Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding recast 4th century hymn
AN ANCIENT hymn, written in the 4th century, has become the source for
“The First Hymn”, a new single by two modern worship
singer/songwriters, Chris
Tomlin and Hillsong’s Ben Fielding. A documentary, The First Hymn,
telling the story of how archaeologists working in the Egyptian desert
in 1918 discovered a manuscript known as P. Oxy XV1786, known to be
the only surviving fragment of Christian Greek music from the first
400 years of the Church, has been produced. The 86-minute documentary
fronted by Australian pastor and church historian John Dickson tells
the history of the hymn and how fielding and Tomlin became involved.
Premier Christianity wrote, “On one level, this might sound like a
geeky exercise. But the strength of the documentary is found in its
presenter, whose enthusiasm for his subject is infectious.” The First
Hymn is available to stream on the Wonder platform (wonder.watch)
before being released to Amazon, Apple and Google Play in September. 
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not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed
views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may
not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a
later date.
