important to you? 2. In what ways is today’s outpouring of ...

Introducing English hymns and carols to far-flung parts of the world was sinful, the Archbishop of Canterbury has declared. Missionaries who taught their converts to sing favourites such as Jerusalem ...

William Henry Cardinal O’Connell, Archbishop of Boston, last week gave decisive publication to his wrath against certain English hymns which Roman Catholics have unwarily allowed into their funeral ...

Christian congregations have not always been allowed to lift up their hearts in songs of praise. St. Ambrose, 4th Century Bishop of Milan and teacher of St. Augustine, seems to have started ...