Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 01
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As most of you can tell, the server that hosts this blog was down, or at least unreliable, for several hours, so this is getting posted several hours later than normal.
We often get asked why the Eastern Orthodox do not use instruments in worship. While it is true that some of the Greek Orthodox will use a piano or an organ in worship, generally all Orthodox sing a capella. What it may surprise you to find out is that the use of instruments in worship was not accepted until quite recently in church history. Below are a few quotes that might surprise you.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS: “Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize.” (Thomas Aquinas, Bingham’s Antiquities, Vol. 3, page 137)
ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO: “Musical instruments were not used. The pipe, tabret, and harp here associate so intimately with the sensual heathen cults, as well as with the wild revelries and shameless performances of the degenerate theater and circus, it is easy to understand the prejudices against their use in the worship.” (Augustine 354 A.D., describing the singing at Alexandria under Athanasius, yes THAT Athanasius.)
MARTIN LUTHER: “The Early Reformers, when they came out of Rome, removed them [organs] as the monuments of idolatry. Luther called the organ an ensign of Baal” (John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. 6, Harper & Brothers, 1883, p. 762)
ERASMUS “We have brought into our churches certain operatic and theatrical music; such a confused, disorderly chattering of some words as I hardly think was ever in any of the Grecian or Roman theatres. The church rings with the noise of trumpets, pipes, and dulcimers; and human voices strive to bear their part with them. Men run to church as to a theatre, to have their ears tickled. And for this end organ makers are hired with great salaries, and a company of boys, who waste all their time learning these whining tones.” (Erasmus, Commentary on 1 Corinthians 14:19)
JEAN CAUVIN (JOHN CALVIN): “Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, the restoration of other shadows of the law.”
JOHN WESLEY: “I have no objection to the instruments of music in our chapels, providing they are neither seen nor heard.”
CHARLES SPURGEON: “I would as soon pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.”
The Introduction Of The Organ Among The Baptist. This instrument, which from time immemorial has been associated with cathedral pomp and prelatical power, and has always been the peculiar favorite of great national churches, at length found its way into Baptist sanctuaries, and the first one ever employed by the denomination in this country, and probably in any other, might have been standing in the singing gallery of the Old Baptist meeting house in Pawtucket, about forty years ago, where I then officiated as pastor (1840) … Staunch old Baptists in former times would as soon tolerated the Pope of Rome in their pulpits as an organ in their galleries, and yet the instrument has gradually found its way among them…. How far this modern organ fever will extend among our people, and whether it will on the whole work a RE- formation or DE- formation in their singing service, time will more fully develop.” (Benedict, Baptist historian, Fifty Years Among Baptist, page 204-207).
JOHN SPENCER CURWEN, member of the Royal Academy of Music and President of a college in London, wrote in 1880, “Men still living can remember the time when organs were very seldom found out of the Church of England. The Methodists, Independents, and Baptists rarely had them, and by the Presbyterians they were stoutly opposed.” [John Spencer Curwen,. Studies Worship Music, (London Carwen, & Sons 1880) 179.]
Despite the fact that organs had begun to enter some Roman Catholic churches as early as the 800′s AD, in many of them they were originally used for choir practice rather than for the actual Mass. But, they eventually made it all the way into the Church. Nevertheless, as late as the Council of Trent there was talk of requiring churches to stop using musical instruments in the worship. Interestingly enough, as you can see from the quotes above, many of the early Reformers and Anabaptists were against the use of instruments. Some of the Anabaptists did not begin to use them until the 19th century. And, many can still remember the upheaval in the 1960′s when guitars and other instruments were brought into the regular Mass.
So, here is my question for you. Why do you assume that instruments ought to be used in worship? When we are asked why we do not use instruments in worship, behind that question is the thought that using instruments is normal and using voice only is abnormal. But, during most of church history that would not have been true. In fact, during most of church history, instruments in worship would have been forbidden. So, why do you assume that instruments ought to be used in worship?
Related posts:
- Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 04
- Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 02
- Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 05
- Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 03
- A Baptist view of Orthodox worship
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Father,
How do you address the Psalms, many of which talk about praising God with various instruments (such as Psalm 150)? Also, how do you address the use of instruments in heaven, such as in Revelation, John sees the 24 elders and angels with harps, and also use of trumpets?
Thanks
Quincy.
That is why I was so careful in my wording. If you notice, my final question was, “why do you assume that instruments ought to be used in worship?” Orthodox Christians run into the problem of American Christians assuming that it is pure nostalgia, or mistaken belief, that keeps us singing a capella. I wanted to dispel that notion and to point out that singing a capella not only has a significantly longer history than with instruments, but also that all three branches of Christianity had a deep suspicion of instrumentation during much of their history.
I never quite say that instruments may not be used in worship. But, I will post more on this tomorrow.
In my parish, a part of the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate, we use the organ in our Sunday Solemn Masses, but are usually a capella during weekday sung masses during great feasts (with the exception of the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass).
I for one would not be all that upset if we lost the organ. I would not have said this ten years ago, but I find in the ancient Ambrosian, Gregorian and Sarum chants such a sublime, heavenly quality that to add any instruments to them would not add anything…quite the contrary, in some cases. And some, when you add the organum (an ison-like harmonization), it is just heavenly. Add some Victoria and Palestrina polyphonic pieces, and there…who needs the organ?
Obviously, this will require a well-practiced choir. But then again, all things worth doing are worth doing badly, as our good friend Chesterton reminds us.
I am glad that someone from the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochians posted. I was not sure whether the Western Rite was allowed to use the organ or not. That is another reason why I was so careful in my wording. I know that because Western Tradition is different from Eastern Tradition, there are various differences both allowed and encouraged between Eastern and Western Rite Antiochian Orthodox.
St Augustine’s, Denver, has not only organ for High Mass on ordinary Sundays, but also chamber orchestra for occasions such as Easter and Christmas Midnight Mass.
This might be of interest. This is from What Luther Says:
“Music of every kind should praise God. A new miracle deserves a new song, thanksgiving and preaching. ….
The stringed instruments of the following psalms are to help in the singing of this new song; and Wolf Heinz and all pious, Christian musicians should let their singing and playing to the praise of the Father of all grace sound forth with joy from their organs and whatever other beloved musical instruments there are of which neither David nor Solomon, neither Persia, Greece, nor Rome knew anything.”
Luther’s use of the term “music” was directed at vocals primarily. He was not a fan of instruments in worship. We must use discernment when assembling our arguments: do we embrace worship practices of Old Testament Jews or as New Testament Christians, do we set aside our personal preferences to align with what the New Testament says about the use of instruments in worship (which is nothing)?
How do we reconcile the God-given impulse to create music to honor God against what the NT does NOT say about the use of instruments for worship? The very picture of one man wrestling!!
Blessings all…
“So, why do you assume that instruments ought to be used in worship?”
I don’t.