May (Web-only) 2007

ARTICLE TOOLS

Find similar articles Print this article E-mail this page Bookmark this article

Worship through song seems to have always been a part of human culture, and hymnals—compilations of written guides to such worship—also go back a long way. Manuscripts exist of hymns performed to Egyptian and Greek gods more than 4,000 years ago. The Psalms themselves could be considered a hymnal and are used as such even in some modern congregations. Hymnals can be seen as a collection of the church's experiences—its prayers, hopes, and triumphs.

Denominational hymnals in Europe and North America usually contain hymns written in all kinds of situations by all kinds of Christians—Martin Luther, African American slaves, John Wesley, and many others. In the past, hymnals in mission churches overseas were full of transcribed Western hymns. Today, ethnomusicologists are busy recording the sound and sense of indigenous Christian hymns and compiling them for local congregations.

The following slideshow shows hymnals from around the world, from a medieval codex to a not-yet-written Ghanian composition.

Click here to view the slideshow.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today RISK-FREE! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

Subscribe to the FREE CT Newsletters Get CT headlines direct to your mailbox! CTDirect (daily) CTWeekly    RSS Feed   RSS Help