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A singer in a church of 450-650 was appointed in the same way as a gravedigger - too lowly to demand the bishop's attention. Arrangements were increasingly made to school singers in the great metropolitan churches of the West, as will be demonstrated.
How can we find the best explanation of what we observe? Why do human beings enjoy pondering puzzles, such as the meaning of life? We can we learn much from Dorothy L. Sayers, whose detective novels and religious writings saw human beings as searching for 'patterns' in life.
The English Civil Wars of 1642-8 began as the last of Europe’s wars of religion and ended as the first modern revolution. This restless spirit manifested itself in various sects and fellowships, united by a loathing of complacency and hypocrisy, which both supported and undermined the republic.
In their deliberations, the bishops identified for the first time in Christian history, an actual ministry of song. This lecture will build on this foundational moment in Christian musical history.
We glimpse something of God in the beauty of the world, but then this seems to be contradicted by the evil and suffering. Drawing on the insights of the Christian faith how can we live with this contradiction? - Lord Harries in In dialogue with Professor Alister McGrath.
Like many others in the first and second centuries, the governor thought the Christians very strange. So they were in many respects, but they were not so strange that they repudiated the use of ritual song. We begin our survey with the music of the first Christian communities.