Banner-Music.jpg

Early Hymns

The music of the New Testament period and of the early church was very simple in content and was not normally metrical. Six of the hymns sung by the early church have became a standard part of communion services throughout the centuries. These six hymns are the Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Holy Holy Holy, Hosanna, and Lamb of God. These hymns date back to the 4th century (some of them may date back even earlier).

The words to these early hymns are purely Scriptural and contain no references to Mary or to transubstantiation. To read the texts of these six early hymns , click on this link. When these six early hymns are grouped together in a musical composition, it is known in music as a Mass —whether or not the music is ever actually used in a church service or not. In fact, musical “Masses” were written alike by both Catholic composers like Palestrina and Protestant composers like Bach.