Holy, Holy, Holy: Why We Sing Trinitarian Hymns
Susan Williams / Pentecost, 2024, Issue 11
On May 26, 2024, we will observe Trinity Sunday, the culmination of the Easter season. And we will sing one of our most loved, enduring hymns, Holy, Holy, Holy. Why do we sing the hymns we do? Yes, they give voice to our invocation and praise to God and our prayers of supplication to Christ. But there is so much more to be gleaned from these hymn texts dating back to the early centuries of Christianity written by our most revered clergy. The practice of singing during worship is a continuation of the Jewish tradition, the earliest Christians having been converted from the Hebrew faith. Christians continued meeting in secret and singing together throughout the first three centuries, braving persecution. In a letter written around 112 A.D. to the Roman emperor Trajan, Christians are recorded as meeting regularly and singing “songs to Christ as to a god.”
Through the early centuries of Christianity, the Roman Empire was heavily influenced by the culture and philosophy of Greece. Greek philosophy influenced early Christian hymnody in two areas: heretical doctrine and the codification of orthodox Christian theology to counter said heretical doctrine. Arius (250-336), a member of the governing body of the early church in Alexandria, asserted that Jesus was not fully God. These heretical views led to the rejection of “human-composed” hymns altogether. Another response to false doctrine was the composition of orthodox hymns to counter Arianism and Greek Gnosticism, which placed knowledge above faith and good works.
In 325 A.D., the Council of Nicaea convened and issued the Nicene Creed, establishing a firm belief in the Trinity to counter the teachings of Arians and Gnostics. In 1826, Reginald Heber was inspired by this creed to compose our quintessential Trinity hymn Holy, Holy, Holy. In 1861, John B. Dykes, ordained by the Church of England and advocate of the high church practices of the Oxford Movement, composed the tune Nicaea for Heber’s Holy, Holy, Holy. The text and tune remain inseparable.
So, why do we sing the hymns we do? These hymns, thoughtfully composed by clergy who have made a lifetime study of Biblical doctrine, deepen our knowledge of our faith. What we sing together during worship unifies us as a family of God, not only among ourselves but with the Church Triumphant as well. What we sing together resonates in our hearts throughout the week, lifting our spirits, informing our conversations, and keeping our souls close to the Lord. So, on the 26th of May, as we sing together Holy, Holy, Holy, we lift our voices in unity with Christianity since 325 A.D., declaring our faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit - God in Three Persons…blessed Trinity!
Susan Williams serves as choirmaster and organist at St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall Texas.
