The definition of “old hymn” became larger and more complicated in April, after contemporary Christian singer-songwriters Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding released “The First Hymn,” a song based on an 1,800-year-old papyrus fragment containing Greek script and musical notation – the earliest piece of Christian music ever found.
The late-third-century fragment was discovered in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, during a 1918 archeological dig led by scholars from the University of Oxford.
One of over half a million papyri scraps unearthed by the team at Oxyrhynchus, this piece, catalogued as P.Oxy. 1786, was shipped back to Oxford and placed in the collection at the Bodleian Libraries’ Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library.
The papyrus is incomplete, but the text is evocative and theologically significant, particularly for its mention of the Trinitarian God. It reads: Let all be silent, the shining stars not sound forth, all rushing rivers be stilled as we sing our hymn to the Father, Son, the Holy Spirit, as all powers cry out in answer, Amen, Amen, might, praise and glory forever to our God, the only giver of all good gifts. Amen. Amen.
The collaboration between Tomlin and Fielding, both Grammy winners, was initiated by Australian John Dickson, the Jean Kvamme Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Public Christianity at Wheaton College, who had an early-career stint as a singer-songwriter before pursuing graduate studies in theology and ancient history.
During a research trip to Oxford eight years ago, as he was peering through a microscope at P.Oxy. 1786, he wondered if the song could be revived. He reached out to his old friend Fielding with the idea, and Fielding contacted Tomlin, who jumped at the idea of setting it to music.
The pair have described their approach to the song as very serious and prayerful. “This is a precious gift from early believers,” Tomlin said. “How can I write something that could relate to today but hopefully capture the heart of what they were singing all those years ago? Hopefully, we did that in a small way.”
Dickson, for his part, chronicles the history and development of the song in a documentary, The First Hymn, that takes viewers from Oxyrhynchus to Oxford to Sydney to Chicago to Nashville and, finally, to Fort Worth, where Tomlin and Fielding debut the updated song at a stadium concert. Along the way, Dickson discusses Christian hymnody with theologians and historians, including Charles Cosgrove of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Katherine Sonderegger of Virginia Theological Seminary, and Mark Noll at Regent College.
That live version of “The First Hymn” is on YouTube, and the documentary is available to stream at Wonder.